[5:27] We're now reconvening from the Torrance City Council meeting of March 14th, as we have been in a joint meeting with the Torrance Youth Council. We extend our thanks for the invitation to meet collectively with them tonight. As Mayor Pro Tem, it is my honor to hear from our student representatives about all the great initiatives they are working on at each of our Torrance schools to provide a much needed voice for our youth. I'd like to welcome everyone joining us.

[5:56] us in the city chambers along with everyone watching remotely.

[6:01] We continue to encourage the public to say specifically involved by participating in

[6:06] the bi-monthly meetings.

[6:08] We ask that you treat one another with respect, despite having a difference in opinion.

[6:14] This is why we truly practice the principles of democracy.

[6:18] This week also kicks off our Social Services Commission Toiletree Drive, which runs from

[6:23] March 17 through March 31.

[6:25] First, this year's drive will benefit nonprofit agencies such as Family Promise, 1736 Crisis Center, and Harvard in Interfaith Services.

[6:36] Donation Benz will be located in the City Hall lobby, City Hall West Annex, Katie Geyser Civic Center Library, and the East Annex Permit Center.

[6:45] The items needed include new and unopened full-size shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and bar soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, body wipes, bath towels, and shaving lotion and razors.

[6:59] As we move into the regular business of the agenda, it is important to us that we have an opportunity to voice your comments.

[7:08] Public emails have a deadline of 5.30 p.m. on Monday before the council meeting if you wish to comment.

[7:14] Thank you for those of you who met today's deadline.

[7:18] They have been forwarded to Council as supplemental material and will be entered into public record.

[7:24] Any emails submitted after the deadline prior to a German will still be added to the public

[7:31] record.

[7:32] For all of you on attendance this evening in just a few minutes we will accept oral communications

[7:37] or public comments on items not on agenda or consent items.

[7:42] Speaker cards are accepted before the start of the meeting and they're entered into the speaker list.

[7:48] Those submitted after the meeting starts are not.

[7:51] You will still be able to speak once the list has been exhausted.

[7:56] You will have up to one minute per speaker for a period of up to 15 minutes.

[8:01] The public may comment on his administrative matters as they are considered allowing up to one minute per speaker.

[8:07] comments on public hearing, allow up to two minutes per speaker.

[8:12] The speaker clock starts as soon as you step up to the microphone.

[8:16] Time limits will be strictly enforced to ensure equal opportunity.

[8:21] We request, please, that speakers keep their remarks brief and limited to the topic of discussion.

[8:27] At the end of the meeting, we will have up to another 15 minutes for oral communication

[8:32] number two which will also allow up to one minute per speaker. Remember you can only participate

[8:39] under oral communications once during this meeting. We will now be moving on to item two.

[8:46] The flag salute and invocation. Is there anyone here in the audience who has a military

[8:50] veteran or currently in the military serving? Please stand or raise your hand so that we may recognize

[8:57] you.

[9:08] Thank you for your service and now we'll have a flag salute by council member Griffith

[9:13] and an invocation by Council Member Kaji.

[9:18] Please join me as we honor our flag in our country.

[9:21] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

[9:36] Dear Lord, thank you for bringing us together tonight as residents of the city of Torrance.

[9:42] We want to thank you for the efforts of our employees who are the ones who provide services that keep our city running.

[9:48] Thank you also for the time and effort of our elected officials who spend a lot of time pondering over all the issues that come before our city council and especially for our residents and our business people here.

[10:02] Thank you for providing them with their thoughts, their support, and also giving them a chance to speak up and provide guidance as we attempt to guide the city in the right course.

[10:14] Thank you very much.

[10:16] your name we pray amen.

[10:23] Thank you very much Councilmembers Griffiths and Councilmember

[10:26] Codgy. We're now moving on to item three. Can I please get a report from the city clerk on the

[10:32] posting of the agenda? Yes, Your Honor. This agenda was posted on Friday, March 3rd.

[10:41] Thank you.

[10:44] May I have a motion please to accept?

[10:49] Is this to wait for the readings? I moved away for the readings.

[11:05] Thank

[11:11] you.

[11:11] We're now moving on to item 4, announcement of withdrawal, deferred, and or supplemental

[11:16] items.

[11:17] Thank you.

[11:18] I'm Troyan.

[11:19] City Manager.

[11:20] We have supplemented materials for item 7 or communications, AD from City Treasurer

[11:24] except their final investment report for the month of December 2022, 8K from City Manager

[11:30] and Human Resources to approve the proposed job description for Deputy City Manager.

[11:35] Item 9B from City Manager and City Clerk, consider extending vote by mail drop box agreement

[11:39] with the Los Angeles County Register of Recorder County Clerk.

[11:43] 9E from Community Development, consider draft guidelines for an outdoor dining program.

[11:48] Within a public right of a way, downtown Torrance, an adopt resolution approving outdoor dining

[11:52] program guidelines.

[11:54] 9EI from City Manager, approved side letter agreements to extend and expand.

[11:57] the Torrance Police Department of Natural and Retention and Centips, and lastly on 10-8 from Community Development.

[12:04] Consider a appeal of planning commission adoption of sustainable community's environmental assessment and approval of the conditions permit and development permit.

[12:11] Thank you.

[12:12] Thank you.

[12:13] We will be adjourning tonight's meeting in honor of Paul Cohen, Council member Griffiths.

[12:21] Thank you.

[12:22] Pass it we adjourned tonight's meeting in memory of Paul Cohen who passed away on February 24th, 2023 just a month shy of his 80th birthday.

[12:30] Paul was a former City Commissioner, lifelong volunteer and a beloved member of the Torrance community.

[12:36] Paul was born on March 29th, 1943 in Newark, New Jersey.

[12:40] After graduating from high school, he attended Rutgers University of New Jersey and then served in the National Guard.

[12:46] While Paul started his professional career as a teacher, he later became involved in

[12:50] real estate with New York Life, which would eventually bring him to California where

[12:54] he lived most of his life.

[12:56] After leaving New York Life, Paul established his own commercial real estate firm.

[13:00] He also served as a Rutgers University Ambassador for California, helping to recruit students

[13:05] to attend his alma mater.

[13:07] Paul was an active member of the Torrance community.

[13:10] Over a span of nearly two decades, he and his wife Kathy served on several Torrance commissions,

[13:15] including the Parks and Recreation Committee, Human Resources Commission and the Commission on

[13:20] Aging. He was dedicated to public service and the commitment to make a difference in people's

[13:24] lives. Paul loved the city and participated in programs like partners in policing through the

[13:30] Torrance Police Department. He was also a facilitator for people first, a self-advocacy organization

[13:36] and international, national, and statewide movement of people with developmental disabilities.

[13:41] He loved the arts and supported events at the Torrance Art Museum, Torrance Theatre Company,

[13:47] and the James Armstrong Theatre.

[13:49] He and his wife were also ambassadors for the Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

[13:53] Known as the Commish, Paul was smart, funny, kind, and caring.

[13:58] He enjoyed traveling with his wife to many fascinating places, spending time with family,

[14:03] talking politics, and sharing laughter with friends at monthly poker games.

[14:07] Paul has survived by his beloved wife, Kathy Lindberg, brother Arnold Cohen, daughter

[14:13] Jennifer Fury, steps on Mark Lindberg, three grandchildren, Ryan Brandon and Zachary

[14:19] Fury and many other relatives and friends, our deepest sympathies go out to the Cohen family

[14:24] and friends.

[14:25] Thank you.

[14:27] Thank you.

[14:28] Council member, shake.

[14:31] Thank you, Mayor.

[14:31] I like to take this opportunity to update my colleagues and the community on ways and

[14:37] means we can help raise awareness of the devastating events that occurred across

[14:42] the globe last month.

[14:44] As you recall, several large-scale earthquake struck southern and central region of Turkey

[14:49] and the northern and western region of Syria.

[14:52] These earthquakes were so strong, they were felt in neighboring countries of Egypt, Israel.

[15:00] Palestine, Lebanon, and Cyprus. While the city of Torrance may be nearly 7,000 miles away, there

[15:07] are members of our community right here who have family members relative and friends impacted

[15:13] by this devastating earthquake. I want you to know our thoughts and prayers are with you.

[15:21] On an international level, the American Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have deployed

[15:25] more than 9,000 volunteers and staff to provide life saving care.

[15:31] Staff also research several other charitable non-profit organizations online that are

[15:37] also supporting these communities overseas.

[15:40] Be sure to check out charitynavigator.org, based on the East Coast, they help connect people

[15:47] to the best charities that align with their passions and values.

[15:50] There's also a Zakat Foundation of America who will use your donations to support live

[15:57] saving aid to earthquake survivors from medical supplies and hygiene cats to food and

[16:02] shelter for families in need.

[16:05] These are just a few of the resources out there and available if you chose to support this

[16:12] cause.

[16:13] I encourage each of you to continue to reach out to your friends, family and organizations

[16:18] that you are actively involved with to see if they are taking donations to any kind

[16:24] and please share that with our staff in the city. Together I know we can accomplish great things.

[16:32] At this point I'd like to get a conference from my colleagues to allow staff

[16:36] to add some of these fundraising efforts on our city's website. Do I get a conference?

[16:45] Thank you.

[16:47] Thank you.

[16:48] Thank you.

[16:50] Thank you.

[16:51] Thank you very much.

[16:52] Councilmember Griffiths?

[16:55] Thank you.

[16:57] Who wants to earn 4,800,000 yen?

[17:04] Then if you're interested, I've got a job for you.

[17:06] The Torrents Sister City, Joshua, Japan and our Sister City Program are looking to hire

[17:12] a English teacher to work in Joshua, Japan, or Sister City for a period of minimum of

[17:18] one year contract beginning August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2024.

[17:25] The person that would be interested in applying must live and work in Torrance, be fluent

[17:30] in written and spoken English, hold a bachelor's degree, plus a teaching credential or have demonstrated

[17:35] teaching experience, possess a keen interest in the Japanese language and culture, and represent

[17:41] the Torrance Sister City Association and foster the goals and objectives of the English Teacher Exchange Program.

[17:48] If this sounds like something of interest to you and you meet those qualifications, please go to

[17:53] the Sister City website at www.TorranceSisterCity.org for more information and to apply. Thank you very much.

[18:04] Thank you, Council Member Griffiths. This Friday marks the kickoff of Governor Gavin Newsom's

[18:11] Clean California Community Days campaign.

[18:14] Clean California is a statewide initiative to remove litter, create jobs, clean highways,

[18:20] parks, and beautify open spaces.

[18:23] From March 17th through the 27th, communities across the state are invited to organize their

[18:29] own cleanup events and help spread the word about taking pride in keeping our state and our

[18:34] local communities clean.

[18:35] This year, the City of Torrance designated McMaster Park in District 1, Victor Park in District 2, and Columbia Park in District 3, to host a cleanup event on Saturday, March 18th from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m.

[18:51] Residents are invited to join our Council members to those Districts Council members, Koji, Lewis, and Shake.

[18:59] You may even want to see which District collected the most amounts of trash.

[19:08] Oh, they're challenging each other already, or maybe the least amount of trash, as the

[19:17] real winner make it a fun contest.

[19:19] While Torrens promotes zero waste and encourages all participants to bring their own trash

[19:25] bags, gloves, and water bottles, supplies will be provided for those who are not able to

[19:29] bring their own.

[19:30] There will be a scale to see how much trash was collected at the end of the day at each park.

[19:36] Residents are encouraged to spread the word and bring a family member, friend, neighbor, or colleague

[19:41] and help us keep our city clean.

[19:44] To see all of the designated locations through the state, you can go to www.cleanCalifornia.dot.

[19:52] DOT.ca.gov. Thank you.

[20:00] And now I'd like to ask our city clerk, Ms. Poyer, with an update on our

[20:06] SST application. Thank you, Your Honor. The application period for the SSC Citizen Oversight Committee

[20:12] is this Friday, March 17th by 4 p.m. Postmarks are not accepted. Applications must be submitted to the

[20:18] city clerk's office and applicants must have completed commission certification training.

[20:22] seated commissioners are eligible to apply. To request online commission certification

[20:28] training, please email city clerk all one word at torrentca.gov. Thank you, Your Honor.

[20:35] Thank you, and at this time, it's my honor to invite Commissioner Whit to the podium to

[20:42] speak about the Social Service Commission.

[20:51] Good evening, Mayor, members of the council.

[20:54] I'm the violet Whit and I'm a member of the Social Services Commission. I thank you, Mayor,

[20:59] for addressing announcing initially our drive.

[21:02] Now, I'm here to officially announce

[21:04] that we do have our yearly toiletry drive,

[21:07] starting March 17 through March 31,

[21:10] and the drive benefits organizations

[21:12] that serve people experiencing homelessness.

[21:15] The nationwide boxes will be placed

[21:17] in the Torren City Hall lobby

[21:19] and the Community Development Permit Center

[21:21] and the KDGuys at Library.

[21:25] Subsequently, the commission has decided

[21:26] to host a drive through Toulichy Redrive that will take place on Saturday, March 25th from 9am

[21:33] until noon. Collection of donated items will be accepted in the front of the West Annex building

[21:39] located at 3031 Torrance Boulevard, Torrance 90503. And anyone who has any questions would like to

[21:56] commission at torrentiea.gov. Thank you.

[22:01] Thank you commissioner Witt.

[22:03] For the next few items, I will come down to the podium.

[22:32] So item 6A is a proclamation honoring Centenarian of Torrents, Mary and the Campazzi.

[22:40] Councilmember Matucci.

[22:43] Thank you.

[22:44] Whereas the longevity of life is a blessing for an individual and for a community that

[22:50] benefits from the knowledge, creativity, and experiences this individual brings to all.

[22:56] And whereas, Torrance resident, Mrs. Mary Edna Kompatze, I hope I said it right, has earned

[23:05] the respect and admiration from the city of Torrance and is honored as a youthful centenarian

[23:12] in our senior community.

[23:14] and whereas Mary Edna was born in Buffalo, Kentucky on September 15, 1920. She was one of three siblings

[23:23] growing up during the Great Depression, which taught her not to be wasteful and to share with others.

[23:31] And whereas Mary attended presentation academy and nursing school in Louisville, Kentucky,

[23:38] before joining the U.S. Army Nurses Corp in 1944. Mary was a second lieutenant

[23:48] and a night shift nurse caring for wounded and paralyzed soldiers during World War II

[23:53] at a U.S. Army base hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico. And whereas in 1947, Mary,

[24:01] Mary Lieutenant Joseph Compatzi, and eventually moved to Los Angeles, California, where she

[24:08] attended UCLA.

[24:10] We won't hold it against her.

[24:13] In 1951, they bought a home in Torrance, where she and her husband raised seven children.

[24:20] Mary worked at the Torrance Unified School District for ten years as a school aide, volunteered

[24:27] at Nativity Catholic School and has resided in Torrance for over 72 years.

[24:33] And, whereas Mrs. Campazi has always been caring and hardworking.

[24:41] She has seen many changes over the last century and remains vibrant and hopeful.

[24:46] She enjoys watching old movies, singing, listening to classical music, and visiting her 21 grand and great grandchildren.

[24:56] Over the years, Mary has participated in city events honoring veterans such as the Armed Forces

[25:02] Day Parade and our hometown heroes military banner recognition program.

[25:07] She has been featured in news articles as well as on local television, most recently highlighted

[25:13] on K-ABC 7 news on December 30, 2022.

[25:19] Now, therefore, George K. Chen, Mayor of the City of Torrance, does hereby proclaim Mary

[25:26] and the Kempazzi at the blessed age of 102 as Centenarian of the City of Torrance,

[25:35] and wish her a continued lifelong prosperity and the esteem of the entire community with

[25:41] a distinguished and incredible life, signed this 14th day of March 2023.

[25:47] And

[25:58] although she could not be with us tonight, accepting this proclamation is her dear son Dean

[26:04] Kempassy.

[26:05] Would you like to come up, everyone?

[26:43] Thank

[26:53] you.

[26:54] Thank

[27:01] you very much.

[27:03] Thank you very much.

[27:12] Okay.

[27:13] Moving on to our next item, item 6B of proclamation declaring March 27th through March 31st

[27:20] First 2023 has tsunami awareness week in the city of Torrance.

[27:26] Councilmember Codgy.

[27:28] Thank you, Your Honor.

[27:30] Whereas the city of Torrance recognizes the importance of emergency preparedness in the event of a tsunami which pose a significant and ongoing threat to the city,

[27:41] tsunami can happen anywhere along the coast of the United States.

[27:44] As a city with a coastline bordering the Pacific Ocean,

[27:48] Torrents understands it is at great risk.

[27:51] And whereas tsunamis can cause flooding,

[27:54] disrupt transportation, power, communications,

[27:56] and the water supply, tsunamis are a series

[28:00] of enormous ocean waves caused by earthquakes,

[28:04] underwater landslides, volcanic eruptions, or asteroids.

[28:10] A tsunami can kill our injured people

[28:12] and damage or destroyed buildings and infrastructure as waves come in and go out.

[28:17] And, whereas, awareness of a natural tsunami warning signs save lives in areas close to the coastline.

[28:25] The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors manages the beach emergency evacuation light system or

[28:32] beels at Torrance Beach.

[28:35] Beels incorporates a siren evacuation announcements in English and Spanish specific to the type of event.

[28:41] and flashing white LED lights mounted on permanent structures and lifeguard towers which flash

[28:48] slowly for water-only evacuation and quickly for full water and beach evacuation.

[28:55] And, whereas if you see warning signs, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[29:00] and Department of Beaches and Harbors advise the following in the event of a tsunami, one,

[29:06] keep calm. Two, move to higher ground that is at least 100 feet in elevation a

[29:14] mile inland or to the highest floor of a sturdy building and stay there if

[29:20] there are no evacuation routes defined. Three, immediately move to your local

[29:25] tsunami shelter using defined tsunami evacuation routes. Four, do not move from a

[29:32] safe location until officials advise it is safe.

[29:36] Five, move on foot when possible, do not drive.

[29:40] Keep roads clear for emergency vehicles.

[29:43] Six, stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio,

[29:46] news broadcast, or social media for changes in tsunami alerts.

[29:50] Seven, stay away from the coast in low-lying areas

[29:53] until local officials say it's safe to return.

[29:57] And whereas, national tsunami

[30:00] So the tsunami awareness week will be the week of March 27th through March 31st, 2023. By participating in national tsunami awareness week, the city of Torrance can encourage and educate residents on tsunami preparedness by encouraging them to register to participate at, remember this, www.sunamizone.org slash how to participate. And there will be a test. Whereas by supporting the national tsunami awareness week, the city of Torrance can

[30:31] and encourage city employees as well as the rest of the community to participate and learn how to be prepared in the case of a tsunami.

[30:39] To learn more about staying informed, please register for Torrance Alerts at www.torrance.ca.gov slash Torrance Alerts.

[30:51] Now, therefore, George K. Chen, as mayor of the City of Torrance, California, does hereby

[30:57] proclaim March 27th through March 31st, 2023 as National Sunami Awareness Week and urges

[31:06] residents of the City of Torrance to recognize such a week as an opportunity to learn more about

[31:12] the work of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the Los Angeles County Department

[31:18] of beaches and harbor warning for and mitigating the impact of tsunamis by educating citizens

[31:26] about the potential risks of these natural disasters.

[31:30] Signed this 14th day of March 2023, accepting this proclamation will be a unique day emergency

[31:40] services coordinator and Alexandra Perez management aid.

[31:44] Good

[32:22] evening. Council, I just wanted to introduce Alexander Perez. She is our management

[32:26] aid with the Office of Emergency Services. She's been helping a lot with our community

[32:30] preparedness and outreach, especially for our local hazard mitigation plan update.

[32:35] Hi everyone. It's nice to meet you all. I'm happy to be here.

[32:39] Well, thank you.

[32:47] The next item, very important to me, is a proclamation declaring March 2023

[32:53] 23 as a woman's history month in the city of Torrance, and I would be honored if Council Member Lewis would read this proclamation.

[33:00] Thank you, Mayor Kalani, this is an honor to do it during this meeting.

[33:06] Whereas in the month of March, the city of Torrance will celebrate accomplishments and the countless ways women of every race, class, and ethnic background have contributed to the strength of this nation through their leadership and

[33:19] and medications in fields including education, medicine, government, business, law, military

[33:26] service, and every other field.

[33:29] And whereas women's history month grew out of a week-long celebration of women's contributions

[33:34] organized by the Sonoma School District in California in 1978 and became a national celebration

[33:42] in 1981 when Congress authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week of March

[33:48] 7th, 1982 as Women's History Week, and were in 1987 after being petitioned by the National

[33:57] Women's History Project, Congress designated the month of March 1987 as Women's History

[34:04] Month.

[34:05] Presidents every year since have issued annual proclamations celebrating the contributions

[34:10] and achievements women have made over the course of American history, and whereas the National

[34:18] Women's History Alliance theme for the 2023 Women's History Month is celebrating women

[34:25] who tell our stories. In recognition of women, past and present, who have been active in

[34:30] all forms of media and storytelling including print, radio, TV, stage, screens, blogs, podcasts,

[34:40] city cable, and more. The theme honors women in every community who have donated their lives and

[34:46] talents to producing art, pursuing the truth, and reflecting the human condition

[34:51] decade after decade. And, whereas, while much has been accomplished in the United

[34:57] States with respect to gender parity, women in other countries still face

[35:02] cultural, legal, economic, and social challenges. Many of these women have loved

[35:07] ones here in this room today. These women should not be forgotten, nor should

[35:12] their achievements to bring about social changes.

[35:16] And whereas the City of Torrance has been fortunate to have many women who have served

[35:22] or currently served in key leadership positions in various industries.

[35:27] This includes former mayor's Katie Geysert and DeHeartison, as well as many other women

[35:32] who have or currently serve on this council as well as on city commissions and committees.

[35:38] And, now therefore, George K. Chen, as Mayor of the City of Torrance, California, does

[35:46] hereby proclaim March 2023 as Women's History Month, and encourage residents of the City

[35:53] of Torrance to celebrate and honor the women who make a difference in their lives and continue

[35:58] to support and recognize women and leadership roles.

[36:03] sign this 14th of March 2023 and in acceptance of this proclamation our dear Lynn

[36:12] Robinson president of the Torrance Women's Club will be coming up to the

[36:16] podium. Thank you.

[36:25] I want to thank the council and the city and the mayor for

[36:28] recognizing women's history month and recognizing all of the women who have helped

[36:33] shape the city of Torrance and the South Bay.

[37:10] Mayor.

[37:12] Mayor.

[37:14] Mayor.

[37:17] Thank you, Mayor.

[37:18] Now, do you want to remind the public that a lot of people see us taking photos?

[37:24] I was thought like those photos that we take go into the abyss.

[37:28] But there's actually a link on the website where people can go and see all the photos.

[37:33] And sometimes I guess even dating back a few years.

[37:35] So it's really a nice way to archive the memories that we make here at the podium.

[37:42] Do you want to remind everybody, I don't know what that address is, but Thornca.gov is the.

[37:46] It's under the City Council meetings. We have it logged in.

[37:48] On the City Council meeting.

[37:49] Push that out as well in social media.

[37:51] Yeah, I think it's a great link that people need to see.

[37:55] Again, there's a lot of historical data in there.

[37:58] Thank you.

[38:00] Thank you, sir.

[38:02] We'll be moving on now to item number seven, oral communications number one.

[38:07] This portion of the meeting is limited to a 15-minute period and

[38:12] reserve for comment on items under the consent calendar or items that are not on the agenda.

[38:19] Under the Ralph M. Brown Act, City Council cannot act on items raised during public comment.

[38:24] but may respond briefly to statements made or questions posed, request clarification or refer the item to staff.

[38:32] Speakers under oral are limited to either oral communication one or oral communication two and no longer than one minute per speaker.

[38:41] Speakers, please turn off or leave your cell phones when you come to the podium to speak.

[38:46] If presenting handout material to council, please provide 10 copies to the city clerk before speaking.

[38:54] I

[39:25] have a handout, I would like to pull for discussion, consent calendar items, 8E and 8F City Treasurer Accepted and File Investment Reports for the Months of December 2022 and January 2023.

[39:45] As per my handout on these agenda items, the up-to-date being of the city's ending bank balance for the seven months of fiscal year, 2022 and 2023 is $26 million, $140,650, please make an order for it.

[40:09] Thank you, next speaker please and could we maybe call a few up so they know who's next, thank you.

[40:16] Yes, Your Honor, Marianne, Michelle and Thera.

[40:29] Do you want to wait, can I go?

[40:31] Okay, yeah, I just wanted to, again, bring up the fact that Torrance Police Department still needs to be held accountable for killing Christopher DeAndre Mitchell

[40:41] and then also for the horrible racist text messaging scandal that 30 officers were involved in.

[40:48] They talked about killing black people and killing black children and putting them in coffins.

[40:54] And then this council still refuses to create an independent civilian oversight committee

[40:58] as paid tens of millions of dollars in litigation costs for the police's misconduct.

[41:04] And then now on the agenda items such as 8B,

[41:07] want to give them more benefits and more money and raises to the people that are committing

[41:13] these violent acts against the community. And especially when so many other city employees

[41:20] are asking just for livable wages, you continue to instead reward the police for committing

[41:25] these gross violent acts. So just want to stand in solidarity with this city employee.

[41:33] Thank you. Next speaker please.

[41:36] Yeah,

[41:42] solidarity with all working people of the world, including real unions.

[41:46] And as a femursuing the truth, as mentioned in your proclamation, I'm here in solidarity

[41:50] with the family of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell to demand that you listen to the families

[41:54] whose loved ones were murdered by Torrance Police and establish an independent civilian oversight

[41:59] commission to investigate police misconduct, brutality, and the racist anti-Semitic queer

[42:04] phobic and toxic culture of the Torrance Police Department.

[42:07] We demand that you fire all the officers involved in the hateful racist text messaging scandal

[42:12] and prosecute all offending officers for their heinous discrimination and hate crimes.

[42:16] We know that Matthew Kankannon, murderer of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell, exchanged texts

[42:21] about lies he told in the deposition he gave about the only shooting he was ever involved

[42:25] in.

[42:26] This disgusting admission confirms his premeditated murder of Christopher unveiling deep

[42:30] departmental racism and hatred of BIPOC folks.

[42:33] Stop protecting these killer cops, none of us are safe while they're unleashed on our communities.

[42:38] Civilian oversight holds power accountable, and this is a depart-

[42:45] Thank you, ma'am, your time is up.

[43:02] Dr. Starr, it's Scott Deepman.

[43:10] Good evening, council.

[43:11] Chief to me.

[43:13] I just wanted to share, my name's Scott, member of Torx Firefighters Association.

[43:16] We have two large fundraising events coming up.

[43:19] I wanted to share the first ones, your very own Torx Fire Pipes and Drums Band.

[43:24] holding a fundraiser at Brues Hall pub on 21770 Glamo Circle East near the

[43:33] Ralphson target over there and the second back finally after three year hiatus

[43:39] is our annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser taking place right over here at the Ken

[43:44] Miller Rec Center that will be on the 25th of March and that will go from 4.30 to 8 p.m.

[43:51] Both of which are benefiting the Alyssa Ann Roosh burn foundation, and we'd just like to invite everybody to come out and support.

[44:00] The first one is this Saturday, the 18th at the Bruise Hall, to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and it's a family, friendly event, both of them.

[44:08] So, come on out, hope to see there.

[44:10] Thank you.

[44:11] Thank you, sir.

[44:15] No one else signed up before the meeting started.

[44:18] Is there anyone else that would like to speak?

[44:20] Hi,

[44:26] good evening. My name is Eric Fein and I live in District 6. This is regarding

[44:31] let it fuel in the gasoline from the airplanes at the Torrance Airport. I'd like to request

[44:38] that the council have the city manager request a briefing from the Environmental Protection

[44:44] Agency on the impact of let it fuel in gasoline. If it hasn't been requested already, it can

[44:52] and provide you all with more information about the impact of airplanes flying, not just

[44:57] noise at the Torrents Airport as you all

[45:00] Next slide, on next steps. Thank you.

[45:06] Thank you, sir.

[45:09] Greetings, city council. You are invited to an opening reception for CoLab 5, an unburnt witch and public domain film series on Saturday, March 25th, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Torrance Art Museum. The exhibitions were run through Saturday, May 6th. CoLab 5, Los Angeles and the world is on display in the main gallery. CoLab is the museum's global contemporary art program where

[45:33] are as run galleries from around the world

[45:35] are invited to partner with Silkowans.

[45:38] This year, iteration features galleries from Johannesburg,

[45:41] Madrid's Stockholm and Seoul,

[45:43] clavory with galleries from LA.

[45:45] An unburnt witch, an immersion into the drawings of Zach Smith,

[45:50] transforms gallery to into a space

[45:52] where people can relax on a couch and take an art at their leisure.

[45:56] In the dark room, guests can enjoy

[45:58] plubbing the main film series,

[46:00] films that made the movies.

[46:01] a different film is featured every week.

[46:05] For more information about the museum shows,

[46:07] visit tornsrmuseum.com or go to at thank

[46:15] you.

[46:17] Hi there, I'm Tiffany.

[46:19] I'm very concerned about just like my husband

[46:21] with the let it fuel that is being dumped pretty much

[46:26] every day onto all of our properties.

[46:30] So he had contacted Ted Luzoffice

[46:33] and they had mentioned that it was better

[46:34] that the city council that requests from the EPA, that report, also when we had that meeting

[46:41] with the sling airport, they had mentioned that they use unleaded fuel. However, I found

[46:46] out that it is only sling that uses unleaded fuel, and everyone else uses leaded fuel, sling

[46:52] makes up only 18% of the planes. They even said it multiple times that meeting, so it really

[46:59] The amount of let it fuel that is dumped on all of us, everybody lives in torrents here, so it's not good

[47:05] There's air product. It goes into the air. It goes on to you. I don't know if we have lemons and oranges in our backyard

[47:11] I don't know if you do too. So it's hand to mouth and kids touch it so it's very dangerous and

[47:17] Thank

[47:21] you

[47:24] Good evening councilmembers Julie Dorjuri, New Horizons resident, and I'm here to thank public works

[47:33] We have a mailbox on the corner of 29th and 18th circle, and that mailbox was made

[47:40] a move by the post office about seven times.

[47:45] They never filled in all the little holes that the legs made, and it became a very difficult

[47:54] safety issue for our residents who frequent there to cross the street, to mail something

[48:01] because with Canes, they were, their Canes got stuck in the hole or it was very difficult for people and walkers to walk there.

[48:12] So one of our residents sent a work request to Public Works.

[48:19] The very next day, Public Works was out there.

[48:30] Thank you, thank you.

[48:32] Everyone,

[48:38] this is Andy Porciop, I almost could make it today, but you know, I took everything

[48:44] to get here.

[48:45] I would like to congratulate you to running the city, especially Mr. Shaparian, because

[48:52] without him permission and the various department, what's the name of that?

[48:59] Sling couldn't operate here in Toronto.

[49:02] We had a very unfortunate day. They told the people 105 fights after they knew that the

[49:10] rain is coming. They opted up for 200 flights. Anyway, instead of paying RM Shaperian 400,000

[49:18] plus a year and giving him raises, we should hire this guy, what's his name?

[49:24] wine totem, and he would run this show like crazy. He is on YouTube, he is on the TV channels,

[49:36] he is promising everything.

[49:41] Thank you, sir.

[49:49] Is there anyone else?

[49:52] Okay, we'll go ahead

[49:53] and move on to item number eight, the consent calendar. We've already had a request to pull

[49:59] items 8E and 8F. Does any council member wish to pull any other items? Councilmember Griffiths?

[50:07] I'd like to talk about 8C, please.

[50:17] Okay, so right now we're pulling item 8C, 8E and 8F. Do we

[50:22] have a motion to accept the balance of items, please? I make a motion to accept the balance of the

[50:28] items for the exception of a C-A-E-A-T-F.

[50:32] Second.

[50:36] Third voting, please.

[50:40] You're under that motion carried with Mayor Chen absent.

[50:43] Thank you.

[50:44] And we'll start with item H-C, Council Member Griffiths.

[50:48] Thank you, Mayor.

[50:51] On item H-C, this is a request for a subsidy.

[50:57] the council gets a small sum of $10,000 per year to grant to various causes of charities

[51:06] and so forth in our community.

[51:10] And not that I have anything against the American Cancer Society, I think they do a tremendous

[51:17] tremendous job and what they do and normally the money that we have for this budget is intended

[51:23] for charities that are local to our city, and American Cancer Society, even though they work through our city,

[51:30] they're certainly not a local organization.

[51:32] And I don't want to say no to them completely, but they're asking for almost 20% of our annual subsidy money that we have for the whole year.

[51:41] And I would like to request and I would make this motion that we limit them to a maximum of 1000 per year instead of the 2000 that they're asking for.

[51:50] If

[51:57] there's no other comments, that would be the motion that I will make.

[51:59] Okay.

[52:12] Councilmember Klein.

[52:13] Second.

[52:24] Okay.

[52:28] Okay.

[52:28] We have a motion in a second.

[52:42] I just wanted to see if we could restate the motion with the correct amount on it.

[52:48] Yeah.

[52:49] The motion would be to a maximum of $1,000 per year instead of the $2,000 that was requested.

[52:57] No, no, no.

[52:58] That's just for this particular request from American Cancer Society.

[53:00] They're asking for $2,000 a year, and I'm suggesting because they're not a local charity organization which is where this money usually is intended to go, that we restrict them to $1,000 and save the rest of that money for our local charities.

[53:16] Thank you.

[53:17] Any questions, Mayor? Do we have anyone from cancer sighted to make their case or anybody

[53:23] to have any comments?

[53:28] I don't believe we have representatives. Do you do have the option for the group to come

[53:33] back in the future and request additional funding above and beyond the amount that you're

[53:38] authorizing this evening? But I will yield to our economic book manager, if she has an

[53:44] But

[53:54] yes, the request was for subsidizing the events for this year, but then also asking

[54:02] for the next five years, which we have done in the past.

[54:07] But we could certainly come back next year to ask for funding for that year and so on,

[54:13] or limiting the amounts or what the subsidy would cover.

[54:18] So it's up to the council.

[54:20] And the group understands that, that it's being taken to council for approval.

[54:26] So Ms. Fulton, do you know how much we gave them last year?

[54:34] I think it was a little bit less.

[54:40] Mayor Pro Tem, Danny Santana, Assistant City Manager.

[54:42] In prior years, at least since 2018, we provided $1,600 on an annual basis.

[54:48] Or the relay for life and bark for life events.

[54:51] Thank you.

[54:52] If I may just make a comment, it is true that although they aren't local, cancer affects

[55:02] a lot of people, and it affects a lot of our residents in the city of Torrance.

[55:07] So I'm going to keep that in mind when I vote on the motion and the second to approve

[55:15] their subsidy, but at only $1,000.

[55:19] Yeah, I just want to further explain the reason for my motion is that we have an extremely limited budget to support our local charities, historically, and that's why I'm making this motion is I've been on this council for nine years and historically we try to keep that $10,000 reserve for local charities, I have absolutely nothing against the American Cancer Society.

[55:40] I think they do tremendous work, but they're also extremely well financed unlike many of the charities here locally who really really need that money and since we have a such a limited amount, that's the only reason that I'm requesting that we reserve that money for our local charities who really need that assistance and it has absolutely nothing to do with anything against any particular charity.

[56:02] We could also, if you will, we could also come back to,

[56:06] and depending on how much is left in the budget,

[56:08] if that was available, we could come back to ask for it

[56:10] for the Cancer Society.

[56:12] Thank you.

[56:13] Council Member Moutici.

[56:15] Yeah, thank you.

[56:16] Thank you, Chair, I really do think that they do a lot of work.

[56:22] And I think the real issue is that we only have $10,000.

[56:27] It's not other things that $1,000 or $2,000.

[56:29] I mean, I, you know, I don't know what the process is to, you know, possibly increase that $10,000, you know, I'd say at least 5,000 or 10,000, maybe double it, because there are a lot of organizations who do a lot of great work in the, within the city.

[56:49] And I think if they service the city, I think they're equally beneficial for the residents, you know, and especially cancer.

[56:58] or cancer is not something that you choose to have, you know, I think cancer society has

[57:03] done a great job at pulling people together and giving people hope and yes they are well

[57:10] financed but it's a huge, huge, huge undertaking what they have so I'd like to give it a $2,000

[57:19] and also raise, raise our budget, I know, that's when a budget will can consider when we come

[57:27] come back to you, part of the budget process.

[57:29] I believe we have a first and a second on the floor for voting with the older respect

[57:34] to the commentary, unless the council members want to withdraw their motion and restate.

[57:40] But can I follow up a second piece?

[57:42] Yeah, I have one other comment to make too.

[57:44] I think this is allowing for 2000 but they may not use that much either.

[57:48] I know for one of the events that they're planning for this year, they did find another location.

[57:52] It's not a city facility, so there's that to consider as well.

[57:56] I know, but I think it's such a small amount that we're, you know, arguing over.

[58:02] But everything adds up.

[58:04] I understand that point, and I do want to obviously support local nonprofits.

[58:09] But I think if we can reconsider the motion to keep it at $2,000, I'd go for that.

[58:17] Just to clear, this is for the rental facility.

[58:20] It's not the liquid, the cash that we're giving it to them, right?

[58:23] Right. It's the cost because we can't wave it. It needs to be paid somewhere

[58:28] So we're covering the cost to this right right. There's no liquid donation from the city to them

[58:33] It's just having them used its facility. Right. All right. Thank you

[58:38] Any other comments? Okay the motion on the floor is to

[58:43] Approved the item at the amount of $1,000

[58:46] Yeah, I just want to reiterate again. This is they're asking for 20% of our very small annual budget for

[58:53] subsidies for our local charities, and I would modify my motion to say if we have money left over

[59:00] that we don't spend of that $10,000, I have no problem having the American Cancer Society

[59:05] receive any overage applied towards any of the rentals, if that will make my motion more amenable.

[59:11] Yep.

[59:13] I agree to the modification of the motion.

[59:17] Start voting, please.

[59:22] Your Honor, that motion carries with Mayor Chinatown.

[59:24] Okay.

[59:28] Thank you. Moving on to items A, E, and A, F.

[59:35] I'm sorry. Trevor, a treasure. Good, Rich.

[59:37] Thank you, Mayor. Tim Gooder, to be treasure. I would just like to request approval from

[59:41] the council that at a future council meeting we bring forward an item to present a general

[59:46] update on the Treasurer's Office to the community at large.

[59:52] Any comments from council?

[59:56] I think catch I think catch the last part I've been working on

[1:00:00] We're on an update for the community to allow people to see the progress that we're making in the city treasurer's office and the plans for the future as well. And we would just like to request approval to bring that forward tentatively right now scheduled for April.

[1:00:16] Thank you.

[1:00:22] Okay. We have concurrence six, so.

[1:00:29] And I want to ask you, Ben, does council have any questions on item 80? Even though a member of the audience, a member of the public requested that item be pulled. The public comments are

[1:00:39] for items on orals and add them,

[1:00:43] for consent calendar are limited to oral communications portion.

[1:00:47] So unless councilors any questions to the treasurer,

[1:00:50] you can make a motion to approve.

[1:00:52] Thank you.

[1:00:53] Any comments?

[1:00:54] If not, can I have a motion to approve a item?

[1:00:57] Let me ask the question.

[1:00:58] Sure.

[1:01:01] So are you going to talk about this item in detail?

[1:01:04] That's what we're doing.

[1:01:04] Next time when we bring it up.

[1:01:07] No, no, not the specific consent calendar item.

[1:01:09] This would be a separate detail update to provide details on the community about what's transpired in the treasure's office and also what we have scheduled for the future as well.

[1:01:20] Thank you.

[1:01:21] A bigger picture.

[1:01:22] Right.

[1:01:23] Thank you.

[1:01:23] Thank you, Mayor.

[1:01:25] Of course, any other comments from Council?

[1:01:29] Okay. Motion to approve items 8E and 8F.

[1:01:33] So moved.

[1:01:34] 8E, 8F.

[1:01:36] Second.

[1:01:42] You're under that motion carries with Mayor Chinatham.

[1:02:02] Okay.

[1:02:02] Now we're moving on to item 9A administrative matters.

[1:02:11] Good evening, Mayor Pro Tem, members of the City Council, Danny Santana with the City

[1:02:15] Managers Office.

[1:02:17] Before you this evening is the second edition of the City of Torrance's Year in Review.

[1:02:21] Next slide, please.

[1:02:23] The purpose of the annual report is to provide a high-level review of projects and divisions

[1:02:28] across all 14 city departments during the calendar year 2022.

[1:02:33] The intent is to communicate the breadth of city services provided during such time.

[1:02:38] Next slide please.

[1:02:41] Throughout the report information is presented in various forms.

[1:02:44] These include brief narratives, statistics, and visual imagery. Together,

[1:02:48] they help convey a complete understanding of the various services and projects

[1:02:52] and how they have a direct correlation to our residents, businesses and visitors.

[1:02:56] next slide please. QR codes have been

[1:03:00] better to allow for easy scanning with a

[1:03:03] smartphone device or a click from a desktop

[1:03:05] or tablet when trying to learn more about

[1:03:08] a specific project or department.

[1:03:10] Next slide please. Following Council's

[1:03:13] review and concurrence, the report will be

[1:03:15] distributed digitally through all city

[1:03:17] social media handles. The report is also

[1:03:19] easily found on the city's main web page

[1:03:21] Torrent CA docked up. A very limited

[1:03:24] print run was completed to be mindful of both costs and the reports associated environmental footprint.

[1:03:31] Next slide please. Despite lingering pandemic challenges for struts, then storms,

[1:03:37] city departments do it all, and their teams took pride in maintaining and improving critical

[1:03:42] infrastructure and advancing city services, services that torrents residents and businesses rely on.

[1:03:49] Next slide please. On behalf of the city manager, we would like to thank the departments for providing

[1:03:54] wonderful, wonderful representations of their operations and the municipal service delivery

[1:03:59] of them.

[1:04:00] An additional special note of gratitude to graphic designer Alan Tang, who helped with

[1:04:06] the design and layout and the city manager's office, Jill Reed, who helped with coordinating

[1:04:12] with the departments to gather the content, editing and image sourcing, many of which she

[1:04:17] took on her own and personal camera.

[1:04:20] Finally, staff also, thanks the Council for their continued guidance and support of City

[1:04:25] staff and your consideration of the material you have before you this evening.

[1:04:29] We're available for any questions.

[1:04:31] Thank you.

[1:04:35] Council Member Griffiths.

[1:04:37] Thank you, Mayor.

[1:04:38] No question.

[1:04:39] Just a compliment.

[1:04:40] I think it's a tremendously well put together document that really kind of gives a great

[1:04:45] visual snapshot of what's happened in our past year.

[1:04:48] And you already said it, thinking the staff that put this together, I'm sure it was a tremendous amount of work, and it shows.

[1:04:55] And I wanted to just compliment everybody for putting it together.

[1:05:02] Any other comments from the council?

[1:05:05] Councilmember Lewis?

[1:05:08] I know what it takes to put together a document like this, and I'd like to thank staff, and especially our in-house Martha Stewart, who is Jill Reed.

[1:05:17] Jill, can you stand up and take your applause?

[1:05:20] She does a lot for us and we do appreciate that.

[1:05:25] Thank you, Mayor.

[1:05:30] I'd like to make a brief comment.

[1:05:31] I just would like to thank everyone as well for this year's review and the pride that

[1:05:38] you can see in its presentation.

[1:05:40] It just makes me feel so appreciative of being able to live in such a great city.

[1:05:46] So thank you all very, very much.

[1:05:48] Do we have any other comments from Council if not we'll go to the to the audience.

[1:05:54] Would anybody like to comment on item 9A?

[1:06:03] I don't see anybody.

[1:06:04] We have a motion.

[1:06:06] I make a motion to accept and file the City of Torrance 2022 year-in-review item 9A.

[1:06:12] Second.

[1:06:13] Start voting please.

[1:06:17] Governor that motion carried with Mayor Chen absent.

[1:06:23] Thank you very much.

[1:06:24] which we're now moving on to item 9B.

[1:06:27] Is there a staff presentation?

[1:06:34] Good evening, Mayor Portemps.

[1:06:36] Members of the City Council, my name is Carlos Wiesar.

[1:06:38] I'm as Associate of the City Manager's Office.

[1:06:40] Covering this item for any honk with the City Manager's Office.

[1:06:44] Tonight's item is requesting City Council approval

[1:06:47] to extend an ongoing or existing agreement with the City

[1:06:51] and the Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder's County clerk office

[1:06:55] to basically allow for an additional five years for the vote by mail ballot box that's

[1:07:02] located between the Katie Gerser Library and the human resources building. The LA County

[1:07:10] has reached out to the city as we're approaching the expiration of our current agreement with

[1:07:14] interest of extending the agreement for five years. Fortunately, we have three options.

[1:07:21] We can either one extend the agreement for one additional year, we can extend the current

[1:07:26] agreement for five additional years, or no action essentially allow the agreement

[1:07:31] to expire.

[1:07:32] For this item, there was supplemental material provided.

[1:07:36] We received a request from a council member asking for the breakdown and costs for the

[1:07:42] the elections, starting with the earliest years of 2016, that cost ran around $204,000,

[1:07:51] and it kind of increased incrementally.

[1:07:54] For the 2022 election year, the city paid about $566,309.72.

[1:08:02] My understanding of that also includes any postage that was received for the mail inbox.

[1:08:08] Staff is available for any questions.

[1:08:10] Thank you, Council Member Macintosh.

[1:08:15] Yeah, thank you, Mayor Pro Temp.

[1:08:20] I was here when we had this discussion a few years back.

[1:08:24] And I think it's a very, very important discussion to have.

[1:08:29] And I really do feel that we'd better serve the public

[1:08:33] if we had a full council here.

[1:08:35] Therefore, I'd like to move that we table this until next meeting.

[1:08:39] If that's agreeable,

[1:08:48] that's my motion to table this on to the next meeting if

[1:08:54] If time permits that city clerk.

[1:09:00] Do we have a second to that motion?

[1:09:04] I second I

[1:09:13] apologize. We need to go back. You had a comment, sir

[1:09:17] If this motion passes then I'll reserve my comments for the next discussion.

[1:09:28] We have a motion in a second

[1:09:33] You ask for if the public has any comment

[1:09:36] Thank you.

[1:09:38] Do we have members of the public that want to comment?

[1:09:48] And the poor chap again.

[1:09:49] I would just like to say that I like that we can vote and I don't know what was wrong

[1:09:55] with the old system when we could go and vote, you know, and stand in line and talk to our

[1:10:01] neighbors and everything, you know, and you were there, you see the system and everything.

[1:10:07] nice big and just you know dropping dropping in something in the box and you know

[1:10:13] it's it's it's not as it used to be you know what I mean but probably this is

[1:10:18] cheaper and it's really doesn't matter you know what I mean so I think I'm

[1:10:25] not even gonna vote anymore because you know look look what's going on here you know

[1:10:29] what I mean and it's not not to this thing but I'm just letting you know the

[1:10:35] the banks are collapsing in America, big booboo.

[1:10:40] So I don't know how creamy good rich can I handle this, you know, and he's not here to

[1:10:46] listen what I'm saying, but you know, tighten your bets.

[1:10:50] It's going to be a terrible time.

[1:10:52] Thank you.

[1:10:55] Thank you, sir.

[1:10:56] Is there anyone else that would like to comment on this?

[1:11:03] Okay.

[1:11:04] We have a motion.

[1:11:05] Just a minute request.

[1:11:06] Sorry.

[1:11:07] Before we vote, I'd like to just ask that if this has come forward at the motion passed

[1:11:12] I'd like to request that this supplemental be included in the future meeting.

[1:11:19] Thank you.

[1:11:23] Start voting please.

[1:11:27] That motion carried with Mayor Chinatown.

[1:11:32] Thank you.

[1:11:33] Moving on to item 9c from the city manager and human resources.

[1:11:38] Is there a staff presentation?

[1:11:43] Good evening.

[1:11:43] Excuse me.

[1:11:44] Good evening, Your Honor and Council members.

[1:11:46] Kelsey Wenders, human resources.

[1:11:48] Item 9c is a recommendation to approve the reclassification

[1:11:52] of Senior Administrative Assistant Cynthia Rosal to the Classification of Supervising Administrative Assistant.

[1:11:59] At the February 7th, 2023 meeting, your Honourable Body approved a reorganization of the Community Services Department,

[1:12:06] which upgraded 1.0 Senior Administrative Assistant position to a 1.0 Supervising Administrative Assistant position.

[1:12:13] Per the policy on transfer of incumbent employees without examination,

[1:12:17] There are six criteria for considering a transfer of incumbent to positions that are reallocated.

[1:12:22] This incumbent has met all six criteria.

[1:12:25] Based on the analysis of the factors and the involvement of the position,

[1:12:29] it is recommended that the incumbent, Cynthia Roselle, be reclassified from senior administrative assistant

[1:12:34] to the classification of supervising administrative assistant.

[1:12:38] Staff is available for any questions.

[1:12:39] Thank you.

[1:12:43] Any questions from the council?

[1:12:45] Council members, she?

[1:12:47] Thank you, Mayor.

[1:12:47] there. Thank you for the presentation. This is the one question to understand. So the

[1:12:53] new chart that's shown here, that's the revised with the new title.

[1:13:00] Correct.

[1:13:01] So this is a supervising, admin assistant role, but do we have any personnel staff

[1:13:08] they're reporting for to this supervise?

[1:13:10] It will be working in conjunction with the managers within the department.

[1:13:17] The administrative support staff will be reporting to that supervising position.

[1:13:26] Council Member Shea, I'm sorry, John LaRocque Community Services Department.

[1:13:29] I'll just fill in some additional information from the swinders.

[1:13:33] This position is directly reporting to me at the administrative level of community services.

[1:13:37] and will supervise the administrative assistance in the cultural, in the parks, in the recreation, in the library, and secondary administration administrative assistance.

[1:13:50] So it is a department-wide supervisory role in cooperation with the managers of these division to run those admin assistance.

[1:13:58] Thank you, Mr. Lerog, so admin assistance right next to it, that person or

[1:14:05] would those individuals be report to?

[1:14:07] That's a direct report to the supervising the incumbent in supervising, yes.

[1:14:11] So we will re-gave a light or your gap for that, though.

[1:14:15] Okay.

[1:14:16] Thank you, sir.

[1:14:17] Thank you.

[1:14:21] Councilmember Lewis?

[1:14:23] Thank you, Your Honor.

[1:14:25] I've spent six and a half years on civil service and one of the things that we specifically requested was

[1:14:32] This current work chart and proposed work chart changes, and I don't see the proposed changes because this is the existing one that we have.

[1:14:44] So if I may, this is the current work chart.

[1:14:48] What is being proposed is to reallocate the incumbent who is currently under filling the supervising position.

[1:14:55] Okay.

[1:14:56] And then according to Mr. LaRocque, she is going to...

[1:15:00] Would you like to provide other people as a direct report to him? If I may, Councilwoman, we have several divisions within the community services and each one has a administrative assistant supporting the respective managers. The supervising administrative assistant will be providing the technical oversight. So they'll still continue to report to their and provide day-to-day functional support to each of the divisions that are assigned.

[1:15:29] But they'll have oversight of their training, supervision, payroll, all the clerical functionalities within those divisions.

[1:15:39] It doesn't reflect in this chart because there is an essence providing oversight to the individual who provide oversight to the various admin assistants in the various divisions that they're in.

[1:15:53] So they say they report to both their respective manager and this individual.

[1:15:59] Does that make sense, Sean?

[1:16:00] So now we have two questions.

[1:16:02] I'll just add that this also allows us to continue our cross-training purposes across divisions so that any admin can supplement the absence of any other admin and supporting direct division responsibilities, but it doesn't cause a real alignment in the department.

[1:16:17] So, let me go back to my original question about the org charts proposed.

[1:16:22] Are we not, are we no longer providing those to civil service when you bring positions

[1:16:26] or reorgues like this?

[1:16:29] So, it's my understanding correct me if I'm wrong, but the reorganization has already happened

[1:16:33] through the program modifications through the budget approval on, I believe, it was February 7th.

[1:16:40] So, that already happened.

[1:16:41] So, the position is in place.

[1:16:43] It's just currently being underfilled by this senior admin administrative assistant.

[1:16:48] And so with the reallocation reclassification, this person incumbent would be placed to the supervising position.

[1:16:54] So the chart that I'm looking at now is the results of the reorg.

[1:16:58] Correct.

[1:16:59] Okay, so now here's my other question.

[1:17:02] Right beside it, there's another administrative assistant.

[1:17:05] Can you explain that position to me?

[1:17:07] And is this supervising administrative assistant now going to be this position supervisor?

[1:17:13] Yes, so in the administrative division of community services there is currently a senior administrative assistant and an administrative assistant.

[1:17:24] The admin reports to the senior and would continue to report to the supervising file in your direction.

[1:17:30] So this position should be under the supervising administrative assistant and we're not going to add a head count later for this person to supervise, correct?

[1:17:41] That's correct.

[1:17:43] Okay.

[1:17:44] Maybe in the future when we have these reorgs, we can do a proposed to make it more clear

[1:17:48] that that's what we're doing.

[1:17:50] We can.

[1:17:51] Thank you, Councillor.

[1:17:55] Any other comments from the council?

[1:17:58] Okay.

[1:17:59] We'll take it to the public then.

[1:18:01] Would anybody like to comment on this item?

[1:18:09] Hello.

[1:18:09] This is Andy Porchup.

[1:18:11] Again.

[1:18:11] I would just like to add to this, we should create one more position for the supervisor, supervising

[1:18:19] the supervisors because that's very important to supervise. We have more supervisor than

[1:18:25] actual workers doing the work. You know, we have one supervisor and three people to supervise.

[1:18:33] You know what I mean? So, what is Mr. LeRog does? He cannot supervise how many people working for him.

[1:18:41] I mean, this is a joke. You know what I mean? This is like I hire three cleaning crew to clean up my

[1:18:48] beautiful yard and they come up with a supervisor and the supervisor come and check on the supervisor.

[1:18:57] I mean boss is not going anymore because no boss drivers, but we need more supervisors.

[1:19:05] I mean give me a break you know what I mean.

[1:19:11] Thank you sir. Would anyone else like to come in on this

[1:19:15] item.

[1:19:18] Okay, I'll bring it back to the council. Do we have a motion to concur?

[1:19:35] I'll make a motion to concur with the recommendation of the Civil Service Commissioner and the City Manager.

[1:19:42] Second, I also want to thank you, I just want to thank you for the community service to not

[1:19:49] adding a position and saving money. Thank you, sir. Second.

[1:19:53] Thank you.

[1:19:53] Start voting please.

[1:19:58] Your Honor, that motion carried with Mayor Chinethan.

[1:20:03] Thank you.

[1:20:04] Moving on to item 90 from the City Manager and Community Services.

[1:20:09] Good evening, I will make a pro-10, members of the City Council, John LaRocque Community Services

[1:20:13] Department.

[1:20:14] This report is a follow-up to a prior City Council referral regarding special events and

[1:20:19] ways for the City to attract new special events.

[1:20:22] The City sponsors a number of special events each year including the Armed Forces Day

[1:20:26] weekend, July 4th fireworks, the turkey trot, and heeled bay clean up among many others.

[1:20:32] Independent promoter special events are held in public and private locations, such

[1:20:37] as athletic tournaments in the parks, and the circus in the Delamo Fashion Center parking lot.

[1:20:43] Promoter events when applied are evaluated for a number of factors before being approved,

[1:20:47] including public safety, community impact, location capacity, and event details, such as amplified

[1:20:53] sound and music, concessions, and parking.

[1:20:57] In order for a promoter to realize a return on investment and renting a city location,

[1:21:01] it is likely that the location might need to be secured, allowing for fee-based parking

[1:21:05] and or ticketed entry.

[1:21:08] The city can help potential special event holders by organizing our location library, according

[1:21:12] to venue capacities, available amenities, and other site-specific requirements, as well

[1:21:18] as including information on supporting towards businesses, such as hotels, dining, and

[1:21:22] Another entertainment and hospitality related providers.

[1:21:25] Tonight's staff is seeking direction from your honorable body to update the city's special event guidelines and plan for online and

[1:21:32] print materials which promote the city as a special event location option.

[1:21:36] That concludes my representation and Ms. Fulton and I are available for your questions.

[1:21:40] Thank you.

[1:21:42] Thank you, Mr. Laura.

[1:21:43] Any questions from the council?

[1:21:52] Moving on to the public, any comments?

[1:21:59] Hello, I'm going to cut this short because you guys got it short, so I'm maybe going to use

[1:22:05] only 57 seconds.

[1:22:07] Anyway, so as I see, it's an easy $20,000 increase.

[1:22:13] I mean, what is that for you?

[1:22:15] I mean, the city is going great, you know, the money is just coming in, slingpile at the cad

[1:22:22] me bringing in the toe, you know, like crazy, and our airport funds, general funds and everything.

[1:22:30] And I don't know who wants to come here and have an event, by the way. I don't know, because

[1:22:36] I just don't know, because if I want to have an event, you know, I go to a beach city or something,

[1:22:42] you know, the beach, the sauna, the sauna, the sand, the paves, in the bikinis, you know. So that's where

[1:22:48] I'm going to have an event. You know what I mean? What I'm going to have an event in

[1:22:52] Old Tanturans. You know, the Old BDIS come out of from the Historical Society. You know

[1:22:58] what I mean? So thank

[1:23:05] you, sir. Any other comments from the Council? If not, how would the Council

[1:23:11] like to proceed?

[1:23:19] I will make an emotion to approve this item.

[1:23:26] Second.

[1:23:52] Thank you.

[1:23:53] We're now moving on to item 9E from community development.

[1:23:57] Is there a staff presentation?

[1:24:06] Evening I'm Greg Loden with community development department.

[1:24:10] At the council meeting of December 20th, 2022, the city council directed staff to develop

[1:24:16] guidelines for outdoor dining in the public right of way in the downtown area.

[1:24:21] The draft guidelines before you tonight have been developed in coordination with public

[1:24:26] works, fire and building and safety.

[1:24:30] They require the processing of an administrative permit, which would allow the use of existing

[1:24:35] sidewalk areas for outdoor dining.

[1:24:38] They also establish the ability for an applicant to seek approval to extend the sidewalk by removing

[1:24:44] a limited number of parking stalls to facilitate an outdoor dining area.

[1:24:50] Each application would be routed to all departments involved in project review which would allow for specific conditions to be applied if necessary based on each individual application.

[1:25:04] The standards include provisions for maintaining pedestrian and ADA access, limits to the size of the dining space, as well as providing requirements for the enclosure, and the maintenance of the space including the furnishings and landscaping.

[1:25:19] proposed fees for an installation would include the ADM permit fee which is currently $1239 and an encroachment permit fee which is currently $435.

[1:25:33] These fees are just annually, plan check fees, and construction deposits will vary based on the valuation of an individual project.

[1:25:43] The

[1:25:46] draft guidelines also propose a licensing fee for projects that will remove parking spaces.

[1:25:52] The licensing fees for those areas is proposed at $2.25 per square foot.

[1:25:58] This would result in a maximum cost of $1200 per year, assuming the maximum 600 square feet

[1:26:06] of right-of-way area to be utilized.

[1:26:09] A supplemental was prepared which notes that staff is proposing to modify the language

[1:26:14] of standard number 10 to allow the public works and community development department to

[1:26:20] determine the appropriate setback of the railing from any adjacent parking saw.

[1:26:25] The supplemental also provides photos of existing outdoor dining installations in the downtown

[1:26:31] area as well as a list of the seven restaurants in the downtown area with existing planning

[1:26:37] permits and encroachment permits.

[1:26:41] These existing sites are considered to be grandfathered and

[1:26:45] would not be subject to the new licensing fee. Correspondence supporting the dining program was

[1:26:51] submitted by the operator of the local kitchen and is also attached to the supplemental.

[1:26:56] At this time staff recommends approval of the draft guidelines as amended and we are available

[1:27:02] for questions. Thank you.

[1:27:05] Thank you very much. We've got some questions from the council,

[1:27:09] Council Member Griffiths?

[1:27:11] Yes, thank you, Mayor.

[1:27:13] Thank you, Mr. Loden.

[1:27:14] I just want to be clear on Attachment A in the supplemental, the outdoor dining restaurants

[1:27:20] that previously approved.

[1:27:22] So you're saying that those that do have some sort of outdoor dining that's currently approved

[1:27:28] would not fall under this new program?

[1:27:32] Correct.

[1:27:33] They're considered grandfathered as they have existing for them.

[1:27:36] Okay, because I had some questions from businesses that were unclear if this new program

[1:27:40] would affect them even though they had long-term agreements to sidewalk service.

[1:27:48] If I may, you're on both there and Council members.

[1:27:52] It would not affect them as far as encroachment permit, but if they did want to start using the

[1:27:57] public right away of the actual parking spaces, then they would fall for that $2.25.

[1:28:04] So I just want to make sure that that part is clear.

[1:28:06] I understand, and that's clear.

[1:28:09] And then the other comment that I had, otherwise, I think it's a really great program.

[1:28:14] And, you know, it's, I don't think it's too onerous on our businesses, because they're having

[1:28:18] no hard enough time as it is, but I think it gives a business that really thinks it will help

[1:28:23] their business, the reasonable opportunity to do this, and personally, I like outdoor dining

[1:28:30] in the right weather.

[1:28:33] But one of the comments that I had on the exhibit one, the list of conditions and so forth.

[1:28:45] The item number 22 that outdoor music shall not be allowed in the outdoor dining area.

[1:28:51] Would it be possible to consider that as only if they were to receive an additional permit

[1:28:57] throughout our music, as opposed to eliminate it completely.

[1:29:01] Is that an option that we could consider?

[1:29:05] Meaning exempt the existing restaurants?

[1:29:08] Well, instead of saying that they can't have music, if they were to, if they wanted

[1:29:13] to have music, they'd have to apply for a special permit for music separately from this.

[1:29:20] Your Honourable Mayor, Council members, if that is the wish of the Council, we can make

[1:29:26] that, I would caution though because what happens is we won't be able to control the level

[1:29:31] of the music, and so we might have, you know, issues with that or we might have issues

[1:29:37] with competing if we have restaurants that are close together, competing with music that's

[1:29:43] being played in the outdoors. So there may be some issues that happen as a result of it,

[1:29:49] but in the end, with the council wishes, we can easily remove that if that's the way the

[1:29:55] But haven't we provided permits for people to put on music in the down?

[1:30:01] I believe we do special events for specific events that are taking place, but it's not on an ongoing. That's correct. Okay, we do allow for. I heard it was free. It was. We do allow for honors by City Manager. We do allow for noise permits, and those do get approved at our license for import. Thank you. That would be interesting to hear what my colleagues have to say about that, but that would be my own. The other potential option is to allow for the

[1:30:29] possibility with a extra permit and fee, of course, to go with that.

[1:30:36] That's it.

[1:30:37] Thank you, Council Member Mertucci.

[1:30:42] Thank you, Mayor Frocant.

[1:30:45] Item 24, this is a use of propane or electrical heaters will be subject to review and approval by the party department and building safety department.

[1:30:56] I didn't see anything on natural gas, permit fixture.

[1:31:00] like the built-in heaters that something see cemented into the ground, into the patio.

[1:31:07] Are we allowing those?

[1:31:08] Because there are a lot cheaper to run than the propane or electric.

[1:31:15] Public works has not currently evaluated extending private gas pipelines into the public right away to do that.

[1:31:21] I don't see how we would support that but I would also defer to the fire department on any fire code restrictions that may exist.

[1:31:31] Yes. Council members, David Dumev, far cheap. We have to be careful of having those types of

[1:31:40] heaters under tents, those are strictly against the fire code. So that'd be another challenge we

[1:31:46] have to deal with. What about like open air? But I think the question, I think the question would be do

[1:31:52] we run, are we able to run gas lines that are connected to a building underneath the sidewalk

[1:31:59] into a patio that's what the parking lot is.

[1:32:04] So Mayor Potem, members of the Council, Danny Santana City manages office, is it physically possible?

[1:32:09] Yes, it's possible.

[1:32:11] It's a question as to whether the city is supportive of having that kind of private infrastructure,

[1:32:17] extending through a traversable public right away to another privately leveraged quadrant of the public space.

[1:32:25] So that's really the what's that question and thus far we've heard comments from staff that they currently are not supportive of that concept, but it is possible.

[1:32:38] I'd like to add one comment as well. Typically when there is a potential for excavation in the public right away, there is a request for USA Underground Services Alert, big alert type of thing, and a lot of times certain things are not marked.

[1:32:53] And so if that if a gas main or a gas lateral is extended from something downstream from a meter back under the sidewalk, it's possible that it would not be marked and it could be hit and that could be a potential risk.

[1:33:08] Thank you.

[1:33:09] All right. Thank you.

[1:33:11] Council members, thank you Mayor. On condition number 15, the quality for niches, for

[1:33:22] niches and fixtures feel diselected. Who will decide it's their quality or not?

[1:33:29] That would be reviewed by the planning staff.

[1:33:31] Okay, so they will approve to be consistent as well as the quality.

[1:33:36] Correct.

[1:33:36] I know there are questions, if I'm reading it correctly, they can also encroach on the

[1:33:46] city the parking spaces.

[1:33:49] Correct. This program would allow operators to submit an application that would request

[1:33:57] up to three parking spaces to be usurped by this outdoor dining space.

[1:34:03] That concerns me, I think we already have issues in our downtown tourists with the parking and reducing those that is a major concern for me and I'd like to express that.

[1:34:21] Also, how many of the business restaurants they're really asking for this request in total dinner?

[1:34:30] We've heard from two that have some level of interest. One has very strong interest.

[1:34:38] It's only three of them out of 14,000 more plus businesses.

[1:34:44] Am I correct?

[1:34:46] Well, this is focused only on the downtown.

[1:34:49] Only only downtown.

[1:34:51] We've kind of communicated with those businesses that had outdoor dining permits during the pandemic.

[1:34:56] I would say there is maybe 10 to 12 businesses down there, and again, seven businesses already have existing permits, and then we have the two that have interest in long-term permanent solutions.

[1:35:14] I just have concerns on this one little issue that would not support to have this on public

[1:35:23] right of way if that will, that can cause an issue besides that, I'm okay with that.

[1:35:29] So can I request a concurrence from my colleagues to have this without encroaching on the street?

[1:35:38] I make a motion to have council member Lewis's request.

[1:35:43] I'm sorry.

[1:35:44] I apologize.

[1:35:45] Go ahead.

[1:35:47] I just had a quick question that had nothing to do with the encroachment.

[1:35:51] Well, maybe.

[1:35:52] Hold on.

[1:35:53] On the one-time fees, that's listed on page six of the report.

[1:35:58] Am I understanding correctly that this would be retro back to July 1st, 2022?

[1:36:05] Or do we mean 2023?

[1:36:06] The meaning is that as of July 24th, we reset our fees on July 1st of every year.

[1:36:15] So currently the fee is 1239.

[1:36:19] At July 1st, 2023, there would be an adjustment based on the cost of living increase.

[1:36:25] Right, so we're not suggesting that we do a pro-rated amount between...

[1:36:32] No, it just says when that fee was established.

[1:36:34] Okay, so so we don't give the the interested parties a heart attack that we're going to come back and build them a little bit later

[1:36:40] So I appreciate that

[1:36:46] council member mtuchy

[1:36:49] Hey, I believe we have to hear from the public before we can do a motion, right?

[1:36:56] Yeah, yeah, and I just wanted to make sure and but I would like to

[1:37:02] You know express my feelings about the parking spaces.

[1:37:08] I

[1:37:09] downtown area but I do realize a necessity to revitalize and you know make

[1:37:17] that make make that whole area a lot more attractive and there are great restaurants

[1:37:23] I don't really have a patio area in the front and the really the only way is to

[1:37:29] take up a couple parking space two or three parking spaces I believe there's also a

[1:37:34] right or two, something when it's a first foot or foot so obviously and also

[1:37:40] there's the added revenue that could degenerate but also attract people to the

[1:37:47] area because it's in desperate need of revitalization and I think it's just a

[1:37:54] great way to for public space to be used and I guess in a better way of course

[1:38:02] parking is a problem. I'd like for us to continue to seek ways of expanding parking

[1:38:08] in the downtown area, including possibly purchasing some of the non-historical buildings

[1:38:15] and possibly putting up some more public parking spaces. But I would definitely support it

[1:38:23] just the way it is. But I too, I am concerned about the parking and the lack of, but in some

[1:38:28] some cases that I can think of is that there's really no other options but to take up some

[1:38:34] parking space.

[1:38:35] So that's why I would support it because there is no time be for some restaurants that

[1:38:40] are down there.

[1:38:40] So to keep it fair, I would like to support it the way it is.

[1:38:44] Thank you.

[1:38:46] Thank you.

[1:38:47] Councilmember Kaji.

[1:38:50] Thank you.

[1:38:51] I echo the comments raised by my colleagues when it comes to parking.

[1:38:57] I think for any successful downtown revitalization and looking for example at Old Downtown Pasadena or some of the other downtowns, you've seen a significant increase in the inventory of parking, public parking and I think long-term, you know, I support this particular motion, but I think we as a council and as a city need to.

[1:39:26] to take a step back and look at how we can really help to reposition downtown.

[1:39:35] And unfortunately, because we're in LA and Southern California, the car is going to

[1:39:39] be around, whether it's an EVA coal or hydrogen or gas-powered vehicle.

[1:39:44] So I think we'll have to look at long-term planning, but three spaces right now, given the severely

[1:39:53] restricted inventory of parking in downtown.

[1:39:57] I feel for those retailers, those businesses, who are trying to generate more sales, but are severely restricted by the lack of parking.

[1:40:05] And I believe that many who would like to visit downtown simply drive away if they can't find a place to park, so I just wanted to register that thought.

[1:40:15] Thank you.

[1:40:17] Thank you, Councilmember Griffiths.

[1:40:20] Yes, thank you, additional comments on the parking.

[1:40:23] I don't have a problem with the sporadic use of a couple of parking spaces to improve the quality and attractiveness of a restaurant, which I think will make the whole area more appealing.

[1:40:39] And I think that one of the issues that has been a contributor to the problem with parking is the complete lack of enforcement of the two hour parking.

[1:40:47] and I've been talking about this issue for many, many years, and I've pulled statistics from the police department.

[1:40:55] And there's been literally no enforcement of the two are parking in many years I've been on the council.

[1:41:02] And that was all a great deal of problem because I know many of the business owners have told me directly that their employees or

[1:41:07] their other neighboring businesses employees park in those streets and there's no reason for them not to because there's no enforcement.

[1:41:14] And that would take care of a lot of the problem right away if there was, and why do we put up the signs if we're not going to enforce it?

[1:41:21] So that would take care of a big part of a lot of the problem, but obviously if we're going to grow the downtown and try to push for the revitalization parking is an issue still that would need to be addressed even beyond enforcement.

[1:41:34] But I wanted to take the opportunity to push for enforcement of the two hour.

[1:41:41] Thank you, and I was going to request that as well, so thank you for bringing that up.

[1:41:46] I would be in support of this, but we do need to adjust the parking.

[1:41:49] And I know thank you to Ms. Ramirez and her group.

[1:41:53] We've been doing a lot of talking about some alternative ways to make the parking more usable in the downtown Torrance area.

[1:42:04] So right now if there's no one else from the council, we'll go ahead to the public and see if there's any comments from the public.

[1:42:10] No

[1:42:23] comments? Oh, here we go.

[1:42:32] James Henry, this question is related to this agenda item.

[1:42:38] When is the next update on the progress that the revitalization of downtown Toronto is going to take place?

[1:42:46] Can anyone answer that question? It's important.

[1:42:52] Mayor Proton, members of the Council, Danny Santana City Manager's Office, the revitalization plan is a large document.

[1:43:01] And when the Council adopted it, they adopted a multitude of implementing measures.

[1:43:06] In essence, this is part of the update to the revitalization plan because it's advancing one of the measures that Council asked staff to explore.

[1:43:16] Thank you, sir.

[1:43:18] And may I ask a question, please?

[1:43:20] I believe that some things have already been started as well as it correct.

[1:43:25] General Mayor, Council members, I'm a showermarist, committee director, that is correct.

[1:43:29] And we have ongoing things that continue on, such as string lights that will be in new

[1:43:37] string lights that will be installed, some planters that we're revitalizing right now.

[1:43:41] So there's things that we continue are doing and continue to have completed by the end

[1:43:45] of the fiscal year.

[1:43:47] Thank you very much.

[1:43:48] Is there anyone else that wants to speak on this item?

[1:43:54] Hi, this is Andy Porchup again.

[1:43:55] this is ridiculous and redundant and we just I don't talk dirty, but you guys

[1:44:02] pulled into this thing millions of millions of dollars already. If those restaurants

[1:44:06] cannot make up a living and they should just move in a location where people go,

[1:44:12] then you set up rules here only only for the downtown area residents and that

[1:44:18] was a nice thing in the pandemic when they couldn't go inside, but we can go inside

[1:44:24] when I come to America, I love to go inside the restaurant because it was air-conditioning

[1:44:30] and heating depends where I was.

[1:44:33] So in Italy, they have restaurants outdoors, but you know why?

[1:44:38] Because it's fricking hot.

[1:44:40] It's fricking hot.

[1:44:41] Here in America, we have air-conditioning.

[1:44:44] And we don't have parking space.

[1:44:46] You want to spend 10 million dollars on parking and you're taking away parking, you're taking

[1:44:52] away parking.

[1:44:53] I think I'm going to WAH!

[1:44:57] Thank you sir.

[1:45:04] Okay, I don't see anyone else stepping up to speak. We'll bring it back to the council. Oh, yeah, bring back to the council. How would the council wish to proceed? From staff, prior to council proceeding, staff would like to make a suggestion on under fees, under ongoing fees for your consideration, because we know that time can pass and inflation can impact current rates. We would suggest that the council consider adding an

[1:45:34] annual CPI adjustment.

[1:45:37] As an example from land management leases at times council has imposed a

[1:45:43] 3% annual CPI. At other instances council has leveraged a 2% floor or a 5% cap. So those are two

[1:45:51] options that you could apply similar to other city council land management conversations.

[1:45:58] Councilmember Tucci.

[1:46:01] Thank you, Mayor Crowell.

[1:46:02] I'd like to ask if Councilman Shake would reconsider his motion to include the parking,

[1:46:09] just because they would be very beneficial and also include the CPI adjustments as stated

[1:46:19] by Danny Santana.

[1:46:26] I think we have a comment from Councilman Griffiths before we start the motion.

[1:46:31] Councilmember Lewis has another request to speak.

[1:46:34] Oh, okay.

[1:46:35] Another question.

[1:46:36] Just a clarification.

[1:46:37] I just want to make sure that I am understanding this correctly, so under one time, this is

[1:46:44] a one-time fee that 3% CPI on each one of these fees, or explain it to me, please.

[1:46:51] Good question, Councilwoman.

[1:46:53] It would be an annual CPI adjustment in effective March 2023.

[1:46:58] 23, you should counsel approve this concept.

[1:47:02] The fee would be $2.25 per square foot per month right now, and then it would be every

[1:47:08] July 1 or January 1 staff would recommend having it adjusted to an annual CPI adjustment.

[1:47:15] Okay.

[1:47:16] Perfect.

[1:47:16] For the ongoing fees.

[1:47:17] Correct.

[1:47:18] If counsel could specify whether they would like that to be July 1 or January 1, it would be

[1:47:23] was we send advanced notices to whoever has subsequent approvals.

[1:47:28] Would July 1 not align with all of our other charges?

[1:47:32] Honestly, we have agreements that vary.

[1:47:35] Our fees are typically set to adjust on July 1 from a permit standpoint, but from a rental

[1:47:42] standpoint, they have started at different times, so they adjust at different times.

[1:47:47] Okay.

[1:47:47] So the 3% would be on the 225 per square foot.

[1:47:51] That's correct, ma'am.

[1:47:51] had just been co-fully July 1st and that would align properly.

[1:47:57] Okay, thank you.

[1:48:00] Council member Griffiths.

[1:48:02] Thank you.

[1:48:02] And that same issue on the CPI.

[1:48:06] Our business license normally collected in January.

[1:48:10] Because it says that the fee that ongoing fee

[1:48:14] would be collected with the city business license.

[1:48:17] So wouldn't it make sense then to make that January 1?

[1:48:21] Am I thinking?

[1:48:27] Councilmember Kaji.

[1:48:30] Thank you, Your Honor.

[1:48:32] Could Councilman Shake restate the motion?

[1:48:36] Sure.

[1:48:36] Thank you.

[1:48:37] Thank you.

[1:48:38] Councilman Matucci and Kaji are along me the update.

[1:48:43] So I'd like to consider this draft guidelines for an outdoor dining program within the public

[1:48:49] right of way in downtown Torrance with the exception of encroachment on the public streets.

[1:48:55] And with the adjustment of the annual adjustment CPI based on 2% to the cap of 5% starting from January.

[1:49:07] So I'm a bit confused. I'm going to ask for some clarification from Ms. Ramirez.

[1:49:12] If I may real quick, your Honorable Mayor, Councilmembers, Michelle Ramirez, Community Development Director.

[1:49:17] The reason this was actually put in place was for the...

[1:49:22] to have it in the public right away within the street.

[1:49:26] If you're going to exclude that,

[1:49:28] then you no longer actually need this.

[1:49:30] Because the encroachment permit that we already allow

[1:49:33] our businesses to apply for,

[1:49:36] they can continue to do so without having this.

[1:49:39] And all these different conditions already apply to that.

[1:49:44] So the only reason this is coming forward

[1:49:46] is to have the ability to be able to actually use

[1:49:49] the parking spaces.

[1:49:51] That's

[1:49:55] there if I slow in that case, I make a motion to not concur with staff.

[1:50:02] Sorry.

[1:50:05] Okay, is there a second to not concur?

[1:50:15] That motion dies due to a lack of second.

[1:50:19] Okay.

[1:50:20] Do we have another motion on how the council wishes to proceed?

[1:50:29] Yes.

[1:50:29] I move that we adopted the resolution and stated with the CPI increases.

[1:50:36] is stating what January 1st was that January 1st,

[1:50:43] and also taking it into consideration

[1:50:45] the shortage of parking and always seek to expand that troubling issue like that.

[1:50:55] I'm sorry.

[1:50:56] Go ahead.

[1:50:57] 3% CPI increase?

[1:50:59] Oh, yeah.

[1:51:00] 3% CPI increase.

[1:51:02] I'm sorry.

[1:51:05] What was the parking portion of it that you put at the end?

[1:51:08] We didn't address the parking portion, it's as stated in the item.

[1:51:16] I second.

[1:51:21] Can I suggest some clarification to possibly add if possible enforcement of the parking

[1:51:29] as well?

[1:51:30] Absolutely.

[1:51:31] You don't have to add that provision.

[1:51:35] We are working, we're exploring, bringing in some additional support.

[1:51:40] We've had spruggles with our staffing, as you all know, but we are working with the

[1:51:47] Community Development Director and the police chief to bring in additional parking enforcement

[1:51:51] offices, not only for downtown, but also for streets with being enforcement as well.

[1:51:57] Okay.

[1:51:57] Thank you very much.

[1:51:59] I've heard you loud and clear.

[1:52:00] Okay.

[1:52:00] So we've got a motion in a second to approve the item with a CPA of 3% effective going

[1:52:09] into the facts on January 1. That's how I understand it.

[1:52:13] And adopt the resolution. And we need adopt the resolution and we need a number in title please.

[1:52:19] Your Honor, this is resolution number 2023-20. A resolution of the City Council of the City of

[1:52:24] Torrent, California establishing outdoor dining guidelines for the use of the public right of way.

[1:52:32] Do you want me to repeat that or adopt the resolution 2023-20 with the amendments to the

[1:52:40] with the 3% annual CPI.

[1:52:44] Hi, second.

[1:52:46] Start voting, please.

[1:52:51] Your Honor, that motion carries.

[1:52:52] The council member, shake voting no.

[1:52:54] And Mayor Chen, FM.

[1:53:01] Okay, we're now moving on to item 9F

[1:53:04] from Community Development.

[1:53:05] Is there a staff presentation, please?

[1:53:13] Good evening, Honorable Mayor and Member of the City Council.

[1:53:16] My name is Yukon Kio, also known as Kio.

[1:53:19] Plan Examiner for Community Development Department.

[1:53:22] In addition to City staff,

[1:53:23] I have it meet tonight, our consultant, Daniel Sopeda from Think & Coop Engineers.

[1:53:30] Daniel is a principal for Think & Coop.

[1:53:32] He assists many jurisdictions with their local seismic retrofit ordinance.

[1:53:38] Item 9F, recommendation of the community development director, that the City Council adopt

[1:53:44] an ordinance adopting a seismic retrofit program and approve an ordinance summary for publication.

[1:53:51] The probability of a major earthquake in the city of Torrent is high due to the proximity

[1:53:57] to a quick fault within the regions.

[1:54:00] Proactive measures taken today will reduce the risk of life safety associated to future

[1:54:07] earthquake incidents, therefore developing a seismic retrofit ordinance to begin to secure

[1:54:13] this at-risk building is advisable to reduce the loss of life, injury and substantial property damage.

[1:54:22] Next slide.

[1:54:25] On May 15, 2018, an informational item was taken before the City Council to seek

[1:54:31] direction on the creation of a seismic retrofit ordinance. The focus of the retrofit ordinance would

[1:54:37] be existing buildings with structural systems which have been identified as posing a high risk

[1:54:44] due to structural failure during a seismic event.

[1:54:47] As a result of that informational item,

[1:54:51] and other that were presented after,

[1:54:54] the City Council provide direction to staff

[1:54:56] to proceed in creating a seismic retrofit ordinance.

[1:55:00] Council also direct staff to gather additional information

[1:55:04] and complete certain tasks prior to return

[1:55:07] with the seismic retrofit ordinance for their consideration.

[1:55:10] Those tasks include complete a survey of all at-risk buildings, engage in public outreach,

[1:55:18] create a seismic retrofit ordinance, information on possible approaches to implement the retrofit

[1:55:26] ordinance. On February 9, 2021, a consultant service agreement was rewarded to dengue

[1:55:41] September 2022 survey of all address building were completed.

[1:55:47] November 2022 public outreach work completed, three virtual and three in-person.

[1:55:55] March 2023 ordinance and program implementation were completed.

[1:56:00] From here, I will hand it over to Daniel to explain each building type in detail.

[1:56:09] Thank you, Kiel.

[1:56:10] Thanks for having me.

[1:56:13] Next slide please.

[1:56:16] So I'm going to be explaining four major vulnerable building types that exist in the city.

[1:56:23] The first one being what we call south-week or open front wall buildings.

[1:56:29] The second one being rigid wall with flexible diaphragm buildings, non-doctor concrete buildings

[1:56:35] and then the last one being pre-northridge steel moment frame buildings.

[1:56:38] They seem like long names, but I'll promise you, I'll educate you in a little bit.

[1:56:43] Next slide.

[1:56:45] The first one is soft story buildings.

[1:56:46] Soft story buildings happen when you have a building.

[1:56:49] The ones that we're considering for this ordinance are wood soft story buildings.

[1:56:54] They're primarily multi-family buildings that are rigid at the top.

[1:56:59] They have a lot of water at the top, but when you come down to the first floor because of

[1:57:03] the tuck under park, they actually have a weakness at their first level.

[1:57:07] during an earthquake, they tend to break at the bottom.

[1:57:10] It's like somebody hitting them at the knees

[1:57:12] and then the building just comes down.

[1:57:14] We have observed these types of buildings have failed

[1:57:16] and many passed the earthquakes.

[1:57:19] One of the most common ways of retrofitting these types of buildings

[1:57:22] is by addressing that visual open line

[1:57:27] that exists in these types of buildings.

[1:57:29] We can either add some structural steel

[1:57:31] or we can add some wood walls

[1:57:35] to make up for the lack of strength that happens at that floor level, depending on obviously the characteristics of the building and the usage of the building and make sure that we account for lots of parking or lots of other types of services that happen at that first level.

[1:57:51] Next slide. The city hired our firm to conduct a survey to see how many of these potential buildings happen in the city.

[1:58:01] Overall, we did survey over 2,000 of these buildings, however, and conversations with staff

[1:58:09] and other technical committees for Southern California Engineering Association.

[1:58:16] It was determined that perhaps we should draw the line at a certain step that will only give

[1:58:24] us 980 potential buildings that would be in the scope of the proposed ordinance.

[1:58:29] If you go to the next slide, the proposed ordinance basically states that buildings that

[1:58:36] were built prior to 1976 should be part of this ordinance in 76 is where the code had

[1:58:44] a significant change in how these buildings were addressed in terms of their strength

[1:58:49] and their vulnerability.

[1:58:51] So that's where the drawn is currently drawn.

[1:58:53] And we also, the staff also suggested that we target the bigger, more critical buildings,

[1:59:02] the riskier buildings, the heavier buildings, and omit those three buildings that have only

[1:59:08] three units or less.

[1:59:09] And then finally, we would be targeting really just that exposed, open line that you often

[1:59:16] see on buildings that have this tuck under parking.

[1:59:19] Next slide.

[1:59:21] The software ordinance would be,

[1:59:27] this targeting these buildings would have orders that would

[1:59:32] be sent to the owners of these buildings.

[1:59:35] The orders would be sent out in three different priorities in order for the city staff to

[1:59:43] manage the amount of work that is happening and also to provide some of the riskier buildings

[1:59:49] to come in forward on the first priority and the less risk your bill is towards the end.

[1:59:56] Overall, you would have three major priorities.

[2:00:00] The overall timeline that's being proposed by the city staff is a five-year plan with multiple milestones in between. The milestones are intended to make sure that the owners may progress throughout the five years of the actual program. Next slide.

[2:00:18] None that the concrete buildings are buildings that are made of concrete. These are buildings that are older in nature that were built in times where we didn't have a really good understanding

[2:00:31] understanding of how concrete buildings behave, they lack reinforcement in their elements.

[2:00:38] If you see the sketches in the middle of the presentation, you will see that the columns

[2:00:43] on the column on the left shows not as much reinforcement as the column on the right.

[2:00:48] Really what happens is that during an earthquake when the building wants to move, those concrete

[2:00:52] elements break apart and they want to escape from this cage that is being formed by the reinforcement.

[2:00:58] So the new codes really have additional reinforcement in these elements to add some of this

[2:01:06] ductility.

[2:01:07] Common ways of retrofitting these buildings are by adding fiber wrap or adding some more

[2:01:14] strength by either adding concrete or some additional elements in the building.

[2:01:18] They create that additional stiffness so that that building doesn't have that movement that

[2:01:23] is going to tear it apart.

[2:01:24] If you go to the next slide,

[2:01:29] pre-northridge steel moment frames are a second building.

[2:01:33] I love both of these buildings and the same grouping only because it's difficult to tell

[2:01:39] one from the other by just visually looking at it.

[2:01:42] You may have a concrete building, you may have a steel building.

[2:01:45] The other building type that we're targeting is these pre-northridge steel moment frames.

[2:01:49] These buildings were identified after the 1994 earthquake that we had in Northridge.

[2:01:56] There are steel buildings that we used to believe that they were very, very strong and very

[2:02:01] ductile, meaning that they can move a lot without having any damage, but 1994 taught us something

[2:02:08] different. Unfortunately, the connections of these buildings tend to break, and that's very similar

[2:02:14] to you breaking your bone when you're playing a sport or having an accident. From the outside, you may

[2:02:22] not notice that you have something broken inside, but in reality what happens is that the

[2:02:26] bones in the structure are broken. And that's one of the problems that were with these buildings.

[2:02:32] In order to fix the buildings, we can target the actual deficiency, which means we can go in and

[2:02:37] surgically look at these connections and fix them, or we can add additional stiffness to our

[2:02:43] very similar to the concrete buildings, meaning that we add additional braces, walls, or something

[2:02:48] know the sort to really prevent that movement in the building and prevent that bone from

[2:02:53] breaking in the structure. Or another technique that's often used is what we call adding

[2:02:58] pistons, which is very similar to your cars where you're adding shocks to the building.

[2:03:05] If you go to the next slide. So overall, like I said before, it's difficult to tell during

[2:03:12] in a survey, what kind of building you have?

[2:03:14] Our survey was done from the right away

[2:03:17] and with some limited research of the drawings

[2:03:20] that the city does have.

[2:03:22] And we found that approximately 245 buildings

[2:03:27] of the set of buildings that we surveyed

[2:03:32] would be affected by the proposed ordinance.

[2:03:35] If you go to the next slide,

[2:03:37] the proposed ordinance for non-doctor concrete buildings

[2:03:39] will target buildings that were built prior to the 1979 uniform building code which was adopted

[2:03:46] by the city in 1981. And the reason for that is because during that time is really when the

[2:03:52] code started to change and asking for that additional reinforcement and those buildings. Things that

[2:04:00] would not be part of the ordinance are one story concrete buildings. We feel that those buildings

[2:04:07] are fairly rigid and fairly stout unless they possess really slender columns and that's written

[2:04:15] in the ordinance. Or we would also, we would target in many cases some, there are buildings

[2:04:25] that are wood over concrete podiums, but those concrete podiums would only be targeted if they

[2:04:31] really possess certain types of deficiencies within them and that's all outlined within the ordinance

[2:04:36] itself to make sure that we don't overdo the amount of work that we have to do to those buildings.

[2:04:42] So it's a really targeted deficiency. On the next slide, we have pre-northrist steel moment frames.

[2:04:51] These are the steel moment frames that were discovered after Northridge, like I mentioned before.

[2:04:57] And for that reason, we would target buildings that were built prior to the 1997 UBC.

[2:05:04] and we would exclude moment frames that were used in prior retrofit ordinances

[2:05:11] and a prior retrofit ordinance that targeted brick buildings.

[2:05:17] These brick buildings were already retrofitted by many cities including torrents

[2:05:21] back in the 80s and some of them did use these moment frames,

[2:05:25] so we obviously don't want to target those moment frames.

[2:05:28] Those perform well in 1994.

[2:05:31] Next slide.

[2:05:35] Both the non-doctor concrete ordinance and the pre-northres steel moment frame have a much

[2:05:38] longer time frame that is being asked for, that has been proposed, I should ask, I should

[2:05:44] say.

[2:05:45] It is an overall 20 year milestone and primarily to allow owners to gather the funds to make

[2:05:54] these retrofits.

[2:05:55] These retrofits are much larger in nature, they're bigger, they're more expensive.

[2:06:00] There's also consideration to owners that use these buildings for commercial purposes and they need the time to really work out the leases of the spaces to make sure that they can work it out within the 20 years span.

[2:06:15] Also the timeline begins from the time that the owner receives the order and as mentioned in the slide there will also be three priorities to make sure that the orders are sent out

[2:06:27] and in order of the riskier buildings go first and so on and so forth.

[2:06:35] Next slide.

[2:06:37] Finally, the city wanted to understand their tilt up buildings.

[2:06:41] Tilt up buildings are these buildings that you often see in manufacturing facilities.

[2:06:46] They are these big tall concrete buildings that originally were built.

[2:06:51] These walls were built on the floor and then they tilt them up.

[2:06:54] up, and then when they tie them to the actual roof, what happens is that what we've seen

[2:06:59] in past earthquakes, unfortunately, is that that connection between the roof and the wall

[2:07:05] is not strong enough and it tends to break apart when the wall breaks from its roof, then

[2:07:11] the roof falls down, and then the wall collapses on top of it.

[2:07:14] So it's a very, very dangerous situation.

[2:07:17] The only fortunate thing about these buildings is that the overall building actually behaves

[2:07:21] pretty well with exception to that connection.

[2:07:23] So, that connection is typically what is targeted in an ordinance.

[2:07:28] If you go to the next slide.

[2:07:32] After a lot of discussion with staff and also with our engineering partners at the engineering

[2:07:42] association assembly California, it was decided that perhaps the scope could also include other

[2:07:48] building types that have similar weight in nature, which are both concrete, which are

[2:07:54] masonry as well. If you consider those buildings, you would be at least about 500 buildings

[2:08:02] that would be targeted in the ordinance. If you go to the next slide, you would see that

[2:08:07] the scope of the ordinance would be really target buildings that were built prior to 1997.

[2:08:14] And that's because after the 1994 Northridge earthquake is when the codes really changed to address that condition of the connection between the walls and the roof and the reason that we changed the name to now be called rigid wall flexible diaphragm is because we not only want to target those tilt up buildings, but we also want to target buildings that are made of masonry which behave in a very very similar way as a classical tilt up building.

[2:08:43] Then, if you go to the next slide, you will see the proposed timeline is very similar

[2:08:49] to the Substory Ordnance, which is a five-year plan, and also has a multiple milestones

[2:08:57] to get to the end, and there's also three priorities.

[2:09:02] The priorities in this case are based on square foot area, and again, the bigger ones coming

[2:09:08] in first.

[2:09:10] If you go to the next slide, oftentimes we hear, you know, what's the cost of these buildings?

[2:09:19] Very difficult to answer that question, especially because there hasn't been a lot of buildings that have been seismically retrofitted under these types of ordinances,

[2:09:30] with exception of the soft-story ordinances.

[2:09:33] This particular slide actually addresses the soft story ordinance cost.

[2:09:38] These are buildings that have actually been already permitted by the city of torrents

[2:09:43] under a voluntary basis using an ordinance from the city of Los Angeles that is very similar in nature

[2:09:51] to the one that's being proposed for the city of torrents.

[2:09:54] And you can see here the cost, the overall cost of the actual projects

[2:09:59] And then the cost broken down by units, oftentimes we hear that that's what owners want to understand the cost per unit because that drives them to understand how much is their financial exposure on their buildings.

[2:10:14] So you can see there on the right side of the table that the cost per unit goes anywhere from 2 to 11,000 with an average of about $5,000 per unit.

[2:10:26] Next slide, please.

[2:10:29] And then, finally, before I hand it out to Keo, we also often hear questions about

[2:10:36] any financial support or incentive that the city can do.

[2:10:41] We broke this down into three primary categories.

[2:10:44] There's other things that can be considered, but these are the three that are often considered

[2:10:50] by cities.

[2:10:51] One is FEMA grants. FEMA grants is often, it's money that's provided to cities after a natural disaster.

[2:11:01] The way that these grants work is they typically happen once a year and the ones that have been used for,

[2:11:09] to address natural disasters are primarily targeting disasters that are triggered by fire.

[2:11:20] We've had a lot of fires in our past few years, and because of those fires, the federal

[2:11:26] government provides money to the state to get to cities.

[2:11:30] Now that said, those funds could be used for any natural disaster, including seismic

[2:11:36] upgrades, but the only caveat is that if the city wanted to apply for a grant, they must

[2:11:44] have an active program that they can submit their application under.

[2:11:50] So the first step to apply into any grant is to actually have a project or a program

[2:11:55] in your case.

[2:11:58] Second is another program that's often discussed is pace programs.

[2:12:02] Pace programs were born for energy savings.

[2:12:08] These pace programs were initially intended to help homeowners with solar panels,

[2:12:14] changing their windows and things of that nature.

[2:12:19] It requires that the city create a financial district

[2:12:23] and basically what happens is that the owner is able to get a loan

[2:12:26] but the way they repay the loan, it comes in through their taxes.

[2:12:31] It's a line item on their end of the year taxes.

[2:12:36] Oftentimes this is not a very attractive solution

[2:12:39] for these types of programs.

[2:12:41] is somewhat cumbersome and it's unclear as to how it's not as very easy for homeowners

[2:12:48] to apply for these when it comes to seismic programs because they were initially intended

[2:12:53] for energies.

[2:12:56] And then finally the other thing, the thing that is often asked is can the city consider

[2:13:03] that are waiving fees for the actual review

[2:13:08] and the plan check of these retrofits.

[2:13:12] That is often discussed in cities,

[2:13:16] not many, I can't think of one that's actually doing that.

[2:13:20] It could be costly.

[2:13:23] Staff estimated that if they waive all the permit fees

[2:13:28] for all the potential buildings that are out there,

[2:13:31] It would be over a eight and a half million dollars worth of funds that the city would be funding for the program

[2:13:37] So with that I'm going to pass it on to Kio so he can close us off

[2:13:42] Should

[2:13:52] the program approve tonight

[2:13:54] Staff would need additional

[2:13:56] We'll need additional staff or consultant to assist with plan and technical report review

[2:14:03] Consultant to assist in complex building analysis

[2:14:08] This concludes the presentation, community development staff, and our consultant are available

[2:14:12] for question.

[2:14:14] Thank you very much.

[2:14:16] I'm going to give Council Member Matucci an opportunity to speak, please.

[2:14:20] Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem.

[2:14:22] Before we start discussion, because of the potential conflict of interest, or even the perception

[2:14:28] of a conflict of interest, I'm going to have to recuse myself from further discussion on

[2:14:32] the site.

[2:14:34] Thank you, sir.

[2:14:48] Councilmember Griffiths.

[2:14:49] Thank you, Mayor.

[2:14:50] And I appreciate all the hard work that's gone into doing this.

[2:14:53] This has been a long time coming.

[2:14:55] I remember when we discussed this back in 2018 and I think that there was

[2:15:00] News, yes, support to move this forward. And the timing is really good considering the disaster that's happened around the world with earthquakes. And we certainly don't want to do it. We can't prevent that kind of destruction in our community should win that an earthquake happens here. I do have several questions. One of the last things it was just mentioned was the additional staff and our consultant. Is there a request for budget on this for doing that? Because I don't see that in the

[2:15:29] recommendation.

[2:15:30] Your Honourable Mayor, Council members,

[2:15:31] Ms. Shaw, may I ask if we don't, Director?

[2:15:33] No, I think we're just making you aware

[2:15:34] that we, in the next budget,

[2:15:37] we will be putting some funds in there

[2:15:39] to help continue this program.

[2:15:42] I can understand why that would be necessary

[2:15:44] for the amount of work that would be required to do all this.

[2:15:48] It's a lot of work that needs to be done.

[2:15:52] A couple of other questions.

[2:15:54] One of my big concerns, anytime we talk about passing

[2:15:56] in ordinances, how do we enforce the ordinance?

[2:16:00] should people fail to follow the direction that we've given in the ordinance, can someone

[2:16:05] elaborate for me on what our enforcement mechanisms are and how we ensure that this actually

[2:16:11] happens?

[2:16:12] Councilman, should the owner be not complied with the required timeline, there is a violation

[2:16:19] portion built into the ordinance, and one of them would be administrative citation and

[2:16:25] also recordation in the properties.

[2:16:28] What does that mean exactly?

[2:16:31] We would record the notice in the property, so should somebody purchase the property,

[2:16:36] they will see that the property required to be retrofitted.

[2:16:41] Okay, so the fee that you propose in the ordinance is a very minor fee, and if I wanted to get

[2:16:49] out of spending $50,000 to improve my property, I'd just say, well, find me $1,000 and I'll

[2:16:58] I'll move on.

[2:16:59] How do we?

[2:17:01] I think with the recordation is actually putting the property and notice and some sort of like

[2:17:06] a red flag.

[2:17:07] So when owner or potential owner come to buy property, they will see that the property

[2:17:12] needs some richer fit.

[2:17:14] And also, I think it will make impact to their insurance as well.

[2:17:19] Chair, Commissioner, I mean, your Honourable Mayor, Council members of the Charmere's Committee

[2:17:23] is the balance director to kind of go on to elaborate a little bit further.

[2:17:29] So if the code enforcement, they will they will be working closely with our code enforcement

[2:17:34] officers and going out there to do inspections to see if they are doing what they're supposed

[2:17:40] to be doing if they're not, then we would start the process of the administrative citation.

[2:17:44] If we get to the point where the administrative citation isn't working, then we can almost

[2:17:48] record with similar to a lien against the property.

[2:17:52] That way making it difficult for them to sell because that in order to get that lien replaced,

[2:17:57] it's a city who's placed that lien against the property.

[2:17:59] It may not be a financial type lien, but there would be a lien that's placed on there.

[2:18:03] The thing that there's something that needs to be done to this property.

[2:18:06] And so in that particular case, if the property is sold, what would the requirements on the new owner be?

[2:18:13] Would they give the start of the clock again fresh, and they give five years or 20 years to do it?

[2:18:18] or would there be some immediate remediation required

[2:18:23] before the purchase could be completed?

[2:18:25] As it's always staffs intent to try to work

[2:18:28] with our property owners,

[2:18:29] we would try to work with them

[2:18:31] and coming up with a reasonable timeline

[2:18:32] for them to make those repairs that are needed.

[2:18:37] Thank you.

[2:18:38] Councilor, I'll have to try and see, Manager.

[2:18:40] We also have information from major property owners

[2:18:44] as they go to refinance,

[2:18:46] So, under loans, the banks have been requiring them to proactively make these repairs as a protection

[2:18:53] of their investment. So, we've been experiencing that as well.

[2:18:58] And I do have a couple other questions. Thank you for the clarifications.

[2:19:06] In the list of the survey, there was 82 properties that were undetermined.

[2:19:13] What's the situation with those? Do those get away from not having to do anything?

[2:19:18] Councilman, the survey was done via previous permit records and site observation from the

[2:19:23] public right away.

[2:19:24] Should the program approve tonight, the building will be looking into detail, and they are

[2:19:30] not exempt from the ordinance.

[2:19:32] Okay, so there would be included, it just needs further inspection and clarification

[2:19:36] on which category they would fall under.

[2:19:40] That's correct.

[2:19:41] Great, thank you for clarifying that.

[2:19:42] Yeah, on the funding options that you gave, I was really surprised, I'm familiar with

[2:19:51] the PACE program, that's something that I think the city, we've already approved PACE

[2:19:57] programming funding for within the city, is there anything further that we would need

[2:20:02] to do as a city to allow PACE funding to happen?

[2:20:06] So I personally like that program, it's a great way to finance stuff.

[2:20:12] There are pro-10 members of the City Council, Danny Santana, City Managers Office.

[2:20:16] The City Councilman Griffiths is correct.

[2:20:18] The City is part of a number of PACE programs.

[2:20:21] And as long as it's a PACE program that has already been approved by City Council, it would

[2:20:25] be no further action that this urionable body would have to take.

[2:20:29] If it's a different PACE entity that has not already been approved by Council, it's a simple

[2:20:33] process.

[2:20:34] A request has to be submitted, staff reviews it, and then we make a formal recommendation

[2:20:38] to urionable body.

[2:20:40] So, thank you. My brain is still working. Also on the pace, though, I do recall, and I think it was mentioned in the presentation, though, that pace was originally intended for energy and energy conservation type programs. Is there anything that we would need to do to extend that to seismic retrofit?

[2:21:04] We would have to review the agreements to see if it was specific only to energy retrofit programs.

[2:21:10] I don't recall that being the case, but if it were and there were requests to take advantage

[2:21:15] of a face refinancing option, we would simply bring that unamended request to council.

[2:21:22] Yeah, personally, if I was a property owner with a property that needed to do the seismic

[2:21:26] retrofit, the whole fact of financing the work under a pace program for 20 years, which

[2:21:34] would be on your property tax, and would carry forward to any future owners, relieving you

[2:21:38] of the responsibility is, I think, a tremendous program and probably highly underutilized,

[2:21:45] but I certainly want to promote that as an option, assuming that it does work well.

[2:21:53] I like the fact that you prioritized the different buildings based on, I think typically the size of the building and also I think that kind of also goes along with the potential occupancy of the building because obviously the buildings that have the most impact on the number of people are really where we were concerned I think it's part of the reason why we've exempted single family homes from this because the impact to just a couple of people is a not

[2:22:20] likely in a single family home and be it affects far less people than in a multi-family

[2:22:26] type of project.

[2:22:31] Are most of these timelines that we're providing modeled after the

[2:22:35] LA ordinance?

[2:22:38] Yes, that's great. And I know I think I read that the LA

[2:22:41] ordinance has been in place since 2015. Yes, around that time. Do we have any sense of

[2:22:47] how their ordinances has what success they've been having?

[2:22:54] They were having good

[2:22:56] success until COVID hit Council member and when COVID hit they took a they took a

[2:23:02] pause and now they're barely getting back into it. It's hard to tell and also to

[2:23:08] clarify the timelines are modeled after not only City of Los Angeles but also City

[2:23:14] of West Hollywood. City of Los Angeles does not have a steel moment frame ordinance yet.

[2:23:20] The City of West Hollywood does. So it's a combination of looking at all the

[2:23:24] ordinances that have been applied in Southern California and Northern California and making

[2:23:29] the best judgment for the city's needs in order to come up with the proposed timelines.

[2:23:35] Great. Thank you. And then my last question and I'm really just really happy to see this

[2:23:40] whole thing coming forward and I'm anxious to see it move actually happen is obviously the

[2:23:48] work that's being required is specialized work that I think your general contractor would

[2:23:53] not be able to do, or would you need a special contractor to do this type of work?

[2:23:58] First of all, do you need to hire an engineer or register design professional to evaluate

[2:24:04] the building and to determine the type of deficiency that needs to be retrofitted?

[2:24:09] From there, they need to submit for permit application, plan check, once it's approved, then

[2:24:16] the contractor could pull the permit for construction and retrofit.

[2:24:18] Rich of it would we be providing as a city any lists of

[2:24:23] firms for that

[2:24:27] No, in in general the city try to stay away from recommending

[2:24:31] Outside consultant just because of liability issue and other criteria

[2:24:38] I knew you're gonna say that but I just had to ask

[2:24:42] however

[2:24:44] Councilman

[2:24:45] they're the the our

[2:24:48] For Southern California Engineering Association, this provides a service where there is a list

[2:24:55] of engineers that an owner can go and look them up.

[2:25:00] And then there's also another website where owners can go and check their licenses just

[2:25:04] to make sure that their licenses are active, similar to how they would do for a contractor.

[2:25:10] Great.

[2:25:11] I think this is fantastic.

[2:25:13] I can't wait to vote yes, but I'm waiting to hear what the rest of my colleagues and the

[2:25:16] public have to say.

[2:25:17] Thank you.

[2:25:19] Thank you, Council Member, for this.

[2:25:21] Council Member, thank you, Mayor.

[2:25:25] Thank you, sir, for the great presentation.

[2:25:27] I think that's a great service to our community

[2:25:29] to have them understand the nature of this piece, I guess.

[2:25:36] A couple of questions.

[2:25:37] I believe that we spent about $150,000 grant money

[2:25:41] that we received for the consulting services to give us these evaluations.

[2:25:45] My question is, why can't we get grant or the residents to get some of these initiatives

[2:25:55] done, or is there anything in the pipeline to request grant from federal or state to

[2:26:02] help the residents or community?

[2:26:04] Councilman Grant, it is an option, however several of the jurisdictions have applied for it.

[2:26:10] The only city that I remember in top of my head that did get some fun in the city of West Hollywood for the amount of $10 million and other cities such as City of Beverly Hill, they did not get the grant.

[2:26:26] So we are.

[2:26:27] Sorry.

[2:26:28] I apologize.

[2:26:29] Mayor Pro Tem.

[2:26:29] Councilman.

[2:26:31] There's always a possibility for the City of Torrance to consider this in future, legislative advocacy initiatives.

[2:26:38] It can be listed as a priority project option, and it can be part of the Council's future advocacy requests.

[2:26:44] So in addition to grants, there are also federal appropriations.

[2:26:48] And maybe something through StateCallow, yes, the Office of Emergency Services that could be pursued.

[2:26:53] So do we need to revisit to remind or how would that come back to us?

[2:26:59] The first step Councilman would be for the Council to actually adopt the ordinance.

[2:27:04] Once an ordinance is in place and further public education initiatives are underway, the

[2:27:11] city could leverage that public engagement toward advocacy of either a federal appropriation

[2:27:18] or a grant request.

[2:27:19] So, staff's recommendation would be, should it be your determination to implement this ordinance, engage the public, give them an opportunity and start building our ground game to solicit funds.

[2:27:33] Thank you, Mr. Tantana. Thank you for the water, too.

[2:27:35] So, a couple of other clarifying questions, number one is what I heard that we will send

[2:27:49] notification to the residents when we are, when we're going to pass this ordinance

[2:27:54] so they know that their house or their building structure is impacted because of this ordinance.

[2:28:02] That's correct, should the ordinance approve, we will be sent letters to the impacted property.

[2:28:08] Prior to today's meeting, postcard will mail to impacted property owner to inform about their properties.

[2:28:15] Email notification will send out, we're going to council meeting and public outreach, city, web page, social media, city cable.

[2:28:24] So we also reach out to the Structural Engineer Association of California for additional feedbacks.

[2:28:31] So there have been several and many appetizements.

[2:28:39] And when we will send them the notifications, will we tell them what's the issue and

[2:28:44] how can they fix it or what's the extent of our requirements?

[2:28:49] So, the type of letter that I envision is that there will be a letter saying your building

[2:28:57] is followed within the categories to be retrofitted and you should be hired a registered design

[2:29:04] professional to take a look at it in detail and to provide us with a screening report to

[2:29:10] see what kind of deficiency that's found within the existing buildings.

[2:29:15] So just our role is just to identify and then have them to fix accordingly with that.

[2:29:21] That's correct because the survey that was conducted was based on public records and also observation from the right

[2:29:29] away. So it's very difficult to tell in detail what's going on, especially on building that's being concealed.

[2:29:40] So the follow-up question is, so what kind of funding we're going to need in our budget if

[2:29:46] are there's just a notifying them? Right? Councilman, this is just a notification. The funding

[2:29:54] for staff discovered by the permit filing fees as the work is done.

[2:30:11] So it's not really any expense on the city. We're just going to advocate to get funding to help the community member. Thank you. Councilman, so the letter would be sent out right away. Staff will be evaluating the type of resource that we have. And we will structure how we, we're going to be able to do that.

[2:30:29] We're going to send out the notice, but not right away.

[2:30:35] Thank you so much.

[2:30:36] Thank you for your help.

[2:30:37] Thank you, Councilmember, Councilmember Kaji.

[2:30:41] Thank you, Your Honor.

[2:30:42] Thank you for the presentation.

[2:30:44] And just a few questions.

[2:30:47] You point out the three different categories of buildings

[2:30:51] that were part of the survey.

[2:30:55] I think under the first category, you pointed out 983 potential

[2:31:00] buildings within the scope, the second category, the wood over concrete, 245 potential buildings,

[2:31:09] and the last category for the tilt-ups, 500 potential buildings. Do we have any idea how many

[2:31:18] either residents or business occupants this might impact, or I should say protect?

[2:31:30] It's really, really hard to tell because the number of buildings are obviously different sizes, different heights, different levels.

[2:31:38] So it's really difficult to tell when we do not have that information.

[2:31:43] At this point, we do have the number of units.

[2:31:46] I can see if I can look back through our report and let you know the number of units, at least on the soft story.

[2:31:52] But in terms of the commercial or the tilt-top, we do not have that information.

[2:31:57] Okay, but I think it's safe to say it'd be a significant number of both residents and also business occupants who would be affected or protected it if we go forward with this.

[2:32:08] Absolutely, absolutely.

[2:32:10] Okay, I mean, you would be targeting over close to 2,000 buildings and with multiple residents or users and every building.

[2:32:25] And so, yes, significantly, for sure.

[2:32:27] Okay, thank you.

[2:32:29] Also, as part of the survey, were any city buildings

[2:32:33] or Torrance Unified School district buildings included?

[2:32:37] The Torrance School Unified School district

[2:32:40] is not included in this ordinance,

[2:32:43] because we do not have jurisdiction in public school.

[2:32:47] In addition, there are some buildings

[2:32:51] that city-owned is following in the ordinance.

[2:32:53] So should the on and pass some of the city building will be part of the list

[2:32:59] So if we got hit with a 9.0 earthquake in 10 seconds. I'm just looking at this building

[2:33:08] Yeah ducking car. Okay

[2:33:12] Well, I did just want to see you know if the survey you know expanded beyond just these three categories included

[2:33:18] Those that would which would be honest yeah, yeah, so should the one that passed the the city has to follow the same rule as

[2:33:26] Just a regular property owners

[2:33:29] All right, thank you very much

[2:33:32] Thank you councilmember Kaji. I just want to thank Michelle Ramirez and the community development staff and you serve for all the work you put into this

[2:33:41] I just support it as well

[2:33:43] It's goal to reduce the loss of life and injured injury and property loss and

[2:33:48] And once in place, I would like us to look for as much support as we can through grants

[2:33:54] and things to support the correction of these properties.

[2:34:00] Thank you.

[2:34:04] Anybody else on council?

[2:34:06] We'll go ahead and request or offer public comment.

[2:34:17] Yes, sir.

[2:34:18] You're welcome.

[2:34:19] This is Andy Porcha, again.

[2:34:22] Sorry to take up your time, but this is very important.

[2:34:25] and believe it or not, I'm for this issue because public safety is very important. The

[2:34:32] school does not have to do it because you know those are kids in those buildings and

[2:34:36] screw the kids, you know, who cares? So if the school does not need to, you know, we still

[2:34:42] we still need to do this and that's a lot of money for the city, you know, just imagine all

[2:34:47] those permit fees and everything. But you guys stopping a little bit too short. I would put

[2:34:54] put in fire extinguishers, mandatory, like Redondo Beach, even the residential.

[2:35:01] I would put in electric charging stations.

[2:35:05] I would put in 24-hour garages where electric cars are charged, you know, because they

[2:35:14] go set themself on fire.

[2:35:17] And you know, oh, and the metal studs.

[2:35:25] Thank you, sir.

[2:35:26] anyone

[2:35:32] else? Okay, we'll bring it back up to the Council. How would you like to take

[2:35:37] action and then we'll ask for a number in title, please.

[2:35:43] I move to adopt an ordinance adopting a mandatory seismic retrofit

[2:35:47] program and approve an ordinance summary for publication.

[2:35:51] With

[2:35:53] an ordinance number, I'll second that.

[2:35:57] Your Honor, this is ordinance number 3916 in ordinance of the City Council of the City of

[2:36:01] Torrents, California, adding Chapter 15 entitled mandatory seismic retrofit and

[2:36:07] existing buildings to division eight of the Torrents Municipal Code entitled Building and Safety.

[2:36:19] Start voting please.

[2:36:27] Council member Mitsuki.

[2:36:30] Oh, he refused. Sorry, what do you get for not 20 in a row?

[2:36:35] You're on that motion carried with Council member Mitsuki, refused and Mayor Ten absent.

[2:36:41] Thank you. We're going to take a break. We'll be back at 920.

[2:53:14] Thank you, and welcome back to the city council meeting. We're now moving on to item 9G. 9G is to accept and file an update from the economic development department. Thank you very much. Good evening, honorable mayor, pro-tem and city council members. I'm Fran Fulton, economic development manager for the city of Torrance. Item 9G is an update from the office of economic development and more detailed information on this presentation.

[2:53:44] will also be posted on the economic development website at torrentca.gov slash business.

[2:53:52] Next slide, please.

[2:53:56] In September, the commercial rehabilitation rebate program was launched

[2:54:00] to assist commercial property owners with exterior property improvements. To date,

[2:54:05] we have received seven applications, one small project on Hawthorne Boulevard,

[2:54:10] to replace the window and door for $1,000 has been approved,

[2:54:13] and another larger project for $20,000 for a facade remodel for

[2:54:18] a dental office in downtown has also been approved.

[2:54:22] Staff will be taking before and after photos to show off the program

[2:54:26] and entice more applicants.

[2:54:28] As a reminder, this new program can assist with property beautification projects

[2:54:33] such as facade refreshes, awning replacements, window and door upgrades,

[2:54:38] lighting, signage, parking lot, ceiling and striping, landscaping, and other

[2:54:44] exterior improvements. Interested commercial property owners can contact the

[2:54:48] Community Development Department or the Office of Economic Development for more

[2:54:53] information. Since last update, the Torrance Tech Committee met at IntelliSense, a

[2:54:59] defense electronics and environmental monitoring development company. The focus

[2:55:04] of this meeting was on real estate, both the attractiveness and availability of industrial

[2:55:09] commercial space and torrents and the continued need for residential to attract and retain employees.

[2:55:16] The Tech Committee is serving in an advisory capacity to the Office of Economic Development

[2:55:21] and the City to assist with innovative business attraction and retention.

[2:55:27] As an offshoot from the Tech Committee, the Economic Development team is looking at additional

[2:55:31] ways to focus on business attraction and retention. Some new initiatives being developed

[2:55:36] this year are a business recruiter concept to focus more in an outside sales capacity,

[2:55:44] possibly on a commission basis to more aggressively seek out new businesses to come to Torrance.

[2:55:50] There will be more on this as it is developed. Another two pronged approach to help retain

[2:55:55] businesses and support their growth here in Torrance is a pitch Torrance program

[2:56:01] whereby Torrance-based businesses have the opportunity to pitch their product

[2:56:06] or service to the city to meet a need or overcome a challenge the city might

[2:56:10] be facing. Along with that efforts are being re-initiated to inform more

[2:56:16] Torrance businesses about available opportunities and how to do business with

[2:56:21] the city. Purchasing marketing material is being updated and events are being planned

[2:56:27] for later in the year to meet this purpose. Access to broadband continues to be a concern

[2:56:33] to some businesses and commercial properties, so the city is pursuing additional funding

[2:56:38] opportunities and partnerships to further efforts to provide more options, better service,

[2:56:44] and more competitive options for the business community. Next slide please.

[2:56:48] Another

[2:56:52] new economic development project to aid in business attraction is the addition

[2:56:56] of site selection fillable forms and a hot properties map on the city economic development

[2:57:02] website.

[2:57:04] One form is for businesses that are interested in locating to torrents to indicate a few

[2:57:10] details of what type of property they are seeking.

[2:57:13] The other form is for real estate brokers or commercial or industrial property owners

[2:57:17] to provide information to the Office of Economic Development

[2:57:21] that can then be featured on the hot properties map so that we can show

[2:57:27] what's available in Torrance and will help us populate our map.

[2:57:30] So this screenshot here shows what that map looks like,

[2:57:34] which is currently up on the Economic Development website.

[2:57:38] Next slide, please.

[2:57:40] The number of visitors to Torrance hotels continues to rise

[2:57:43] and the rates continue to increase.

[2:57:46] Visitors to the California Welcome Center at the mall are averaging about 6,000 people a month,

[2:57:53] autosales have been averaging about 1,100 a month, and film permit revenues exceeded $32,000 for last year.

[2:58:02] Next slide, please.

[2:58:07] The key recommendation from the downtown revitalization plan that the Office of Economic Development has been spearheading,

[2:58:14] has been the establishment of a business improvement district.

[2:58:17] After the approval by the larger Downtown Torrance Association and the City Council to proceed

[2:58:23] with exploring the formation of a bid business improvement district, a steering committee

[2:58:28] has been formed made up of downtown businesses and staff from the city.

[2:58:33] Staff have also interviewed three consultants so far to aid in the formation process and

[2:58:38] believe that we have found one that will be the most beneficial for the group.

[2:58:42] This consultant will be meeting with the steering committee at their next meeting, which

[2:58:46] scheduled on the 27th of this month. And also I'd like to comment on the discussion that

[2:58:51] happened earlier about outdoor dining and the downtown revitalization plan. It is our hope,

[2:58:57] and I believe the businesses that are in downtown, it's their hope as well that by forming a business

[2:59:02] improvement district, that will really help us to look at parking, to look at the tenant mix,

[2:59:09] potentially attracting more restaurants and that type of thing. So we see that all is a positive

[2:59:14] of the city and the business community working together

[2:59:17] to further that downtown revitalization plan.

[2:59:22] Wayfinding and signage, thanks to the Public Works Department,

[2:59:25] the new city signs are starting to be seen around town,

[2:59:29] signs at the Civic Center, and on Hawthorne Boulevard are installed,

[2:59:33] and Gateway signs will be next,

[2:59:35] and they are dramatically different

[2:59:36] from what we have currently.

[2:59:39] And city staff are also working on replacing

[2:59:41] some of the existing signage in the downtown area

[2:59:44] and are starting to examine what will be required

[2:59:47] for new gateway signs specifically for entries

[2:59:50] into the downtown.

[2:59:53] Regarding the Friendship City Program

[2:59:54] with the approval by City Council of this program,

[2:59:57] Mayor Chen has signed as...

[3:00:00] As of yesterday, an agreement with Tainan Taiwan, and he will be meeting in Shanghua Taiwan

[3:00:07] while he is on his personal trip there, to sign the agreement without city as well. And

[3:00:13] then at some point, we will be signing with Hwasong South Korea also to formally establish

[3:00:20] these friendship-city relationships that will focus on business investment and economic development.

[3:00:26] The Interdepartmental Initiative, why Torrance, continues to be developed to better market

[3:00:32] the advantages of doing business in the city of Torrance.

[3:00:35] A storyboard has been created to better engage viewers with interactive information and

[3:00:41] to tell the Torrance story more effectively with embedded video testimonials, updated demographics

[3:00:47] and streamlined information.

[3:00:49] This storyboard, if you will, is continually being updated and we encourage everyone to

[3:00:56] visit that regularly.

[3:00:57] And you can go to www.torrentca.gov slash YTorrents to find that.

[3:01:05] And please do check it out and let us know what you think.

[3:01:08] Next slide please.

[3:01:10] Just to wrap it up, more information, details and links to reports and companies mentioned

[3:01:16] and highlighted here, can be found on the Economic Development website.

[3:01:20] An earlier update reports to Council are also archived there, so you can continue to

[3:01:26] access those and view those as well.

[3:01:29] With that, I thank you very much, and I stand by for any questions you may have.

[3:01:34] Thank you, Ms. Fulton, and thank you to you and your team for everything you're doing.

[3:01:39] We have some comments and questions from the Council Member Matucci.

[3:01:44] Thank you.

[3:01:45] Thank you, Fran. Great information. I'm glad that we're moving forward with some of the items, especially the pitch torrents. I think it's a brilliant way to get entrepreneurs to pitch something that we may not even know we need.

[3:02:02] I know Long Beach has, I don't know what they call it, but they have a pitch Long Beach.

[3:02:13] okay okay so very creative here in torrents yeah something how about torrents

[3:02:20] pitch as a pitch what I'd like to see us do is not limit ourselves to torrents

[3:02:31] based businesses and the reason I say that is because there might be a company that

[3:02:37] has a service that's not available here in torrents and who knows they might

[3:02:43] even moved to Torrance if they get a contract here in Torrance so I think keeping our you know always you

[3:02:49] don't always consider Torrance based businesses first I agree with that but I think keeping those

[3:02:54] horizons a little bit open I think it's better. I do I do however have a concern about in that program

[3:03:02] just getting inundated with just be wanting to sell everything paper, toner you know soda machines

[3:03:10] So I think we should have a system like America's Got Talent, where we pre-screen people

[3:03:21] have some staff pre-screened the companies and then go to a stage two.

[3:03:28] So why don't you send us what you do first, we'll analyze it, and then we'll see if we

[3:03:34] get an appointment because like I said you know there might I mean we might get you know

[3:03:40] 50 companies in one day that want to come over it and what you know I think staff is pretty

[3:03:47] busy with a lot of different stuff but need this to say we do want to give everybody an opportunity

[3:03:51] to be heard just kind of organize it and I guess in a way so that not not everybody just can just come

[3:03:58] and sell us toner.

[3:04:00] Watch out more.

[3:04:02] Well, I mean, when I have my office, I had like, every day somebody's telling me to copy

[3:04:07] your paper.

[3:04:07] It's like, I don't need any more copy of paper, you know?

[3:04:10] But anyways, then as far as the, having a webpage where there's available space, I know like

[3:04:20] through the matrix, which is our MLS system here for realtors, they have kind of like a

[3:04:27] live like a live update live feed so it doesn't have to be managed you know I think we want it

[3:04:32] minimized the amount of people that have to put their hands on it so matrix has that city

[3:04:37] feed for commercials really good which is owned by loopnet and co-star which is obviously I would say

[3:04:45] it's more of a monopoly when it comes to that but they do also have live live updates so if you want

[3:04:52] to set up a page, you can have those that data update automatically. So if a place gets

[3:04:59] leased out, it automatically disappears off the page. Oh, that's great. You know, so I think

[3:05:04] I think that would be wise to do so that we don't have to sit there and try to get people to

[3:05:08] sign up, try to get people to take it off once it's not available anymore. Because out of sight,

[3:05:14] out of mind, I might put that there's a hundred thousand square foot place that was least six months

[3:05:19] I forgot to take it off the site, so we want that information to be accurate and have people actually use it.

[3:05:26] I think it should be live, live update.

[3:05:29] And I think that's it.

[3:05:32] Good job.

[3:05:33] Thank you.

[3:05:34] Thank you, sir.

[3:05:36] Council member Griffiths.

[3:05:38] Thank you, Mayor.

[3:05:39] Thank you, Ms. Bolton.

[3:05:42] As always, I've got a few questions for you.

[3:05:44] On the commercial rehab rebate program, a little disappointed to see that we haven't had a whole lot of activity on that considering we got almost a quarter million dollars to have businesses do some improvement.

[3:05:56] How are we promoting that to the businesses?

[3:05:59] We currently have it on the website.

[3:06:02] We've been letting businesses know as we're in contact with them.

[3:06:06] I think also if we have code issues we're letting businesses know that this is an opportunity

[3:06:12] for them where we can incentivize them to bring their properties up to speed. But I agree,

[3:06:18] I think we can do more, we can work with CityCable and our communication officers as well.

[3:06:25] The idea I think of doing before and after photo shoot, we may proactively promote that out across

[3:06:34] So others can see what's being done, but yeah, I think we could more actively promote.

[3:06:39] And I think we might have missed opportunity too with maybe putting an insert in business license mailings or something like that.

[3:06:45] Councilman Otto, I'm trying to imagine, we also have the email listing of businesses through our business license.

[3:06:52] I mean, I wouldn't direct out, please.

[3:06:54] I wouldn't advocate for spending more money just to do it, but if we're sending or communicating with people.

[3:06:59] We agree.

[3:06:59] And if you have emails as a customer.

[3:07:01] I believe we have included information in this last mailing.

[3:07:04] We did.

[3:07:04] We did include it.

[3:07:05] Okay.

[3:07:06] We did.

[3:07:07] All right.

[3:07:07] Well, a little surprise is not more interest in that.

[3:07:10] It seems like we're going to give away some money.

[3:07:13] I would think people would jump at that.

[3:07:15] We're going to jump at it.

[3:07:17] The other one that's biggie for me is the downtown revitalization business improvement

[3:07:22] district.

[3:07:24] It feels like we've been talking about this forever.

[3:07:26] And to see in your report that it's likely going to be another year before we get something

[3:07:32] approved is just,

[3:07:36] I don't know, how can we improve on how this is moving?

[3:07:39] The snail is moving too slowly.

[3:07:42] Yeah, I think when we get the consultant on board to advise this and going through the steps

[3:07:47] it will start happening.

[3:07:49] And I think the group is leaning more towards business-based, which should be a quicker

[3:07:54] process than property-based.

[3:07:56] So I think our hope is and with the group the steering committee is that's meeting that will have everything in place by the end of this calendar year to be able to go through the legal process to have an established first quarter of next calendar year.

[3:08:13] And that was what I wanted to ask you to elaborate on is what is the council's involvement in informing that business improvement district?

[3:08:19] It's similar to the process we went through when Discover Torrance, the tourism business

[3:08:24] improvement district was established, where there are a series of three meetings.

[3:08:30] So the group, the business group comes forward with a resolution of intention to the City Council,

[3:08:37] and then there are a certain number of days and a public meeting is set, and a public hearing,

[3:08:43] so that anybody in the community can speak on it.

[3:08:46] And once that's approved, then the follow-up is the resolution of formation.

[3:08:52] So it's a series of three council meetings over, I think, about a two or three months

[3:08:57] period.

[3:09:00] Hopefully I get to see that before I'm gone.

[3:09:05] The business recruiter, tell me a little bit more about that.

[3:09:11] Is that something that's actively in the works, or is still in a very formative, idea stage?

[3:09:16] The concept went for the budget was approved to allocate a certain amount of money for that.

[3:09:24] So, the Office of Economic Development will be putting out requests for proposals on that,

[3:09:31] imminently probably in the next month or so, so we can see what kind of feedback we get on that.

[3:09:36] I know I think I talked to the City Manager about that some time ago.

[3:09:39] I thought that would be a great idea to help increase our business activity, because I'm sure

[3:09:46] there's some really hungry people out there that would potentially work on a commission

[3:09:50] basis to try to bring in some businesses and they'd work really hard and be 100% focused

[3:09:55] on doing that, which I know you're spread very, very thin.

[3:09:59] Yeah, that would be great.

[3:10:01] I think that was it.

[3:10:02] I thank you very much.

[3:10:03] It's a lot of stuff you're up to.

[3:10:06] Thank you.

[3:10:06] Yep.

[3:10:07] Thank you, sir.

[3:10:08] Council Member Kaji.

[3:10:11] Thank you.

[3:10:12] Thank you for the presentation on what our city is doing in the area of economic development.

[3:10:20] I just wanted to focus on the business recruiter portion of the presentation.

[3:10:26] There's a lot of people who live in Torrance but who work in different parts of LA County.

[3:10:32] I think just looking at the traffic at the 405, we know they're either driving on the 405 North,

[3:10:39] North, maybe Southbound, Harbor, Fruityway going into downtown.

[3:10:43] But I know that there's a lot of talent here in the city and every day when I look at

[3:10:50] articles about the city of Los Angeles, city of Santa Monica and some of the surrounding

[3:10:56] cities, the stories that portray those cities as really being anti-business, being overrun

[3:11:06] by homeless people, graffiti, crime, I think really sets our city apart because what we've

[3:11:15] created and what we've maintained is stellar and it really doesn't need to be, well it

[3:11:22] does need to be sole and I really think that we need to go beyond the confines of our city

[3:11:29] borders and we need to expand our reach to a lot of these cities where you have major

[3:11:35] or employers or even small and medium-sized employers who have to deal with so many obstacles

[3:11:42] just to get their employees in and out of the office in a safe way.

[3:11:47] So here's what I'd like to suggest, not that I need another job, not that I'm pitching

[3:11:54] myself as a business recruiter, however I do think we need to send teams out to these

[3:12:01] other cities.

[3:12:01] I know speaking with Estela Lopez, who is the director of the downtown industrial business

[3:12:08] improvement district, her office is located in the heart of Skid Row.

[3:12:12] She's surrounded by her business members who are in the seafood business, garment business,

[3:12:19] toy business, and who are just fed up with the bureaucracy at City Hall, Los Angeles City

[3:12:26] Hall.

[3:12:26] So, I think it's worth our while, and I'd also like to, you know, put the challenge out to the council members too, that we go out on the road.

[3:12:35] I think council members shaking myself early on, we were calling on other cities and talking to mayors and council people.

[3:12:43] I think we can do the same too, and put our message out there with those who are in leadership in some of these cities, not that they want to see us take their business away.

[3:12:53] but I think what we can offer is a quality location, safe, secure, and to me that's I think that's just right down the middle for us, so yeah, so I'd like to I appreciate this, but I think this year I'd like to see us all step up our game. Thank you.

[3:13:13] Thank you.

[3:13:14] Yeah, I agree.

[3:13:15] The council mayor and council could be great ambassadors for the city of Torrance.

[3:13:23] Thank you, sir.

[3:13:24] Council member.

[3:13:25] Thank you, Mayor.

[3:13:28] Thank you, Ms. Wilson.

[3:13:29] I think we meet periodically and thank you for all your efforts.

[3:13:32] I appreciate your giving us a lot of information and your efforts and department is really

[3:13:37] proactive.

[3:13:39] I really appreciate that.

[3:13:42] On page two, you provided us some numbers about the individuals visiting the California

[3:13:48] Welcome Center at Delano Fashion Center to collect information about the local area.

[3:13:58] Is this the traffic they're going into?

[3:14:00] That's what we're talking about here, right?

[3:14:02] It's the, they count the staff that works at the Welcome Center, that round desk.

[3:14:07] They count everyone who they interact with who comes to the desk there and I know it seems like from October till December it's going up searching it and now it seems like it's downward trend for this.

[3:14:24] Do we do we have any analysis or any information why it is dipping any I would think for the most part it's holiday shoppers that were there before the holiday season

[3:14:37] and so it's probably dropped a little bit.

[3:14:39] I would imagine we'll see more people when the summer comes.

[3:14:42] We'll have more visitors coming to the area anyway.

[3:14:45] Are they looking for any specific shop

[3:14:50] or specific things that are really attracted?

[3:14:52] Do we get data from each?

[3:14:54] I think it kind of runs the gamut.

[3:14:56] I mean, some people are just looking for directions

[3:14:58] in the malls.

[3:14:59] Some people are looking

[3:15:00] We're looking for what's happening in Torrance, or they may be visiting from somewhere else, so they are not really familiar with the area or they're kind of planning their trip across the state. So they want information from other welcome centers or other attractions that are throughout the state. So it kind of varies, but I can follow up to one more of the specifics of the conversations that they have.

[3:15:21] Appreciate that. I think my thought process is that just to look which area, the traffic they're attracted to,

[3:15:28] we'll spend more time. Probably we can explore more businesses to the similar nature and have them

[3:15:34] to come in, you know, open. Yeah, there are some features I know where they can plan an itinerary,

[3:15:40] either within Torrance or beyond throughout the state. Thank you. About the business of

[3:15:48] a future program for the personnel that we're working on.

[3:15:54] Just to piggyback what Councilman Griffith and other colleagues are saying.

[3:15:59] Are we planning on having one person, or are we going to have it open to anybody who can bring businesses and we give them commission because they're bringing businesses to here?

[3:16:11] What's the?

[3:16:11] So I think we can look at what the response is.

[3:16:14] I know an example from another city is they actually work with a commercial real estate

[3:16:19] company because they're really focused on bringing retail and restaurants to their city.

[3:16:25] That might not be something we want to focus on specifically.

[3:16:28] I think there's a lot of desire for restaurant and retail to want to be in Torrance.

[3:16:32] But if we want to look at the tech businesses or biotech or kind of focus on an industry,

[3:16:38] We would look to see, we want to spell that out in our RFP and what we're looking for to get from that advisor or recruiter.

[3:16:46] I think that's exactly my point. So we look at the niche, what we need, and then we explore that certainly.

[3:16:51] Yeah. One of the things that we're doing kind of as part of the tech committee is I'm in the process of requesting a special customized report from the employment development department from the state that will give us data over a period of years for all of the industry codes.

[3:17:08] So we can see what which industries are growing or dropping within our city and I think that will help us sort of identify what we might want to target.

[3:17:17] Look at trend, yes.

[3:17:18] Thank you so much.

[3:17:19] Thank you.

[3:17:20] You're welcome.

[3:17:20] Thank you, Mayor.

[3:17:24] Thank you.

[3:17:25] Any other comments from the council?

[3:17:28] We will take it to the audience.

[3:17:30] Anybody would like to speak on this item?

[3:17:33] James

[3:17:45] Henry, on your revitalization of Downtown Torns, is the Downtown Torns Association

[3:17:54] or DTA, meeting on March 27, 2023, is that meeting open to the public,

[3:18:05] is it? Are you

[3:18:07] going to announce it?

[3:18:12] I just want to know if you're going to announce it.

[3:18:20] with my presentation here. But yes, the Downtown Torrance Association, the larger group meets monthly, typically on, I believe it's the second Wednesday of the month, and then the steering committee that was formed meets every other Monday at four o'clock in the DTA meets at different places, but it's usually announced if you're on, you can get on the DTA email distribution list.

[3:18:48] It's also posted on social media, I believe on Facebook and Instagram, and then the Steering

[3:18:55] Committee meetings are at 1215 El Prado, which was the police substation slash community

[3:19:02] center.

[3:19:14] Hello, this is Andy Porcha, I'm bringing you the solution.

[3:19:18] You should hire what's his name?

[3:19:23] Wine, tadam, his vein, but he says wine.

[3:19:27] Anyway, he could come in here, bring all the money in here.

[3:19:35] You should open a restaurant room between the two landing gears.

[3:19:41] You know what I mean? Plenty of plays.

[3:19:43] It's all bulldozed down, down, down torrents and build the airplane factories because they

[3:19:52] are bringing in the airplanes and they need place to put it together and put top of them

[3:19:58] the hotels and new restaurants with the retro fitting and it would be millions of people

[3:20:05] coming because wine, tadam is a very good salesperson.

[3:20:10] You should hire him. You should pay him. He would bring you in.

[3:20:17] Thank you, sir. Would anyone else like to speak on this item?

[3:20:26] Okay, we'll bring it back up to the council. How would the council like to?

[3:20:30] There you go.

[3:20:32] I'm that we accept and file 9G.

[3:20:35] Second.

[3:20:40] Third voting, please.

[3:20:43] You're on a debt motion carried with council Mayor Chan at them.

[3:20:46] Thank

[3:20:50] you, moving on to our next item, 9H from the Finance and Governmental Operations Committee, Councilmember Kaji.

[3:21:00] Thank you, Your Honor. Good evening. The Finance and Government Operations Committee

[3:21:04] met on February 28, 2023 to discuss the fiscal year 2022 through 2023 mid-year budget review report.

[3:21:14] The committee was presented with a report on mid-year results, urine forecast, and program modifications from the Fire and General Services Department.

[3:21:24] The Finance and Government Operations Committee approved the Fire Department's program modification with two members in favor and committee member Griffiths abstaining.

[3:21:34] The General Services Program Modification was unanimously approved by all members.

[3:21:40] Finally, the mid-year report and the accompanying budget amendments listed in the recommendation

[3:21:45] for this item, numbers one and number three through number eight, were also unanimously approved

[3:21:51] by all committee members.

[3:21:53] Based on these vote results, all items are recommended for consideration by the City Council.

[3:21:59] I would like to thank staff for their presentation and preparation of the report, as well as committee

[3:22:04] members for their participation and input.

[3:22:06] but committee members and staff are available for questions.

[3:22:09] Thank you.

[3:22:12] Thank you.

[3:22:13] Any comment from the council?

[3:22:21] Okay, we'll take it to the public.

[3:22:22] Anyone from the public wish to speak on this item?

[3:22:35] James Henry, for those elected officials before me,

[3:22:41] who did not attend the Finance and Governmental Operations Meeting,

[3:22:46] held on Tuesday, February 28th at 3 p.m.,

[3:22:51] And these city council chambers, I would like to bring to their attention attachment

[3:22:58] be of this again, the item submitted by me.

[3:23:15] Thank you, sir, would anyone else like to speak?

[3:23:20] Oh, this is porch up again. I'm not very educated person, as you can see.

[3:23:26] I have a speech impediment at everything, but I don't understand one thing.

[3:23:31] If the fire department ambulance service was supposed to save the city, not the fire department,

[3:23:40] so after two years, why are we throwing money at steel?

[3:23:46] They should pay back, they should pay back the 3 million dollar invested already.

[3:23:53] So who's lying, who brings up this data?

[3:23:56] one minute they making the dough better than sling academy you know and the

[3:24:05] other they need 700 thousand dollars so are they making money or losing money

[3:24:12] and it's very easy to make money you pay me and then I have a service for you I

[3:24:19] charge you up to the Vazoo thank

[3:24:25] you sir would anybody else like to speak on

[3:24:27] on this item?

[3:24:31] Okay, we'll bring it back to the Council for Action.

[3:24:40] I apologize, Council Member Griffiths. Go ahead, please.

[3:24:44] No worries, whenever you're ready.

[3:24:46] Yes, thank you. As I did in the Finance Committee, item two on the addition of the six additional

[3:24:53] full-time ambulance operators, I abstained on that item in the Finance Committee and I will

[3:25:00] We'll intend to do so again tonight.

[3:25:02] I'm very concerned that the significant increase in staffing, which actually represents a 60% increase in staffing for ambulance operators from what was originally proposed seems like an awfully big increase.

[3:25:15] And I know that there's been a reported increase in transports, but I'm not sure if that's a temporary situation or a permanent condition.

[3:25:24] And I'm really looking for a more thorough breakdown of the whole EMS program, which I think we're overdue to get.

[3:25:34] And so for that reason, I would like to pull item two out as a separate vote so that I can vote on the other items without

[3:25:40] abstaining on the whole thing.

[3:25:50] Councilmember Lewis?

[3:25:52] Yes, just to piggyback off of Councilmember Griffiths, the Public Safety and Emergency Committee had a very

[3:26:01] be in-depth great presentation of the current EMS program here in Torrance and just based

[3:26:10] on the comments from Council Member Griffiths, maybe we can have that same presentation,

[3:26:16] maybe more in an abbreviated form just to answer any concerns but based off of that presentation

[3:26:24] that was submitted to us in the committee meeting, I'm very comfortable with the six additional

[3:26:29] ambulance operators, so it can free up more of the suppression EMS staff to attend to

[3:26:37] other emergencies and also decrease what's referred to as wall times at hospitals, where

[3:26:43] we don't have to have a full engine staying at the hospital until medical care can take

[3:26:49] over that patient.

[3:26:50] We can have an ambulance operator there doing wall time instead of our suppression units.

[3:26:56] So, based on that, and I understand that, and Chief, do you may please correct me if I'm wrong?

[3:27:03] Wall times in LA are starting to get more and more excessive with the number of transports, particularly from the unhoused community.

[3:27:14] And adding these operators is economically feasible because it frees up more of our suppression team.

[3:27:21] That's correct.

[3:27:22] Correct.

[3:27:23] Councilwoman.

[3:27:24] All right.

[3:27:24] Thank you.

[3:27:30] Thank you.

[3:27:30] Anyone else wish to speak?

[3:27:37] Councilmember Shake.

[3:27:39] Thank you, Mayor.

[3:27:41] If I can get some information, we have eight ambulances.

[3:27:45] Am I correct?

[3:27:46] The city?

[3:27:49] Chief Jimmy.

[3:27:53] Eight ambulances.

[3:27:55] Some are full-time, some are peaked.

[3:27:57] But due to the increase in total call load.

[3:28:01] And which correlates to an increase in EMS calls, correlates to more transports.

[3:28:07] And we have an immediate need to upstaff an additional ambulance.

[3:28:11] That's why we're requesting to buy a pre-owned ambulance.

[3:28:14] It's going to take us two years just to backlog, just to get a new ambulance to keep up with what we're doing today.

[3:28:22] And also to add some resiliency, excuse me, to resiliency in case these things are running all the time.

[3:28:28] from the tender break and go on the shop, so we need a little bit of backup.

[3:28:32] If I may, the Councilman Griffiths point a lot of transparency manager, it's a high turnover position.

[3:28:40] The ambulance operator, most of his individuals aim to become permanent firefighter paramedics.

[3:28:46] And as such, should we experience fluctuation or potentially decrease in the number of transports,

[3:28:53] We can easily adjust the numbers moving forward because I feel confident that based on the turnover will be able to downsize.

[3:29:03] And one other factor that was shared in the committee and will be more than happy to bring back a much more defined ambulance update to the committee and the community is the fact that because of the challenges in the private ambulance transport model.

[3:29:18] No other cities are considering going down the path of what Torrance has done, implementing their own transport.

[3:29:25] And that's pushing the demand on the staffing.

[3:29:28] But this is a highly turnover position that we feel confident we can adjust.

[3:29:32] Thank you.

[3:29:34] Thank you.

[3:29:38] I don't see any other names.

[3:29:40] I'd like to move that we accept items one, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight.

[3:29:48] and we'll leave item two for a second motion.

[3:29:58] Second.

[3:30:04] Start voting, please.

[3:30:07] Your Honor, that motion carried with Mayor Cheneppment.

[3:30:14] Okay, we're looking for a second motion regarding item two.

[3:30:19] I mean, I'm to. I move that we approve item two. Second.

[3:30:38] Start voting, please.

[3:30:42] Your Honor, that motion carries with council member groups abstaining and Mayor Cheneppment.

[3:30:50] Okay, thank you. We're now moving on to item nine, aye, from the city manager. Is there a staff presentation? Yes, Your Honor.

[3:30:57] Good evening, Honorable Mayor, Pro Tem and Members of City Council,

[3:31:01] Viet Wong City Manager's Office on behalf of Jamie Lay.

[3:31:04] Item 9-I is a recommendation to the City Manager that your Honourable Body extend and expand the

[3:31:08] Torrance Police Department lateral and retention incentives in the amount of $1,000,000,000.

[3:31:14] Approval of this item will allow for lateral incentives to be distributed based on the number of police officer vacancies.

[3:31:22] The lock also extend the Patrol double time pilot program to December 21, 2023, and approve

[3:31:29] side letter agreements between the Torrance Police Commanders Association and Management

[3:31:34] and Torrance Police Officers Association and Management in accordance with the programs.

[3:31:39] Subsequent to the Agenda Item Posting Council members, the request that staff provide a month-by-month

[3:31:48] analysis on actual use or projected use, which is supplemental number one that is attached to this item.

[3:31:56] Additionally, Councilman Shakehead requested information about why 2022-23 expenditures versus 23-24-23-24 were actually about 50% greater than 22-23.

[3:32:11] And as the supplemental item will note, it's due because vacations are often in July and August, which significantly increased the double time rate and staff is available for questions.

[3:32:25] Thank you.

[3:32:27] Thank you.

[3:32:28] Do we have any comments or questions from council

[3:32:33] members?

[3:32:35] Thank you, Mayor.

[3:32:36] I just want to thank you for the staff for providing me on the detail.

[3:32:39] I think I asked a lot of questions.

[3:32:43] Thank you to the staff and Jane and all the staff.

[3:32:47] I really dig deep into, just to understand why there's a jump about 50% from last year to this year.

[3:32:54] And thank you for providing me enough information to make my decision on that.

[3:33:01] Thank you.

[3:33:04] Thank you, Councilmember Matucci.

[3:33:06] Thank you. I'm here for time.

[3:33:07] I just want to point out the fact that laterals are very beneficial to the city because we don't have to train, pay during the training and also pay for the training.

[3:33:19] So a lateral basically means that you go from one department into ours and literally jumping, not literally, but jumping up patrol unit, quite, quite faster than having to go through the whole system.

[3:33:34] But I just wanted to point that out.

[3:33:36] Thank you, sir.

[3:33:40] Anyone else from the council?

[3:33:42] We'll take it to the public.

[3:33:44] Is there anyone that would like to speak on this matter?

[3:33:55] James Henry, I'm looking at the funding on this agenda item.

[3:34:01] One million, $50,000 coming from the General Fund.

[3:34:06] Is there any other way to fund this other than the General Fund?

[3:34:13] Anybody answer that question?

[3:34:14] Good evening, Mayor Council, Sheila Poisson, the Finance Director.

[3:34:20] These incentives are being funded by vacancies in the police department, which I think are

[3:34:26] regarding around 38 or so, and they're projected to incur, not incur, they're projected to save about $7 million from vacancies alone.

[3:34:37] This year, this year.

[3:34:43] Thank you, anyone else?

[3:34:51] Hello, this is Andy Portia, again, believe it or not, but I'm for this item because you

[3:34:57] were begging for extra tax money for safety and police protection, and here we go, you

[3:35:03] are spending the money on police and protection because we need it, you know, things are getting

[3:35:10] worse out on the street especially when you're going to be forced to be traveling the past,

[3:35:15] you know, and we need more police officers. We need more police officers and they have to be paid

[3:35:23] well because like Sergeant Steeler traveling every shift to from Corona. That's a long way in

[3:35:32] traffic. Thank God he probably has a car and he doesn't have to take public transportation but I can

[3:35:39] and tell you he goes to the beach to relax,

[3:35:43] because a long commute, you know, a long commute.

[3:35:46] So we have to pay them so they can afford

[3:35:49] to have an apartment or buy a house here

[3:35:51] in the city of Torres.

[3:35:55] Thank you, sir.

[3:35:57] Anyone else?

[3:35:59] Okay, we'll bring it back to the council.

[3:36:02] Is there a motion to concur?

[3:36:05] Oh, have apologize.

[3:36:07] Thank you.

[3:36:07] Yes. Thank you, sir.

[3:36:09] My name is invisible. I'm not.

[3:36:11] No, he clicks in when I'm not watching.

[3:36:18] I just wanted to clarify for the record that we are not using new tax money for this incentive program.

[3:36:26] This is money that is already budgeted for police officers.

[3:36:31] Unfortunately, those police officers aren't here because we have vacancies that we're trying to fill.

[3:36:36] And that's the whole purpose for this incentive program.

[3:36:38] So we can use that already budgeted money for this purpose, and it costs the taxpayers

[3:36:43] nothing additional beyond what's already budgeted.

[3:36:48] Thank you, sir.

[3:36:56] Ms. Luna?

[3:36:57] That is a fantastic observation.

[3:36:59] Council member Griffiths, I am making a motion to approve item 9a to approve the site,

[3:37:06] I'm sorry, 9i, thank you, 9i, to approve the site letter agreements to extend and expand

[3:37:12] the Torrance Police Department lateral and retention incentives.

[3:37:27] Thank you.

[3:37:28] Now we're moving on to item 9J from the City Manager, is there a staff presentation?

[3:37:35] Thank you, Your Honor.

[3:37:35] Good evening, Mayor Pro Tem and members of City Council, Viet Huang, again, City Manager's

[3:37:40] office.

[3:37:40] Item 9J is a recommendation of the City Manager that your honorable body adopt the resolution

[3:37:45] of mending resolutions for a fire safety management and police safety management in the amount of $58,629, which updates the salary grid for battalion chief and the deputy chief and the fire safety management resolution and the city contribution for employee health insurance and police safety management and fire safety management resolutions and staff is available for any questions.

[3:38:11] Thank you.

[3:38:11] of

[3:38:13] any questions or comments from Council?

[3:38:20] I see none, so we'll go to the public for public comment.

[3:38:30] This is poor chap again.

[3:38:32] I like this one because it doesn't say

[3:38:35] from how much to how much we go to, you know,

[3:38:38] because $58,000, it's not that much of a amount,

[3:38:43] but how much is a battalion chief mix?

[3:38:48] 400, 450, so he really needs more money.

[3:38:52] He really needs more money, not the workers.

[3:38:56] We don't have bus services because we cannot afford to pay more than minimum wages.

[3:39:05] But that was the story with that. The ambulance drivers, they don't stay on the job

[3:39:10] because they figure out that they're not going to be firefighters.

[3:39:14] They're just going to work for 20 bucks an hour.

[3:39:18] So, what is the money? Top on this, you know, the $58,000, come on top of what? $400, $450, how much?

[3:39:27] $350, how much?

[3:39:32] Thank you, sir. Is there anyone else that would like to comment on this item?

[3:39:42] We'll bring it back up to the council. I see no other click-ins.

[3:39:46] So would anybody like to take action on this item and may we have a resolution numbers, please?

[3:40:02] I make a motion to accept 9J after reading the title and resolution number.

[3:40:13] Second.

[3:40:14] Your Honor, the first is Resolution No. 23-21, a Resolution of City Council of the City

[3:40:20] of Torrance, California, amending Resolution No. 2019-84, and Resolution No. 22-18 setting

[3:40:29] for changes regarding the hours, wages, and working conditions for fire safety management

[3:40:34] employees effective January 1, 2023. The second is resolution number 2023-22. A resolution

[3:40:43] of the city council of the city of Torrance, California, and many resolution number 2019-82,

[3:40:49] setting forth changes regarding the hours, wages, and working conditions for police safety

[3:40:54] management effective January 1, 2023.

[3:41:02] Start voting please.

[3:41:08] Go on to that motion carried

[3:41:17] Thank you. We're now moving on to item 9K from the City Manager. Is there a staff presentation?

[3:41:24] Thank you, Your Honor. Good evening. One last time, Viet Wong City Manager's Office for Jamie Lay.

[3:41:29] Item 9K is a recommendation of the City Manager that City Council adopts a resolution

[3:41:34] and mending resolution number 2022-144, setting forth wages, hours, and working conditions

[3:41:41] for certain full-time salary and hourly employees in the amount of $115,627, which updates the salary steps for the position of staff assistant and corrects a typo in the employee insurance, which previously came before your honorable body and staff is available for any questions. Thank you.

[3:42:01] Thank you, sir. Any questions or comments from the council?

[3:42:08] I see none, so we'll go to public comment. Would anybody like to speak on this item?

[3:42:20] the porch up again. I like this one because you put in here, you know, you go from $22,

[3:42:27] $23 an hour up to $25 an hour. I understand that. I understand that. A little guy needs money.

[3:42:36] You know what I mean? I like this. I like this. So, and this is understandable. You know what I mean?

[3:42:45] but you know I just afraid so everybody gonna get raises again then we have to

[3:42:52] give RM Sheparian a raise you know another $20,000 you know so I don't know people

[3:43:00] know that but he just got a raise again you know and there is a city going to

[3:43:06] bankruptcy you know what I mean so at least the workers get a little raise here

[3:43:12] and I for that one. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Anyone else like to comment on this item?

[3:43:23] Okay, we'll bring it back to the council. I see no other questions or comments from council.

[3:43:27] City clerk may we have a number of title fees and we'll take motion to conclude.

[3:43:31] Yes, Your Honor. This is resolution number 2023-23. A resolution of the City Council of the City of

[3:43:53] I move to Adopt Resolution 2023-23.

[3:43:58] My second.

[3:44:01] Start voting, please.

[3:44:09] Your Honor, that motion carried with Mayor Chen absent.

[3:44:14] Thank you.

[3:44:16] Now is time.

[3:44:19] Now is the time and time.

[3:44:20] place for a public hearing on agenda item 10a, recommendation of the planning commission

[3:44:26] and the community development director that the city council deny the appeal and adopt

[3:44:32] a sustainable communities environmental assessment and approve a conditional use permit and

[3:44:39] development permit to allow the construction of the 200 unit apartment complex and parking

[3:44:45] structure in conjunction with the modification of a previously approved precise plan of

[3:44:51] development, pp65-38, and a division of lot to merge two

[3:44:58] Partial into one

[3:45:00] On properties located in the H.D.A.1 zone at the northeast corner of Carson Street and Delommal Circle Drive. APNS 7525-023-034 and dash 035. Has this matter been properly advertised? Yes, Your Honor, have. Thank you. And is there a staff presentation? Yes, Your Honor. Good evening, Honorable Mayor.

[3:45:29] Mayor Pro Tem and not members of the City Council. I'm Austin Martinez with the Community Development Department.

[3:45:35] Tonight we have a presentation regarding the above our heads project, the applicant's request

[3:45:40] approval for the construction and operation of a 200-unit residential apartment complex

[3:45:45] with a parking structure and to merge two parcels into one perfect as the Delamal Circle residential

[3:45:50] apartments project. The project is subject to review and approval of the following land use entitlement.

[3:45:55] It can initially use permit his report to allow the residential development, residential

[3:45:59] residential developments above three stories, having more than 100 units, over 27 units to the acre and having a gross floor area over 50,000 square feet, and also to exceed a floor area ratio 1.0.

[3:46:11] The development permit is required because the project proposes new structures within the boundaries of Hawthorne Boulevard of the Hawthorne Boulevard corridor specific plant area.

[3:46:19] The Division of Law is required to allow for lock and

[3:46:22] delegation purposes, and modification of Pp65-38 is required because the proposed

[3:46:27] development differs from the original entitlements intent for more office

[3:46:30] hours. Slight please.

[3:46:38] This presentation will provide a summary of the proposed

[3:46:40] project that includes location and zoning, site plan, elevations, renderings, site

[3:46:46] photos, and will conclude with a recommendation to the City Council. Slight please.

[3:46:53] This slide shows the location and zoning. The subject site highlighted at the

[3:46:56] center in yellow is L-shaped measures 123,473 square feet or 2.84 acres and located at the

[3:47:04] northeast corner of Carson Street and the L-Almost Circle Drive. The site is currently developed

[3:47:08] as a service level parking lot that previously served as a financial center office complex

[3:47:13] directly to the east. The site immediately adjacent to the site is immediately adjacent to

[3:47:18] commercial properties with residential to the west adjacent to residential to the west.

[3:47:22] A JSON commercial uses include major shopping centers, hotels, retail offices, and restaurants.

[3:47:29] The subject site, as well as those properties shown in blue, are part of the delamo

[3:47:34] subjects of the Hawthorne Boulevard corridor specific plan.

[3:47:38] The property is shown in purple to the west and southwest are zone R1.

[3:47:43] Sly please.

[3:47:46] This slide shows the Sly plan.

[3:47:48] The proposed project proposes a five-story apartment complex building.

[3:47:53] The building footprint is all shaped and complies with the 20-foot setback requirement.

[3:47:58] The project proposes 234,928 square feet on a 2.84-acre site for an FAR of up to 1.90.

[3:48:07] The code allows mixed-use developments to exceed that FAR of 1.0 with approval of the conditional

[3:48:13] use permit.

[3:48:14] The project proposes 200 units across 2.84-acre for a total density of 701 units to the HDA

[3:48:22] one's own allows for unlimited and unlimited density for residential purposes and mixed

[3:48:27] used projects. The project includes a six and a half level parking structure with rooftop

[3:48:32] amenity level behind the apartment complex. The structure provides the required 440 parking

[3:48:38] spaces. Vehicular access is provided via existing driveways on the normal circle drive and

[3:48:44] Carson Street. The fire road will be modified to connect the Carson Street driveway.

[3:48:49] slide. This is

[3:48:55] the South elevation facing Carson Street. At the street level, the apartment

[3:48:59] complex appears as approximately 57 feet tall to the parapet and approximately 65 feet

[3:49:05] tall to the stairs tower. The parking structure behind is approximately 75 feet tall. The

[3:49:13] HDA1 height limit is 200 feet. For reference, the office complex is 12-story. The office complex

[3:49:20] 12-story building appears approximately 163 feet tall, and the 5-story building appears

[3:49:26] approximately 64 feet tall, and the incoming senior facility will be approximately 52 feet tall.

[3:49:32] Slide, please.

[3:49:36] This is a West elevation facing the Lama Circle Drive. The development features

[3:49:40] modern contemporary style inspired by the neighboring office complex and features varying

[3:49:46] depth and heights with various compatible exterior materials. Slide, please.

[3:49:53] This is a north elevation of the project, also showing the parking structure,

[3:50:01] slide

[3:50:01] please.

[3:50:05] And this is the east elevation of the project,

[3:50:11] slide please.

[3:50:14] This rendering of the building is from the intersection of Carson Street and the Alamo

[3:50:18] Circle Drive, looking east, north, east, really toward the slide from the street level, looking

[3:50:23] up.

[3:50:25] Slide please.

[3:50:28] This is another vantage point of the rendering, still looking north, east, really up

[3:50:32] from the sky level, looking down.

[3:50:33] Slide

[3:50:37] please.

[3:50:40] This photograph was taken looking north towards the subject site across from Carson Street.

[3:50:48] Slide please.

[3:50:51] This photograph was taken from the subject property looking south. Slide please.

[3:50:58] And this is a street view looking east at the subject site.

[3:51:05] Slide please.

[3:51:07] And this is looking west along Carson Street as well.

[3:51:12] Slide please.

[3:51:13] This photograph was taken looking east toward the subject site from across the

[3:51:19] Alonso Circle Drive.

[3:51:21] Slight please.

[3:51:23] This was from the subject property looking west.

[3:51:30] Slight please.

[3:51:33] And this is looking north from the project site along the Alonso Circle.

[3:51:41] And it's light please.

[3:51:45] And this is looking south along the project site.

[3:51:52] Slight please.

[3:51:53] In closing remarks, the recommendation of planning commission and the community

[3:51:57] of all the director is that the City Council denies the appeal, adopt the Sustainable

[3:52:01] Communities Environmental Assessment, and adopt resolutions approving the project as

[3:52:05] condition. With that said, thank you Honorable Mayor of Proton and members of the City Council

[3:52:10] for your time, and that concludes staff's presentation and is available for questions.

[3:52:15] Thank you so much for your presentation. At this time, is there anybody on the council that has

[3:52:21] any comments or questions for staff?

[3:52:29] I see none. We'll go ahead and go to the public for public comment,

[3:52:32] Hi,

[3:52:38] I'm Laurie Craig. I'm president of the Southwood Homeowners Association and I just wanted to speak about the legacy partner project.

[3:52:47] So legacy partners of representatives have been in contact with the Association Board since about late 2021.

[3:52:56] And in addition to participating in meetings with us board members,

[3:53:01] Legacy has hosted two community meetings that were announced in our newsletter as well as on our social media platforms.

[3:53:10] We have not received any objections to the project from Southwood residents, and we have appreciated the Legacy's outreach efforts throughout the planning process.

[3:53:22] That's it.

[3:53:28] Javier Goudino.

[3:53:33] Good evening councilmembers, my name is Javier Goudino, from the Southwest,

[3:53:38] Mountain State's Regional Council of Carpenters.

[3:53:42] I live and work in the area, ask you guys to consider developers of this project to use

[3:53:48] responsible contractor, the hires, people that live in the area, and they use apprentices

[3:53:54] from a state-approved apprenticeship program.

[3:53:56] I graduated from an apprenticeship program and it has been a thing being tremendously.

[3:54:02] Not only to provide for my family but it also made me a productive citizen of the society.

[3:54:11] So that's why I feel it's imperative for them to get more apprentices from the apprenticeship

[3:54:17] program to contribute to this society and this program has given me a lot of skills and

[3:54:25] And a lot of pride to be able to build buildings, to build America,

[3:54:30] actually work that the Dalamo Fashion Center a few years back.

[3:54:34] So every time I pass by there, it's something that I'm very proud of.

[3:54:38] Thank you for listening to me.

[3:54:40] Ray Lawson.

[3:54:44] Good evening, Torrent City Council members.

[3:54:47] My name is Ray Lawson, and I'm also a member of the Southwest Mountain State Regional Council Carboners.

[3:54:52] We have over 4,000 members that live and work right here in the South Bay and hundreds

[3:55:01] of our members that live in the city of Torrance.

[3:55:04] And our brothers and sisters here that were here earlier, you see a lot of family, a

[3:55:08] lot of children.

[3:55:09] They had to leave because some of them had to go to work and take care of their families.

[3:55:13] But all we desire is that you consider hiring the developer hire as a responsible contractor

[3:55:20] that pays a livable wage, a prevailing wage.

[3:55:25] You know, we hear all the financial turmoil

[3:55:28] that could be happening in the country.

[3:55:30] So yeah, we're concerned livable wage means

[3:55:34] that being able to take care of their families,

[3:55:38] being able to one day own a home,

[3:55:41] being able to like, have you ever just said,

[3:55:44] becoming a apprentice and learning,

[3:55:46] a skill trade, to take advantage of some of the great things that Torrance offers.

[3:55:52] Our brothers and sisters would like to have that opportunity.

[3:55:56] So with that, we would like to just ask that you consider putting that into the plan,

[3:56:04] moving forward, that they use a responsible contractor that pays a livable wage and that

[3:56:12] It has health care and it uses a apprenticeship so young people can one day be able to own

[3:56:19] a home right here in the city of Torrance.

[3:56:22] So we thank you for your time just to consider that for the future.

[3:56:27] Thank you.

[3:56:30] Thank you, sir.

[3:56:31] Your animal mayor, council members, we would request that the appellent actually go first.

[3:56:38] We apologize the script did not, did not lay that out, but if we could call the appellant

[3:56:44] up so that they can then do their case and have their allowable time.

[3:56:50] Okay.

[3:56:51] Thank you.

[3:56:51] And I'd like to just bring it back to the Council just for one moment.

[3:56:55] I would like to disclose that I did speak with the developer on two separate occasions.

[3:57:01] I also went out and walked the side and spoke with community members about this project

[3:57:05] as well.

[3:57:06] However, I will make my decision based upon the items that have been presented.

[3:57:11] Thank you.

[3:57:16] And the appellant would be Safer to say, you know, the name of the appellant is, say, Supporters, Alliance for Environmental Responsibility.

[3:57:28] Okay, thank you.

[3:57:32] Council member Lewis, I'm sorry.

[3:57:34] I just have one quick question for I do a disclosure.

[3:57:37] or can the gentleman who came up to speak about carpentry, you said your name so fast until I got Southwest

[3:57:45] mountain, something, something, could someone repeat that for me?

[3:57:51] Southwest mountain states, regional council of carpenters.

[3:57:56] Okay, that's a lot. Thank you.

[3:57:57] It's a mouthful.

[3:57:58] At least, at least I'm clear.

[3:58:00] Also, I have the same disclosure as council member Kalani, almost the same exact thing.

[3:58:07] I did meet with legacy partners on this project a couple of times I've walked the site several

[3:58:13] times just so I can recollect what it's going to look like in that area and so I just want

[3:58:20] to be reflected on record. Thank you.

[3:58:25] Council member Griffiths.

[3:58:26] Yow to disclose I've met with the developer twice, I've walked the site, I've talked to some

[3:58:33] people in the community on this, but my decisions are based on the information I hear tonight.

[3:58:39] Thank you.

[3:58:40] Thank you.

[3:58:40] Councilmember Matucci.

[3:58:43] Yes.

[3:58:44] Same here.

[3:58:44] Met with the developers, met with some residents, and I have walked the sites a couple times,

[3:58:50] including to pick up some trash, but yeah, I'll make my decisions based on what we have tonight.

[3:58:58] Presentation.

[3:58:58] Thank you.

[3:58:59] Thank you.

[3:59:00] Councilmember Kaji.

[3:59:00] My comments are the same as my fellow members.

[3:59:06] I've met with a developer twice.

[3:59:08] I've toured the site on my own and have talked to some residents.

[3:59:12] My decision will also be based on what I hear tonight.

[3:59:15] Thank you.

[3:59:17] Thank you, sir, and Council Membership.

[3:59:20] Thank you, Mayor.

[3:59:20] I also like to disclose that I did meet with the developer, and I did speak with some of

[3:59:26] the residents.

[3:59:26] I visited the property a couple times, but my decision will be based on the material presented.

[3:59:32] Thank you, and thank you to the public for understanding that the opponent is deserving

[3:59:42] of some time to speak.

[3:59:44] Go ahead, sir, please.

[3:59:46] Good evening, Council.

[3:59:48] Thank you.

[3:59:48] My name is Adam Frankl.

[3:59:50] I'm an attorney with the Environmental Law firm, Loso Jury, LLP.

[3:59:54] I'm here, as was mentioned, on behalf of Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility

[3:59:59] or say

[4:00:00] Safer respectfully requests that the city refrain from approving the Sustainable Community Environmental Assessment or SKEA, because the project fails to follow CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act's requirements for its use, for the use of its streamlined environmental review procedures. CEQA is clear that SKEA is only appropriate where, quote, all feasible mitigation measures, performance standards, or criteria set forth in the prior applicable

[4:00:29] Environmental Impact Reports are applied to the project.

[4:00:34] However, the SKEA before you today fails to adopt all feasible mitigation measures from the applicable EIR,

[4:00:41] in this case, the Southern California Association of Governments 2020 Connect SoCal Program EIR.

[4:00:48] In fact, the SKEA includes only one mitigation measure to reduce air quality impacts,

[4:00:53] But it fails to implement other feasible mitigation measures included in the 2020 program EIR,

[4:01:00] which would further reduce the project's air quality impacts.

[4:01:04] The SKEA justifies this oversight by claiming that the project will have a less than significant

[4:01:08] impact on air quality.

[4:01:10] But even if a project is shown to have a less than significant impact under SKEA, it is still

[4:01:15] required to implement all feasible mitigation measures from the applicable program EIR.

[4:01:21] For instance, the SKEA fails to mandate the use of Tier IV construction equipment.

[4:01:26] Tier IV is an emission standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which

[4:01:31] reduces the effects of harmful diesel particulate matter emissions as much as 90%.

[4:01:38] The 2020 program EIR lists the use of Tier IV final equipment as a feasible mitigation measure,

[4:01:45] meaning that the SKEA must and is required to implement it for this project.

[4:01:49] However, it fails to implement it as a mandated mitigation measure thus providing no assurance that the use of tier 4 equipment will be mandated for project construction.

[4:02:00] Separately, Safer's indoor air quality expert found an excess cancer risk resulting from the use of formaldehyde in indoor building materials throughout the project.

[4:02:09] This analysis assumes compliance with the California Air Resources Board regulations and

[4:02:15] recognizes that the project will be subject to current building code ventilation standards.

[4:02:21] Even with these assumptions, however,

[4:02:23] Safer's expert Mr. Offerman found that off-gassing of formaldehyde from indoor building materials

[4:02:28] will result in an excess cancer risk to future residents above the South Coast Air Quality Management District's health risk significance threshold.

[4:02:37] The city must properly incorporate all feasible mitigation measures from the program EIR and must also further mitigate the significant indoor air quality impact resulting from formaldehyde emissions.

[4:02:50] Otherwise, the city cannot properly use ASCIA for this project and must instead prepare an initial study to determine the appropriate level of environmental review that is required.

[4:03:00] Thank you.

[4:03:05] Thank you. And now would the applicant like to comment please?

[4:03:09] Good

[4:03:14] evening, Mayor Pro Tem, Colony and City Council members, Tim O'Brien with Legacy Partners.

[4:03:21] First, I'd like to thank Oscar Martinez and the planning staff and city staff for their efforts

[4:03:26] through this review process.

[4:03:29] As many of you know, we've been planning this project for over 18 months.

[4:03:36] This planning effort started with meetings with Council, planning staff and the community

[4:03:43] We prior to any submittal formal submittal to the city.

[4:03:48] We continued our outreach to both the Southwood Homeowners Association and the Torrance Business Community throughout our planning review process.

[4:03:57] And we're pleased to be in front of you with the support of the Southwood community planning staff and

[4:04:03] an unanimous approval from your planning commission.

[4:04:06] In light of the time and the late hour, I'd like to turn over the mic to Dale Goldsmith, our attorney who's going to

[4:04:16] re-bet the safer comments, and then if we have time and if you have interest, our architect is here that can do a brief

[4:04:25] presentation of the project to give you a better feel for how we conceive the project. Thank you.

[4:04:34] Thank you, Tim.

[4:04:35] Good evening, Honorable Council members.

[4:04:37] My name is Dale Goldsmith.

[4:04:38] I'm a partner with the law firm of A.G.D., representing the applicant.

[4:04:42] I'd like to respond briefly to some of the points raised by the appellant this evening.

[4:04:47] First, the appellant maintained that the sustainable communities, environmental assessment,

[4:04:51] or SKIA, had to adopt verbatim each and every mitigation measure in the program E.I.R. for

[4:04:58] scags, RTP, SCS.

[4:05:02] That argument has been thoroughly refuted by placeworks who prepared the skia in their

[4:05:07] response to comment memos dated February 1 and of today's date, which responded to

[4:05:12] the late letter from the appellance submitted yesterday.

[4:05:16] Saga, or the Southern California Association of Governors, prepared and certified the program

[4:05:23] I.R., but it does not require implementation of each and every mitigation measure, but rather

[4:05:28] gives the city, as lead agency in this case, the discretion to select those measures that are

[4:05:34] feasible and appropriate for each individual project. Chapter 4 of the Skiah discusses the

[4:05:40] Skiag mitigation measures that apply to the project, the applicable regulations that supersede

[4:05:46] these mitigation measures and then rendering them not applicable, and we're appropriate where there's

[4:05:52] potential project impact, the specific mitigation measures that would apply to reduce that impact.

[4:05:58] Will the SKIA's mitigation measures may not be carbon copies of those mitigation measures

[4:06:03] in the SCAGIR, the SKIA incorporates elements of these measures where feasible and appropriate,

[4:06:09] and the SKIA also includes project specific measures as necessary to reduce all potential

[4:06:15] impacts of the project to less than significant.

[4:06:18] Under Secret Guidelines Section 15126.4A3, mitigation measures can only be required where a project has a significant impact.

[4:06:30] There needs to be a nexus. Seek was very clear on that.

[4:06:33] The appellant would turn Seek on its head and say you have to have every single mitigation measure whether necessary or not.

[4:06:39] That just isn't the law and it's never been the law.

[4:06:42] The scheme does not require mitigation measures from the program that are either not needed

[4:06:47] to avoid a significant impact.

[4:06:49] The appellant specifically mentioned the use of Tier IV equipment during construction,

[4:06:54] legacy has always planned to use Tier IV equipment because it's the right thing to do,

[4:06:58] not because it's necessary to mitigate an impact.

[4:07:01] And the, as I said forth in the supplemental staff report issued today,

[4:07:05] we were volunteering a condition, an additional condition we're approval to reflect

[4:07:10] the use of that equipment, and we would respectfully request that if you, that when you deny

[4:07:15] the appeal, which we hope you will, that you add that additional condition to approval

[4:07:18] to ensure that it will be enforceable, and it will confirm legacy's commitment.

[4:07:25] The appellant also argues that the project will result in its significant health risk to future

[4:07:30] tenants due to formaldehyde and building materials.

[4:07:34] This claim, like the other claims, has been thoroughly refuted by qualified experts

[4:07:38] from place works, who paired this year, and their response to comment documents dated February 1, February 16, and March 14.

[4:07:48] The appeal relies on general articles assessing formaldehyde in single-family homes built to comply with the 2008 version of the California Title 24 standards.

[4:07:59] These findings are simply not applicable to the project, which does not include any single-family homes, and will be built to the most current Title 24 standards, which are much more stringent.

[4:08:08] For example, the 2019 version of the Title 24 standards include new ventilation requirements

[4:08:14] that improve air quality and protect residents from air pollution,

[4:08:18] originating from both outdoor and indoor sources.

[4:08:22] The appeal is also based on flawed assumptions, including an incorrect and inaccurate exposure frequency,

[4:08:28] which is a technical variable that's necessary to calculate true impacts.

[4:08:33] And also breathing rates, the faster you breathe, the more you breathe,

[4:08:36] the more likely you would get, you would bring in pollutants, they just got it wrong.

[4:08:42] The analysis also unrealistically assumes that future tenants will live,

[4:08:47] will be actually not only live, but will be in their units for 70 years, 24 hours a day.

[4:08:53] That's simply not realistic.

[4:08:54] And it also overstates formaldehyde concentrations in units.

[4:09:00] And therefore, the assessment of the health risks in the appeal are wild and

[4:09:05] inaccurate and are not credible evidence of a significant impact.

[4:09:08] In addition, as set forth in the response to comments, there are stringent

[4:09:13] carb regulations and state regulations that limit the amount of formaldehyde.

[4:09:17] All the literature published on that confirms that it's effective in reducing the

[4:09:23] amount of formaldehyde off-gassing.

[4:09:25] So therefore, impacts will be less insignificant and the appellant, the appellant's

[4:09:31] arguments are without any merit.

[4:09:33] We were therefore respectfully request that you reject the appeal, uphold these planning

[4:09:38] conditions unanimous approval of the project with that one additional condition of approval.

[4:09:42] I'm available for any questions you may have.

[4:09:44] Thank you for your consideration.

[4:09:57] Could you put the slides back up, please?

[4:10:01] Thank you.

[4:10:01] Good evening, my name's R. C. Alley.

[4:10:03] I'm an architect with Architects Orange.

[4:10:06] Next slide, please.

[4:10:08] Just to give you a little history, I'll just do a very brief run through on the project.

[4:10:12] Right, you can see on the slide up on the left is the Dom of Financial Center when it was built in 1967.

[4:10:21] It was a fantastic project then and it's a fantastic project today.

[4:10:26] On the right, you can see a current photo of it.

[4:10:29] It was refurbished recently.

[4:10:33] It won a Tobi Award for Historic Buildings in 2022.

[4:10:42] Next, please.

[4:10:44] Context. Whenever we look at a project, we always look at everything in context to it.

[4:10:49] So we looked at everything around five-minute walk, 10-mile drive.

[4:10:54] And we really looked at everything to really try to understand who our residents would be,

[4:10:58] and what we should be designing the project, and how to make it serve our residents best.

[4:11:03] next, please. Community. Again, you can see the site. This really shows our site

[4:11:12] location, shows where we're at in the community. Jason to, again, to the historic

[4:11:18] buildings on the Delomo Circle, a Delomo Crossing project. Next, please. Not

[4:11:25] sure how long I have left, so I'll just keep talking to you, buzz me off. You can see

[4:11:30] the site in orange, again, you can see it in proximity to Delano Fashion Center, restaurants, shopping,

[4:11:39] everything you could possibly want, office buildings, a million square feet of office buildings next door.

[4:11:47] Next, please.

[4:11:49] This is our site, I'll just tell you briefly, it is a wrap project, it's a very contemporary way to design an apartment project.

[4:11:57] It's really the building is laminated and wrapped around a above-grade parking structure that's encased in the building.

[4:12:05] So if you live on the fifth floor, you drive up to the fifth floor, you park there, you walk to your unit.

[4:12:11] It's very convenient.

[4:12:13] It's been very well accepted.

[4:12:15] There are hundreds of these projects now built in California.

[4:12:18] You can see in the center of the roof deck on the parking structure and the main entrance for the parking structure is down at the lower level.

[4:12:26] if you've been to the site you notice it's tiered down and the lower loop road is where

[4:12:30] our parking structure is entered.

[4:12:34] Next slide please.

[4:12:37] I'm just going to skip this.

[4:12:38] This is a landscape imagery.

[4:12:41] I'm going to talk about the views.

[4:12:43] So again, this is just an overview of the project.

[4:12:47] And what you really see, this is our site looking, sorry, most of my notes here.

[4:12:55] Yeah,

[4:12:57] this is our aerial view looking northeast.

[4:12:59] The road on the left is Delomo Circle and the one on the right is Carson Street.

[4:13:03] And what you can really see is how we've tried to make the project fit in with everything that's there architecturally.

[4:13:12] Thank you.

[4:13:14] Well, you actually have six seconds.

[4:13:17] Okay.

[4:13:21] Thank you very much.

[4:13:23] Thank you, sir.

[4:13:24] Thank you.

[4:13:24] I can't answer any questions.

[4:13:26] Thank you.

[4:13:27] We're going to go back to public comment and then we'll have, there'll be an opportunity for the opponent.

[4:13:32] to come back up to the podium.

[4:13:35] Is there anyone else from the public that would like to ask?

[4:13:37] There's one more on the speaker list, Your Honor.

[4:13:39] Okay, thank you.

[4:13:40] Bret Thornson.

[4:13:45] Good evening, Council.

[4:13:46] My name is Bret Thornson.

[4:13:48] I'm the Senior Vice President and Development for DJM Capital Partners.

[4:13:53] We have owned and managed the Village Delamo Shopping Center adjacent to the site for the last 20 years.

[4:14:01] We're excited to see this site being built up to its full potential, specifically the

[4:14:06] additional residential units that are being proposed by Legacy.

[4:14:12] We've reviewed their plans and we think that they've done a great job to kind of seamlessly

[4:14:17] integrate it into what's there right now and what's currently being developed next

[4:14:22] store. We want to lend our support to the project and we're looking forward to providing

[4:14:31] amenities to the new residents. And we think that legacy would be a great partner and

[4:14:37] a great neighbor to us. So we urge you to approve this project tonight.

[4:14:43] Thank you.

[4:14:44] Thank you, sir.

[4:14:51] I'm Richard Fragrapani. I'm with the Mueller Company. I'm in charge of the development

[4:14:56] and construction and we

[4:15:00] We are here to support the project. We are actually neighbors. We are long term property owners and torrents. We own the property across the street on Carson and we own the Dalamo Crossing project. We've been faithfully restoring the Dalamo Crossing project to its former glory ever since we bought it eight years ago. It's been a labor of love. We are very protective of the property. We took a strong hand in

[4:15:29] the selection of a developer for the subject property and we are delighted that legacy was

[4:15:38] interested and that they chose to take on this challenge. We were even more delighted

[4:15:44] when they selected Architects Orange and you can see from the quality of the design

[4:15:50] that was a very good choice. We love the design. We think it fits well with our property

[4:15:56] and we're here to tell you that we are enthusiastic supporters of the project thank you.

[4:16:05] Thank you sir.

[4:16:16] Hello everyone this is Andy Pochop.

[4:16:18] I kind of very decided on this one because it's a good thing for the city because it gives them growth

[4:16:25] and as you know the problem with the city no growth you know when the city populations growth slows down

[4:16:33] that's when the city dying, just like, just like right now,

[4:16:37] Torrance, because you know, in the 50s, when we got the

[4:16:40] Old America award, you know, then a population was like,

[4:16:45] woo, you know, because everybody came here, because Torrance was cheap,

[4:16:50] you know, Torrance was cheap, housing was cheap,

[4:16:52] and you know, it was just population growth.

[4:16:56] So, now, if you don't build this project,

[4:16:59] then we don't get the population growth plus these guys don't have a job, you know what I mean?

[4:17:05] But if you build a project that's good for the city because population growth,

[4:17:11] but you know it's bad because the traffic, you know what I mean?

[4:17:16] We already have very bad traffic, you know what I mean?

[4:17:20] But this may be good because people could just walk over to the Delamo, you know,

[4:17:26] If they like more, you know, when it's too hot, you know, they can just walk there and cool off and stuff like that, you know.

[4:17:33] So it's a very good location. It's a killer location. I don't know why it was what developed before.

[4:17:40] You know, it was like a random property, you know, for a few years back and somebody picked it up for $40 million.

[4:17:46] and dollars, that's when you did not make the money, instead of invest $177 million in stupid

[4:17:57] bank things, what is right now going to go haywire, you could buy this property and

[4:18:03] develop it, you know, think, because these guys will make a sheet load of money, not you.

[4:18:11] Thank

[4:18:14] you, sir. Is there anyone else that would like to comment on this item?

[4:18:24] Okay, we would like to give Mr. Frankle of safer an opportunity to speak again, please.

[4:18:41] Hi, thank you very much. We certainly appreciate the voluntary condition,

[4:18:46] regarding the use of tier four equipment. That's the first I've been informed of that.

[4:18:50] But I would like to revisit the formaldehyde issue, which still has not been adequately addressed.

[4:18:56] We did respond our expert but offer men who is a leading expert on indoor formaldehyde emissions and their effect on human health.

[4:19:05] His comments as well as his CV detailing his decades of expertise and peer reviewed publications on the subject were included in the comment letter that we provided which responded in detail to the placeworks rebuttal comment.

[4:19:21] and he actually rebranded his modeling and calculations of formaldehyde emissions with the

[4:19:27] assumptions, with responses to the various assumptions regarding, for instance, accounting

[4:19:33] for the most current ventilation standards and found that even with all of those nuances

[4:19:39] accounted for, the health impact would still be significant and in excess of the South Coast

[4:19:46] air district significance threshold which is 10 per million and he also further

[4:19:54] provides feasible fitting excuse me mitigation measures which the applicant is

[4:19:58] free to incorporate as it did with the use of Tier 4 equipment. The only

[4:20:03] feasible mitigation for off-gassing of formaldehyde emissions is the use of

[4:20:09] California air resources board approved no added formaldehyde materials. They

[4:20:15] actually use, can use other compounds such as soy-based compounds that do not run the

[4:20:21] risk of off-gassing formaldehyde. Again, this is all detailed in our comment. Thank

[4:20:26] you very much.

[4:20:30] Thank you, sir. I'd like to bring this back up to the council.

[4:20:50] Council

[4:20:51] please. Thank you.

[4:21:04] Thank you, sir, for providing the detailed reports. I just wanted to ask you,

[4:21:09] did you meet with the developer and address your concerns to them personally,

[4:21:14] or was there any interaction between you and the developer? We've not met directly,

[4:21:19] no, but we both parties participated in the planning commission hearing, and I think they're

[4:21:23] well aware of our concerns. We're certainly open to negotiations, but we've not been contacted by

[4:21:30] developer. But did you contact them to express your concern so you get the

[4:21:34] clear? Well the CEQA process is that the city is the lead agency which

[4:21:39] approves the project, the city is the ultimate decision holder for implementing

[4:21:45] the CEQA process and reviewing the adequacy of the CEQA document and so we

[4:21:50] approach the process by following that and addressing our concerns to the city

[4:21:55] which is the jurisdiction that holds that discretion.

[4:22:02] There are polls some of the mitigation measures that is now, so did you hear that?

[4:22:08] Did you have any comments on that?

[4:22:11] Yes, like I said, we appreciate and value and applaud the implementation of the Tier 4

[4:22:16] Equipment Voluntary Condition, but the concerns regarding formaldehyde have not been addressed.

[4:22:21] We concerns remains the same for health care, for DPM, for duration of the project, vehicle

[4:22:29] trade falls, those are still not being mitigated according to your assessment.

[4:22:35] No, the DPM and health risk assessment were performed by the applicant following our

[4:22:42] previous comment, and so we actually updated our letter to reflect that they have responded

[4:22:47] to various concerns that we've raised, but again the formaldehyde issue remains.

[4:22:54] And the material as well, I didn't hear about the material concern.

[4:22:58] I'm not sure.

[4:23:00] You also have formaldehyde?

[4:23:02] Yes.

[4:23:03] The issue is that formaldehyde is a compound,

[4:23:07] it is offgases from glue materials that are used in flooring and cabinetry

[4:23:14] and various indoor furnishings.

[4:23:16] And so, Mr. Offerman analyzed and calculated those risks according to his expertise and

[4:23:25] various studies that he himself has performed in other peer reviewed studies.

[4:23:30] And the issue there is that the California Air Resources Board has what's called the

[4:23:35] Toxics Control Measure, which is intended to limit the amount of formaldehyde that can be

[4:23:42] be included in those indoor furnishing materials, but Mr. Offerman and others have done studies

[4:23:47] since 2019 which have shown that even when those materials are manufactured to be compliant

[4:23:53] with those standards, they still emit an amount of formaldehyde emissions that is in excess

[4:24:00] of the applicable health significance threshold.

[4:24:04] And so the mitigation measure that Mr. Offerman has proposed is to use alternative materials

[4:24:10] that do not have any risk of formaldehyde.

[4:24:13] So for example, soy-based compounds do not off-gas formaldehyde.

[4:24:21] Okay. Thank you, sir.

[4:24:22] Thank you.

[4:24:23] We have some questions from developers.

[4:24:27] I have

[4:24:30] some questions from the developers if you could.

[4:24:32] Mr. Tim O'Brien and Mr. Gosner.

[4:24:37] Yes, sir.

[4:24:37] Thank you, sir.

[4:24:41] How many of the meetings outreach meetings did you had

[4:24:44] with the committee members?

[4:24:46] We had two community meetings, and we had two or three board meetings.

[4:24:56] In addition to that, we participated in business community meetings, as well as just one

[4:25:04] off meetings with various businesses throughout the community and hospitals.

[4:25:09] What was the most common concern that you received or you observed from the meetings

[4:25:17] or any feedback from the community members that you might share?

[4:25:21] Well, from a positive standpoint, I would say that they found that design

[4:25:27] tasteful. They thought it fit in.

[4:25:33] Business, the business community, they express two concerns.

[4:25:38] One, they're concerned about their own space needs. Two, they're concerned about providing

[4:25:45] housing opportunities for their employees. They have trouble attracting employees to

[4:25:52] because the lack of luxury housing like we're providing.

[4:25:59] Outside of that, when you're talking to a community in any kind of development like this,

[4:26:04] probably the biggest concern ever raised is traffic.

[4:26:08] And our response was that traffic study was going to be conducted,

[4:26:12] and that would be part of the review process.

[4:26:15] In fact, the traffic study found that there was no significant impact

[4:26:19] that the traffic follows the logical lines that is going up and down Hawthorne in East

[4:26:29] on Carson.

[4:26:30] And so by design, the project was zoned for a project like this and for the nature

[4:26:37] of this kind of project.

[4:26:40] And so those are the primary concerns and comments.

[4:26:47] And I think Mr. Gosmith showed us the monumental design that was refurbished for the city of Torrance.

[4:26:57] The one that you showed it to us earlier with the old in 17 and now refurbished.

[4:27:03] And you said that that was rewarded for the beautiful design.

[4:27:08] But that,

[4:27:11] do you think, or let me ask you this, do you think the design that you are

[4:27:16] proposing will also up to the par and will may get a reward, something like that in the future.

[4:27:23] Well, sure, we don't design our projects necessarily to win awards, but what we try to do,

[4:27:32] legacy partners, we try to design timeless, elegant projects that people enjoy living in, and that

[4:27:41] the community drives by and sees and sees quality. We think that this is a beautiful

[4:27:50] project. We think that it's a project that the city will be proud of for years. We'll

[4:27:55] see it. And just as the Delano crossing or the old Delano Financial Center that's been

[4:28:02] there since the late 60s is still a beautiful iconic building, we think this will be the

[4:28:08] same. I think that design is time-tested. And so, yeah, absolutely. I do councilmember.

[4:28:18] And in this building, there's no affordable living. This is all luxurious apartment.

[4:28:24] That's correct.

[4:28:36] But some of the concerns that were raised by the appellant about mitigation

[4:28:41] measures for the material, for the vehicle trips, you have would you like to respond?

[4:28:49] Yes, I would like to respond.

[4:28:50] I would also like to clarify for the record, Safer and Mr. Frankl, did not submit a comment,

[4:29:00] not a substantive comment, during the 30-day public circulation period of the Sequa.

[4:29:05] That's what for the Skiha.

[4:29:06] CEQA sets that up to allow there to be dialogue, to allow there to be responses.

[4:29:12] They sandbagged and sent a detailed 300-page letter two days before the planning commission

[4:29:19] meeting and another 100-page or so letter just yesterday.

[4:29:23] This isn't somebody that's interested in negotiating a good faith, but wants to get a gotcha.

[4:29:28] And nonetheless, we listed to those concerns and were volunteering the Tier IV equipment

[4:29:34] with respect to the formaldehyde, it's junk science.

[4:29:40] There's nothing in that letter that is credible or realistic.

[4:29:45] He's suggesting that the cancer risks are 10, 15 times over the threshold.

[4:29:51] If that was true, people be dying in apartments on a daily basis.

[4:29:55] That's a huge number. That's worse than a smelting plant.

[4:29:58] It's worse than a chemical plant.

[4:30:00] It's just isn't credible, and it's been debunked completely by experts who prepared the skia and put together a very detailed response and shows that it's not warranted.

[4:30:16] In the duration of the project, you're expecting to be completed within 28 months? Correct.

[4:30:32] Okay, I'll come back to you some other questions, so I'll let my colleagues to ask. Thank you for your clarification.

[4:30:39] Councillor Neill for this. Yeah, thank you. I do have a couple questions for the developer.

[4:30:43] On page

[4:30:49] three of the staff slide show, there's the overhead view and showing the building layout and the landscaping.

[4:30:57] Is that landscape layout pretty close to what you're envisioning doing for landscaping on the project?

[4:31:07] Yes.

[4:31:11] Torrance is a tree city, so we love our trees and so it's very important that we see these trees actually end up in there

[4:31:19] and we'd like to see hopefully more than twigs put in there.

[4:31:23] Absolutely.

[4:31:24] So I wanted to verify that.

[4:31:26] The other concern I have which I've expressed to you

[4:31:28] directly in the past is the parking.

[4:31:31] It's always been a concern for me for any project

[4:31:33] that's put forth whether it's a housing or a commercial or what.

[4:31:38] You've parked it just to minimum code and nothing further.

[4:31:42] And that's always to me a red flag.

[4:31:46] But you did express to me when we met

[4:31:47] that you had a way around that that you felt that there's adequate parking available

[4:31:53] from the financial center that could be used as overflow.

[4:31:57] And that sounded good when we met, but I wanted to verify.

[4:32:00] Do you have any agreement to allow that to happen?

[4:32:03] No, we don't have a formal agreement, but there are available parking spaces in that

[4:32:12] parking structure.

[4:32:13] In your parking structure?

[4:32:14] in their parking structure. Now, in our parking structure, we have at 2.2 spaces per unit,

[4:32:23] we have 440 parking spaces, which is the minimum of our code.

[4:32:28] Kelsal member, but we have 269 bedrooms. Now, historically, we would propose a 1.7 per unit

[4:32:39] parking ratio. And in our industry, when we work with these types of projects, the last group that

[4:32:47] wants a parking problem is the owner and is the manager. And so we work to operate at a

[4:32:57] sufficient, more than sufficient level of parking. And from an industry perspective, you'll commonly see

[4:33:03] projects that are 1.5 to 1.75 spaces per unit. So we see that this will be an abundance of parking spaces.

[4:33:15] I hear that all the time and it tends not to be the case when it actually gets built. But I am aware that the parking structure next to this is pretty empty and I'm a little concerned the fact that you don't have a formal arrangement to potentially use that for overflow because I do believe it is a

[4:33:33] controlled parking lot. I don't know that it's available to the public without some sort

[4:33:38] of key access. So, I don't know, it might be worthwhile just to see about setting that

[4:33:44] up just in case. It would certainly make me feel better that you know you have an agreement

[4:33:49] with them just in case.

[4:33:51] I understand. Those are my questions for the developer at this time. Thank you.

[4:34:02] Council members, shake. Thank you. Thank you, sir. A couple more questions for me.

[4:34:06] Okay. After you meet with the community, did you make, did you modify any of the design,

[4:34:13] anything that was changed, or you thought that this will serve the community in a different way?

[4:34:18] Any modification?

[4:34:19] No. No specific modifications were requested.

[4:34:28] Thank you.

[4:34:31] Council Member Kaji.

[4:34:34] Thank you, Your Honor.

[4:34:36] I have some questions for the appellant.

[4:34:52] Thank you for your presentation tonight, just a few questions.

[4:35:00] How did you first learn of this project and at what time did you first register, I guess

[4:35:07] your opposition or point out these mitigation points?

[4:35:14] I don't have the exact dates and times in front of me.

[4:35:24] the city of Torrance notifies the public, the staff can detail you to the specific times

[4:35:29] that that's done, but we're informed of various projects that are going through the

[4:35:33] sequer review process.

[4:35:34] And to clarify, the safer is not opposed to the project, but is saying that the use of

[4:35:39] the ski is not appropriate for the various reasons outlined in the written comments.

[4:35:44] Okay, I'm, help me understand then as projects are, you know, come before various cities throughout the state of California.

[4:35:55] And as I would, I would guess your firm receives these notifications.

[4:36:02] I'm trying to understand the business model of your firm.

[4:36:06] And does a sequa notice trigger a immediate response from your firm?

[4:36:13] It would be dependent on the project and the extent of the environmental issues

[4:36:17] before involved in that project and how much time there is before hearing

[4:36:22] and how much time we have to retain experts to review the various environmental documents

[4:36:27] that are many different factors that go into it.

[4:36:30] Okay, thank you.

[4:36:32] So, of course, this is a, at least here in Torrance, it's a large project.

[4:36:38] What would be I guess the threshold, you know, for your firm to, you know, file an opposition, would it be 50 units, 100 units?

[4:36:52] Again, I don't think there's a numeric threshold. I think it has to do with the substantive environmental issues that are at stake.

[4:37:00] I'm just trying to determine if I was a private developer, I was proposing a 25-unit development

[4:37:09] in Torrance,

[4:37:12] would that rise to the level where your firm would suddenly pay attention

[4:37:16] and then I as a developer would have to lower up and prepare to do battle?

[4:37:24] I mean, it's difficult for me to hypothesize without having the facts before me of the specific

[4:37:29] environmental impacts that might be at issue. There could be a smaller development that

[4:37:34] doesn't mitigate the impacts properly and imposes various health risks. You could have,

[4:37:38] for instance, we see sometimes residential development next to industrial uses or immediately

[4:37:44] next to a gas station which might pose health risks to the residents. So, it would really depend

[4:37:49] on the facts of the particular development.

[4:37:52] Okay. Well, I live near a oil refinery, so maybe we can talk after this, but anyway, I'm

[4:37:58] sorry. Thank you. I have some questions for the developer.

[4:38:07] I heard some of the comments

[4:38:10] by, I think it was the Southwood Homers Association and also by some of the neighbors with their

[4:38:19] projects adjacent to yours.

[4:38:21] Help me understand the design.

[4:38:23] I know that when I look at the overall design, I think you made some comment that you

[4:38:29] wanted to make sure that it fits the general environment and maybe this is a question better

[4:38:38] for the architect.

[4:38:41] Yeah.

[4:38:42] Oh, sorry.

[4:38:43] Councilmember Kaji, I'll defer to the architect related to the design intent.

[4:38:49] Okay, thank you.

[4:38:53] Good evening, RC Alley with AO Architects again.

[4:38:56] Yeah, we, first of all, as I mentioned before,

[4:39:01] the really the Delomo Center is really a, it's really a very iconic project.

[4:39:08] And we wanted to build a project that really paid homage to it.

[4:39:12] We felt it would be very inappropriate to do a project that was wholesale different.

[4:39:18] a Italian aid project or a Mediterranean project would not do that, that project justice.

[4:39:24] Nor do I think that the owner's and operator of the office buildings would be very happy about that.

[4:39:31] Because it, again, it's, I don't know if you realize the treasure that you have here,

[4:39:36] you must because it is such a fantastic project.

[4:39:39] I mean, you don't see many office buildings or office projects that were built in the 60s that are still,

[4:39:45] We'll still have the presence that you have in this city.

[4:39:48] It's something special and it's something that we felt we had to honor.

[4:39:53] Okay, thank you.

[4:39:55] And I guess my last question for the developer.

[4:39:59] I know you've gone through this process in other cities where you've built various projects.

[4:40:06] And Torrance has had a somewhat dubious reputation over the years when it comes to new projects.

[4:40:15] If you had to do this over again, would you approach the community any differently,

[4:40:20] the neighbors, the business community, or you think that you want about it in the right way,

[4:40:25] and by talking to the homeowners, the businesses?

[4:40:30] Absolutely. I mean, there's two ways to go.

[4:40:34] One way is to not do it, is to engage only if folks come out,

[4:40:42] And it would be at a meeting, like a planning commission meeting, and you'd sit down and maybe go in the back and talk, or you set up another meeting, we did it well in advance.

[4:40:54] And we've done that on prior projects, and we've had a lot of success doing it. It takes a lot longer to do.

[4:41:01] I think there was a chance we would have accomplished this in 12 months, not 18 months.

[4:41:10] So certainly, you invest more time in energy, but I think that if you consider us as an owner of this project.

[4:41:22] We're currently a developer of this project.

[4:41:25] But if you recall, with our financial partner, DWS, we're a long-term owner.

[4:41:31] So we view that we'll be with this community for some time.

[4:41:34] So, you know, that extra time, whether it was six months, 18 months versus 12 months, it's worth the investment.

[4:41:41] All right. Thank you very much.

[4:41:46] Thank you, Council Member Lewis.

[4:41:49] Thank you, Mayor.

[4:41:51] This is my district.

[4:41:53] So, this is a project that I've been very entombed with.

[4:41:58] And back to the developers, I remember us having a conversation when we met the first time

[4:42:06] about the design and change orders.

[4:42:12] How can we be sure that as the project moves along, if there is a design change order,

[4:42:18] what would be the process that you would use to advise us of any changes?

[4:42:25] Are we talking about changes between now and the issuance of a building permit?

[4:42:33] No. Changes after you're starting to build and you just get into the project and you decide you want to do a change order to move something or redesign an element of the building.

[4:42:46] There wouldn't be changes after the fact that we have a building design.

[4:42:53] I mean, historically, I assume Torrance works the same way.

[4:42:56] We have a set of plans.

[4:42:58] We have conditions of approval, and we have to meet those conditions of approval prior to the end of the job, prior to the completion of the job.

[4:43:08] The building department issues a building certificate of occupancy, and as part of that certificate of occupancy, they're going down and making sure that this building complies.

[4:43:20] I'm not discussing the material building itself I'm talking about the design because I think

[4:43:29] I made it very clear it was very important for us for this design element to reflect, reflect

[4:43:35] the community that we're trying to build in that area and I also referenced to your

[4:43:40] for Costa Mesa properties, which I actually made a trip down to visit.

[4:43:44] And I remember us discussing where Dalamo crossings has done a phenomenal job in revitalizing

[4:43:56] the area where urban plates and 24-hour fitness is, those type of design elements into the

[4:44:02] building.

[4:44:04] I was clear about our desire to have those design elements to somehow show up on the

[4:44:10] residential sections, particularly since this is going to be a luxury apartment complex

[4:44:16] that I assume you're still going to market to professionals.

[4:44:19] Correct.

[4:44:21] So one condition that we've agreed to is that the applicant and developers shall continue

[4:44:28] to work with staff to enhance the exterior design of the project to the satisfaction

[4:44:34] of the community development director.

[4:44:36] Yeah, I read that and I appreciate that I don't think that was an element that was in there before

[4:44:40] Correct

[4:44:41] You're on our members of the council

[4:44:43] Oscar Martinez Community Development Department

[4:44:45] If the project is approved tonight and if there were to be any kind of aside changes or material changes depending on the level of changes

[4:44:52] It could require an administrative approval that's reviewed and approved by the Community Development Director and it could also which

[4:45:00] The decision could be appealed to the city council. And then if it's a wholesale change, a large, complete change from the original design, it would be brought back to planning commission and city council. Yeah, it's not the wholesale change I'm worried about. It's the design element in Michelle. I think you and I had that conversation before. Chair commissioners, I mean, excuse me. It's kind of whole, they're in council members. Michelle Ramirez, community development director, knowing how strongly the council feels about this.

[4:45:29] What we can do is if they do have some type of change such as that, I do have the authority to automatically go ahead and move it up to the planning commission and we can do that.

[4:45:41] Perfect. That makes me have a little level of relief.

[4:45:44] And then you're saying 24 months, 18 to 24 months is a completion.

[4:45:51] about 28 months.

[4:45:53] About 28 months, okay.

[4:45:58] And I assume that there's been a noise study on the school that's down the street.

[4:46:07] Well, a noise study was completed.

[4:46:10] Do you do?

[4:46:11] Yeah.

[4:46:11] Well, once again, Dale Gullsworth, yeah, the scheme was a comprehensive document.

[4:46:15] It analyzes all the various impact areas, including noise, and there was a tactical

[4:46:20] that concluded that there would be no significant noise impacts either during construction

[4:46:25] or operation.

[4:46:27] Okay. And that was submitted to the school system?

[4:46:30] It was actually the city planning department, community development department reviewed it,

[4:46:36] and that's part of the public document that I believe could have been circulated, provided

[4:46:40] the school district. I'm not entirely certain that.

[4:46:43] Okay. That's all I have for right now. Thank you.

[4:46:48] Back to councilmembers.

[4:46:49] Shake.

[4:46:50] Thank you, Mayor.

[4:46:53] Mr. O'Brien.

[4:46:54] A couple of questions from you and also Mr. Goldsmith.

[4:46:57] I think you made comments earlier that before you prepared this design, you had outreach meetings.

[4:47:05] Correct.

[4:47:06] Right.

[4:47:07] So how do you expect someone to make or give you any recommendation if you don't have any design

[4:47:13] there?

[4:47:13] And then you said that there were no recommendations for a given to you.

[4:47:21] I don't expect any recommendations if you're not showing what you're going to build.

[4:47:26] No, Councilmember, we had initial meetings with, for instance, Councilmembers,

[4:47:35] and with the Board of the Southwest Community Association in which we just showed

[4:47:41] them what we had, we talked about ourselves and what we do.

[4:47:46] We came back and did a presentation to the board, and then the next step was a meeting with the community association.

[4:48:00] And in which time we had the design, and that's what they were assessing at the time.

[4:48:06] So there were a couple of series of meetings, the initial meetings, there was no design,

[4:48:11] Secondary meetings with design, one question was, when is this going to be approved?

[4:48:18] And we said, well, we go through a submittal process and so on and so forth.

[4:48:22] When was it submitted?

[4:48:23] Well, we haven't submitted it yet.

[4:48:25] We wanted to have this meeting with you first.

[4:48:26] Q. But with all due respect, you said a couple times that you didn't have that.

[4:48:31] You had an outreach meeting, and then you had those design.

[4:48:34] And when we met, I requested that, Ted, would you be open to look at design

[4:48:40] differently. You would be open to have a little different design. So that was one of my

[4:48:46] request to you. And in just now, you said there was no request offered to you, or there

[4:48:51] was no recommendation given to you.

[4:48:54] I'm, let me clarify, Council Member, from the community. You, you, you would specify

[4:49:02] that you, I represent community.

[4:49:04] I, I, I, I apologize for the confusion.

[4:49:07] No, no, no. That's why I thought you were directing the question to me relative to the

[4:49:13] community, not our meeting.

[4:49:18] But you didn't mention a couple times. I remember a recall

[4:49:21] that I better know that you did have outreach without any renderings. And then you're expecting

[4:49:29] someone to come and give you recommendations without showing what you're going to have there.

[4:49:33] Let me clarify, we had an initial meeting, in fact, prior to you joining the council, we met with council members for our initial meeting and we just showed a location, introduced ourselves, told us what, told them about ourselves and what we plan to do in general terms and concept.

[4:49:56] We did the same thing with the Southwood Homeowners Association Board.

[4:50:02] We followed the next meeting with the Board.

[4:50:05] We followed with actual designs, with designs, and we had a chance to present those designs to them.

[4:50:14] Following that, we had a community meeting with designs, and then we had another meeting with the

[4:50:22] homeowner's association the fall of last year with designs. So at all times, outside

[4:50:30] of the initial meetings which were purely introductory in nature, we had designs.

[4:50:46] I'm just going to be blunt. I'm going to ask you, do you think there's a wall

[4:50:50] factor in your design that we feel that that fits the theme of Torrance? Because you

[4:50:56] are taking us, again, I'm not opposed to your project. I want to bring something in

[4:51:04] torrents that people look at it and say, wow, who designed that? Right, so this is not

[4:51:12] a factor to me. And that's a little concern I shared with you when I met and with all

[4:51:19] dear respect. This is a prime location for our city. We are creating, we're having a precedent

[4:51:24] for the future designs, future developers to come here with their creativity.

[4:51:32] And this is a block, and then we're going to have multiple blocks. So I am just expressing

[4:51:37] that what I heard from my community members, they were pretty obvious what they had.

[4:51:45] This is not a law factor. So would you be considering anything that gives us a little flavor of that,

[4:51:52] that people come to you and it's going to be mutual benefit to you and to the city.

[4:51:56] People are going to, from other cities, they're going to ask, who designed this?

[4:52:00] That's what we want our city.

[4:52:02] Sure.

[4:52:02] And say for R, that we are creating something that other cities will come and ask us, wow,

[4:52:09] I don't see that in your design.

[4:52:12] Would you be willing to make some modifications to make something that we will salute you?

[4:52:19] So, hey, thank you for bringing that project, that creativity in torrents.

[4:52:24] Yes, we've agreed in condition 24 to continue to work with staff and the community development director to enhance the project.

[4:52:36] Yes.

[4:52:38] Thank you.

[4:52:41] Thank you, Mayor.

[4:52:49] Councillor Member Lewis?

[4:52:52] Councillor Member Lewis with draws.

[4:52:54] Is there anyone else on the council that has any questions?

[4:52:58] If not, I'll take a motion to close the public hearing.

[4:53:02] So moved.

[4:53:05] Second.

[4:53:19] Your Honor, that motion carried with Mayor Chinatheon.

[4:53:22] Thank you.

[4:53:23] Does the council wish to take action on this item?

[4:53:42] Okay.

[4:53:43] Council member, please.

[4:53:44] Would like more.

[4:53:45] Okay.

[4:53:46] All

[4:53:57] right.

[4:53:57] I'll start.

[4:54:05] I've been on the council the longest of our council members and in my time, which is almost

[4:54:10] nine years or over nine years now, we've never had a housing project come before us of this size,

[4:54:17] which is kind of remarkable actually that nothing like this has come before us.

[4:54:21] So I'm glad that it has and it gives us the opportunity to talk about a lot of issues,

[4:54:27] not all of which in my case are things I want to talk about that are directly related to this

[4:54:32] this project but to development in general.

[4:54:36] But I do have a few questions for staff specifically on this project which would extrapolate to

[4:54:42] future projects as well.

[4:54:45] We are in a state of water shortages and power shortages and how does developing this kind

[4:54:54] of project where there's absolutely zero usage of power and water on this property today?

[4:54:59] How do we provide that sufficient water and power to new projects when we're already in a shortage situation?

[4:55:09] And how does this get approved without getting the approval of ensuring that we have the power and water to provide to this development and other new development?

[4:55:18] Your honor and council members, Oscar Martinez Community Development Department.

[4:55:21] Through the Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment and the initial study that was prepared for the project,

[4:55:26] They reached out to Cal Water Service who provided a will serve letter that's valid for two

[4:55:32] years and essentially they do indicate that there is sufficient capacity to serve the

[4:55:37] project and per the sustainable community's environmental assessment.

[4:55:42] The total gallons per year of the project would be 317,000 approximately, that's for the

[4:55:50] for the X-year, it's 317,000 gallons per year and then the indoor water demand is

[4:55:59] $15,389,130 gallons per year for a total of $15,000,000, yeah, so for a total of $15,706,307

[4:56:11] and gallons per year.

[4:56:13] I'm going to ask you to convert that to acre feet.

[4:56:16] No, I won't do that.

[4:56:17] 48.2 acre feet.

[4:56:19] Oh, nice.

[4:56:20] All right.

[4:56:22] All right.

[4:56:25] That man deserves a raise.

[4:56:27] Let's give him a granny points.

[4:56:29] That's good.

[4:56:32] You know, it's easy for any company to say

[4:56:35] that they can supply it.

[4:56:36] But this project is going to be here for a long, long time.

[4:56:40] And I'm just concerned that,

[4:56:42] Okay, we say yes on this project and we've we look at all these little little I'm saying, but this is a big project

[4:56:48] But if we look at these projects as they come down the street one at a time

[4:56:52] We keep saying yeah, we can do this. We have we can do this. Yeah, we can do this

[4:56:55] Eventually, we get to the point where we say, oh, we don't have any water. We don't have any power

[4:56:59] How do we deal with that? And I know it's not necessarily the city's issue

[4:57:03] You just have to follow the rules that you're given to do that

[4:57:06] But I'm just trying to look in the big picture of the world and especially the state that we live here in California with water

[4:57:12] shorter just constantly and power shortages on the increase and the state telling us to build, build, build, how do we balance that and

[4:57:20] I know you probably don't have an answer for that but that's something top of my mind when we're being told to build 5,000 units here in the city of Torrance in the next seven years.

[4:57:33] And so you didn't you talked about water and kudos for covering that what about the power side?

[4:57:43] Mr. Your Honor and members of the Council, I'll have to look into that one as I do not prepare for that question, my apologies, but I can definitely get some additional information for you.

[4:57:58] And then that leads me to my other issue that always is raised when we talk about any kind of development and that's traffic.

[4:58:04] Everybody talks traffic, traffic, traffic, and as we constantly see on these projects, we

[4:58:11] come back and say, oh, the traffic say says there's no impact, no significant impact.

[4:58:17] Yet somehow the traffic keeps getting worse and worse and worse.

[4:58:21] How is it that we pass all these projects that have traffic studies that say there's no

[4:58:24] significant impact, and yet traffic continues to get worse?

[4:58:30] I'd love to hear if anybody has a thought on that, but I'll expand on it if you don't.

[4:58:46] You're on, Aaron, members of Council. Again, I'm just double checking the power situation here.

[4:58:52] Okay.

[4:59:44] Your Honourable Mayor, Council Members, Michelle Ramirez,

[4:59:47] Community Development Director.

[4:59:48] In regards to the traffic, I do agree that, you know, there's no crystal ball to say how traffic will impact this in the future.

[4:59:55] We do our best that we have our title 24, we have

[5:00:00] As a requirement, we do require any charging stations in the project. I'm sure the developer himself, but we obviously have to reopen up the public hearing can also be punished on things they're doing to help reduce the traffic because of the development. The state is always trying to look at ways to reduce the traffic in the entire state of California. They're trying to increase transportation, other transportation methods and modes.

[5:00:28] And so we do incorporate those into our plans, so we do the best we can.

[5:00:34] If I can interrupt, yet it takes 20 years to improve an intersection in our city that is involving the state.

[5:00:41] That's just so contrary to trying to help us with these problems.

[5:00:46] And they drag their feet and make it extremely difficult for us to make improvements, sorry to interrupt.

[5:00:51] Well, not when we have control of it.

[5:00:53] No, I understand. We do a much better job.

[5:00:55] But you were mentioning the state, which I always like to mention as well, and the state is telling us to do all these things, but yet they're making it extremely difficult for us to try to make the improvements that are necessary to make the general improvements that would allow for what they're asking for.

[5:01:14] And that's where I have a huge issue.

[5:01:16] I understand, and you know, this state has also, you know, passed certain legislations.

[5:01:22] I want to say AB 2097, hope it's not SB 2097, I have too many bills in my head, but AB

[5:01:29] 2097, whereby, you know, you don't have to, you don't have to provide the parking that's

[5:01:34] required any longer if you have transit to the testament of this development.

[5:01:40] They did not take advantage of that, they could have easily taken advantage of it, they did

[5:01:43] not at least park it to the minimum at that we had asked them to do.

[5:01:48] But I do agree there are certain legislation, certain local requirements that we have

[5:01:53] in place to try to help the traffic.

[5:01:55] We will continue to do that, but you are correct.

[5:01:59] It is something that, you know, we do see increasing on our streets.

[5:02:05] Mr. Martinez, did you have anything else on the power?

[5:02:09] I know you're, I saw smoke coming out of your computer there.

[5:02:12] Your Honor, I remember the City Council asking for forgiveness for me, development department.

[5:02:15] Through the Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment, electrical facilities was analyzed,

[5:02:20] but it identified that no additional or new expanded electrical power facilities would

[5:02:26] be required, and that the proposed project would be less insignificant in terms of electrical

[5:02:31] services.

[5:02:33] Very similar to traffic.

[5:02:34] No significant impact.

[5:02:36] Yet, we'll have brownouts and power outages all summer long, and let's shut down power

[5:02:41] power plants and all that. So forgive me if I say this is traffic studies, power studies,

[5:02:48] water studies are a bunch of hui when it comes to these kind of projects. And when you

[5:02:52] look at the projects individually, yes, they're small. But when you add them all together,

[5:02:57] then it creates a much, much bigger impact.

[5:03:00] Your Honorable Mayor, Council members, and you are correct. But as other projects come

[5:03:06] online, those other projects are now going to have to take these projects that have been

[5:03:09] improved into play. And so they're going to have to evaluate the CEQA based on these

[5:03:14] additional projects. So there could be changes in future projects as they come forth or

[5:03:19] there could be they might not be able to get to the less than significant impact. Those

[5:03:25] ones who get in here first are probably going to have an easier time than those ones that

[5:03:29] come in later in the game.

[5:03:31] I'm not going to hold my breath.

[5:03:35] Anyway there's another issue I'm going to come back to the

[5:03:39] traffic in a minute. There is literally and figuratively be a cloud over our council

[5:03:45] about housing. Literally, there's raining outside. But figuratively, the cloud is that

[5:03:52] we have the state watching over us. And this is something that's never happened before,

[5:03:58] is that if we don't approve housing, the state's going to come down and punish us as a city.

[5:04:06] And those punishments are severe, and they're not something that I want to see happen to our city.

[5:04:12] And that, in my opinion, unfairly puts a burden on us as a council to potentially make

[5:04:17] decisions that we don't think are necessarily best for our city.

[5:04:22] I'm not referring necessarily to this particular project, I'm just speaking in general because

[5:04:26] I want the public to understand that our decision making is now being affected by the folks in

[5:04:34] Sacramento who are basically telling us what to do on how we do our planning of our communities.

[5:04:44] And I really feel that that's wrong.

[5:04:46] We should have the freedom to be able to choose what we think is best for our community.

[5:04:50] Because we know our community is better than anyone.

[5:04:53] And to have somebody Sacramento legislators who've never even been in our city telling us how we should and shouldn't build in our communities.

[5:05:02] and penalizes if we don't meet their standards, I think, is 100% wrong.

[5:05:07] And everyone knows who knows me, knows I've been fighting this for some time.

[5:05:13] So I feel like I've learned a few things in my years on the council, and I want to do a little show-in-tell in regards to traffic.

[5:05:22] I think I've been wanting to do this for quite some time, and so this project is giving me the opportunity to do this,

[5:05:28] And to the developer, this is not a direct impact on you.

[5:05:33] It is an opportunity for me to speak on the issue of traffic

[5:05:37] and try to put some reality, at least what I believe.

[5:05:41] This is my personal opinion.

[5:05:43] It's not fact.

[5:05:43] It's not scientific.

[5:05:45] But I have some visual aids that I brought.

[5:05:48] I'll do a little show and tell for everybody.

[5:05:52] So this represents the city of Torrance Streets.

[5:05:57] And all the little M&Ms inside this bucket are the cars that are in our city for the people who live here.

[5:06:08] Everybody who lives here has a car, sometimes two, sometimes even three.

[5:06:12] And sometimes households have three and four and five cars in a particular household.

[5:06:18] So we've got a pretty good load of cars already in our city.

[5:06:21] And so some people say our cities are already full.

[5:06:25] And so when we talk about traffic studies, they look at traffic flow and things like that.

[5:06:31] But I think what really needs to be done is to look at traffic from a traffic loading perspective.

[5:06:36] And that's how many cars can we accommodate because the cars don't just sit in the garage.

[5:06:42] When these people move into these projects, they have a car and it is true.

[5:06:47] It is in their garage, but we all drive places.

[5:06:50] And those that driving causes the traffic that we see every day on our roads.

[5:06:56] And so, when we start doing all this stuff, we start impacting the traffic load in

[5:07:04] our community.

[5:07:05] And there's so many things that impact that traffic load and I want to try to demonstrate

[5:07:09] that for you visually.

[5:07:11] So, here we have this one project that being talked about here today and that's adding

[5:07:16] a little extra traffic load to our city.

[5:07:20] But when you start adding all the projects that are coming on board, you can see what

[5:07:26] it's doing to the traffic load in our city.

[5:07:32] And we have these kind of projects that are actually coming down our pipeline today.

[5:07:35] These are not, this is not hypothetical.

[5:07:37] This is projects that we've actually had people meet with.

[5:07:41] And so we know that there's going to be this additional traffic load coming to us.

[5:07:47] In addition to that, the traffic load that we have is during the daytime, our city grows

[5:07:53] in population because of all the people that come to our city to work.

[5:07:59] So that's an additional traffic load, it's a big load, over 100,000 people.

[5:08:05] Oh geez, we're getting kind of full.

[5:08:14] What?

[5:08:15] You're hungry?

[5:08:16] Don't worry, I got plenty.

[5:08:19] So that's our daytime load and I realize that that disappears at night but it does still

[5:08:26] impact our traffic that we see and we sit in at certain times of the day.

[5:08:31] Then we talk about the building that's happening around our community that affects torrents

[5:08:37] because torrents is a pass through city.

[5:08:40] So we have building going on in Redondo Beach and on the hill and they're being mandated

[5:08:46] by the state to build and build and build. And we have zero control over that.

[5:08:51] But yet it adds to the traffic load, sorry.

[5:08:56] And I don't want to make too big of a mess.

[5:08:59] And I will clean it up, I promise. But I'm sorry, what?

[5:09:06] I didn't eat one.

[5:09:07] Oh, Johnson, okay.

[5:09:11] And then we have the state coming into play. And they're mandating that we build

[5:09:16] 5,000 units, which could potentially be 10,000 cars.

[5:09:22] Well, I got a lot more M&Ms here, but I don't think I'm going to make a big mass, but I think you're catching my point.

[5:09:29] Is it all the stuff cumulatively adds up and adds up and adds up?

[5:09:32] And that's why we're having a traffic problem, and nobody's talking about it.

[5:09:38] And it drives me insane.

[5:09:40] I've lost all my hair, it's a crazy time for me and I think that this is a piece that so many people are missing when we talk about approving these kind of projects.

[5:09:53] Again, I'm not taking this out on the developer, it's just an opportunity for me to try to express my feelings about the whole growth in a community.

[5:10:02] and how, yes, we're being forced to do all this, but at the same time, we're not spending

[5:10:07] hardly any money on improving our traffic infrastructure, our streets and our roads.

[5:10:13] Yes, we're trying to fix the potholes, we're repaving, but we're not building more roads

[5:10:18] or expanding our roads to add for additional capacity and certainly transit is failing miserably,

[5:10:24] at least in the South Bay. And to expect us to continue to do this and do this,

[5:10:29] How is this going to improve our quality of life?

[5:10:32] It's absolutely not going to.

[5:10:35] And with that, I will start eating some M&Ms.

[5:10:39] Anybody want some?

[5:10:40] Come on up.

[5:10:43] I'll plate it up later.

[5:10:45] Thank you, sir.

[5:10:46] You're welcome.

[5:10:48] Council Member Lewis.

[5:10:50] That was about the great.

[5:10:50] That was about the greatest demonstration

[5:10:53] of unfunded state mandates that I've ever seen.

[5:10:57] And I'm going to help you do some traffic calming

[5:10:59] a little bit later.

[5:11:00] You're going to eat some M&Ms, right?

[5:11:02] Oh, yeah.

[5:11:02] I'm going to put that traffic control problem.

[5:11:06] My quick question to community development

[5:11:09] that does not have to do with M&Ms

[5:11:12] and not for the legacy group is in this particular project

[5:11:17] it's 200 units of luxury apartments

[5:11:21] and that falls within one of the four arena categories

[5:11:25] which I'm assuming at market is going to put it

[5:11:28] above moderate income, which is 120 per cent for LA County.

[5:11:37] Do we have a threshold where we have to start requiring developers to offer some type

[5:11:44] of affordable housing, and I know a new category popped up that I need some more help with,

[5:11:55] which is the very low and ultra low income housing, which we have to do 1,600 units of that in the next eight years.

[5:12:06] So that's going to be interesting about where that is going to lead us.

[5:12:11] Your Honourable Mayor, Council Members, Michelle Ramirez, Community Development Director, we are not mandated to have an inclusionary housing is which you would be looking for.

[5:12:25] that inclusionary housing where you're requiring a certain percentage of affordable housing with the market rate housing.

[5:12:32] If that was something that this council wanted to stop to look into and bring back that's something we definitely could do,

[5:12:39] there is no requirement at this time. The housing element what it requires is just show that we have enough sites within our community to build the different levels of housing that the rena numbers have produced.

[5:12:53] And we have done that our housing element has been certified, so the state has acknowledged

[5:12:59] that the sites that we have given them that meet the income limits for that housing to

[5:13:04] be developed at this time.

[5:13:06] Doesn't mean that we necessarily have to build it, we have to show that we have the sites

[5:13:10] for it, and then we have to also show that when developers come forth to produce these types

[5:13:15] of housing that we are looking at them, and if we weren't going to approve it, we have

[5:13:20] to come up with significant reasons why we were not going to approve it other than it's

[5:13:25] just not something that we don't like or because there's too many M&M's on the road.

[5:13:33] I'm here I get rid of some of those M&M's just to the legacy group this is not this is just

[5:13:38] for us to educate ourselves and the community on what's to come and you guys just happen to be

[5:13:44] the first one's up at bat, and as the representative for District 2, I do appreciate the community

[5:13:51] engagement and the communication.

[5:13:54] I see Laurie Craig in the audience working with our homeowners groups to make sure that

[5:13:59] this project definitely does fit into our community profile.

[5:14:03] So thank you, Mr. Montgomery-Maria's for working that out because as we're seeing there's going

[5:14:10] to be a couple of projects that are coming up very tightly within this space off of popcorn

[5:14:18] boulevard and we just want the community to know that we're just not rubber stamping

[5:14:23] it because we want to build the community or make it more dense. It's because we have

[5:14:31] to accommodate our housing needs assessment. So thank you. I'm going to go eat some

[5:14:38] cars now.

[5:14:41] Thank you council member Lewis council member shake back to you thank you mayor I

[5:14:50] hope I'm

[5:14:51] not giving the message that I do not like the project I like and I appreciate you bringing these

[5:14:56] nice projects some good projects gonna bring

[5:15:00] A lot of jobs to our community, members to all the workers.

[5:15:05] But the cars, the traffic is definitely a big concern. But that's the concern, I think we have to also look into the future. What will that do to our community? It's going to compromise the quality of life. And hence, we are hoping to have Metro Line C extension that will impact

[5:15:28] in a positive way, hopefully,

[5:15:34] but I, again, I wanted to emphasize and make sure that all

[5:15:40] you understand, I'm not against your project, I'm not against building what is required

[5:15:48] unless we find an alternative, but it is required, we need to meet our code, we're going to get

[5:15:54] penalized, and it's going to bring a lot of jobs.

[5:16:00] Again, I think we can do better.

[5:16:04] We can really do something that's 50

[5:16:09] years from today. People say, yeah, these developers,

[5:16:14] they brought something to this Torrance community. And as leaders, we say, hey, we gave something

[5:16:20] to the community that will have an example for the future developers to come and give us

[5:16:26] nice or creative model. That's what I'm saying. I'm requesting you to consider

[5:16:33] the outside of the box. You will have an opportunity to bring more designs,

[5:16:41] more buildings here, but be creative. And you know, bad or good building,

[5:16:48] possibly it's not going to be a huge difference as far as cost is concerned.

[5:16:54] With

[5:16:55] bring some creative designs. That's all I got to say. Thank you. Thank you. Thank

[5:17:03] you.

[5:17:03] Thank you, Councilmember Kaji.

[5:17:07] Thank you, Your Honor.

[5:17:10] I want to first speak to the issues

[5:17:14] raised by the appellant tonight.

[5:17:19] I heard both the presentation made also the rebuttal by

[5:17:23] the developer. And as I read the information provided prior to tonight's meeting and also

[5:17:34] listen to the presentations, I find sometimes these challenges under SEQUA to be somewhat

[5:17:43] But disingenuous, while I do understand that development does come with a price that

[5:17:54] it's important to of course stand up and protect the residents and the users of these

[5:18:00] new developments, however, sometimes I believe that some of these challenges are simply obstructions

[5:18:07] to what I believe is necessary development.

[5:18:12] When I do listen to the business community, both that exist in Torrance and maybe new

[5:18:18] companies that may want to be here in the city, quality housing is a huge factor.

[5:18:25] As many of you know, we used to be the home of Toyota Motor Sales, which moved to Texas

[5:18:31] along with their supplier chain.

[5:18:33] The lack of quality housing in addition to taxes was, you know, one of the issues that

[5:18:41] forced them and other companies to leave the state.

[5:18:44] So I do believe that here in Torrance, it's time that we look at adding new housing.

[5:18:52] If we want to attract those companies under economic development who are going to make significant

[5:18:56] contributions to our local economy.

[5:18:59] But going back to the case made by the appellant, I don't find it to be compelling enough for me to support the appeal, so I just want to come right out and state that.

[5:19:13] As some of the other members, Mr. Griffith raised, when it comes to energy, I didn't see any inclusion of solar energy or sustainability.

[5:19:24] So I'd like to encourage the developer, since I have seen other residential, multi-family

[5:19:30] residential projects that do include a solar array, to consider that, to help to, and

[5:19:38] I don't know if staff saw that or is that included.

[5:19:42] Did I miss it?

[5:19:44] Your Honor and Members of the Council, Officer Martinez from the Development Department.

[5:19:49] I believe the current total 24 apartments do require a solar component to the building

[5:19:53] plans.

[5:19:53] Okay. Sorry, I got distracted by the M&Ms.

[5:19:59] Lastly, I do appreciate the comments made by

[5:20:07] the Apprenticeship Program and the trades. We are an active member of the South Bay Workforce

[5:20:13] Investment Board. I know that we do support vocational arts and training. So, I'd like

[5:20:21] to encourage the developer to ensure that there is a reach out to including local contractors.

[5:20:31] It's not a condition to the project, however, you are entering the city of Torrance in the South Bay.

[5:20:38] So I think it would be vital for you to engage those businesses, also those workers who do live in the South Bay.

[5:20:47] I'd like to ensure that that happens.

[5:20:49] Thank you very much.

[5:20:55] Thank you. Any other comments from the council?

[5:20:59] I personally would like to say that a lot of information was gathered here tonight.

[5:21:05] I just want to thank the developers, the appellants, the homeowners association,

[5:21:13] the workforce that's here, the planning commission, the residents, the staff.

[5:21:19] A lot of passion went into everybody's thought processes, and the discussion was good.

[5:21:25] I just wanted to say that, and with that, if there's no other comments, we've got

[5:21:30] a motion and we go.

[5:21:32] I'm sorry.

[5:21:33] We got another click in.

[5:21:35] I'm sorry.

[5:21:35] My fault, but you just said something that I meant to go back around to the appellant

[5:21:41] and say that in the presentation and the cross-presentation I heard some room for some conversations

[5:21:50] to take place.

[5:21:51] I believe that the developer addressed one of the issues that the appellant had and please

[5:21:59] correct me if I'm wrong.

[5:22:00] I think there was one more that honestly from where I'm sitting could probably have a mutually

[5:22:08] beneficial agreement if if the two parties could sit down and just talk through it. And I don't

[5:22:17] know where the appellant went on. He's back there. There was just the one of the things I think

[5:22:21] the developer addressed and then there was one more. We can't we can't actually talk the audience

[5:22:26] less. You reopen the public hearing. Well, okay, so so can somebody confirm for me there was one more?

[5:22:32] Correct.

[5:22:33] Okay.

[5:22:35] So without opening up the hearing, I think that it would be an opportunity for maybe the

[5:22:42] two sides to gather up and address the concerns.

[5:22:48] Thank you.

[5:22:52] Thank you very much.

[5:22:54] So does Council wish to take action on this matter?

[5:22:58] Yes, Mayor Bracant.

[5:23:01] I've heard a lot of our, you know, back and forth arguments and a lot of legitimate

[5:23:05] concerns, but we are faced with what we're faced with a housing shortage or at least according

[5:23:11] to Rina.

[5:23:13] We do have a shortage of power.

[5:23:16] I know that because our park goes out in the summertime for a few hours at a time.

[5:23:21] We have a shortage of water and a lot of traffic, but those are things that we're going to have

[5:23:26] to handle and deal with as we go along.

[5:23:29] We can't punish one particular project

[5:23:32] or we were in a few projects

[5:23:34] because of the lack of action from the state.

[5:23:37] But having said that, I would like to move

[5:23:40] that we had denied the appeal

[5:23:41] adopt the sustainable community's environmental assessment

[5:23:44] and adopt resolutions of really the conditional use permit

[5:23:47] for the development permit.

[5:23:49] I second that after the reading of the resolutions.

[5:23:53] Thank you and I just clicked in real quick because there was one other group of people that I didn't acknowledge and that was all of the written correspondence. I want to acknowledge it was received. It was reviewed by us and we appreciate that as well. Thank you for the interruption.

[5:24:09] Actually, there's more to the motion if you want to just adopt the staff recommendation if you don't want to read it through it all, but there's also a modification or the modification of a lot precise plan on number three and a division of a lot.

[5:24:25] Well, how about with this? Let's go with the recommendation of the planning commission and the committee of the development to direct their city council items one, two, and three. That'll work.

[5:24:48] I don't think it's necessary, but I'll amend the motion to include tier 4.

[5:25:03] After the reading and acceptance of the resolution, including the tier 4 modification, I second that motion.

[5:25:17] Your Honor, would you like me to start reading the resolution?

[5:25:20] Yes, please.

[5:25:21] The first is resolution number 2023-24.

[5:25:24] The resolution of the City Council, the City of Torrance, California, adopting a sustainable community,

[5:25:30] environmental assessment for the Delomo Circle residential apartments projects in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act.

[5:25:39] The second is Resolution No. 2023-25, a resolution of the City Council of the City of

[5:25:45] Torrance, California, approving a conditional use permit as provided for Division 9. Chapter

[5:25:51] 5, Article 1 of the Torrance Municipal Code, to allow the construction of a 200-unit apartment

[5:25:57] complex and parking structure on properties located in the H-DA1 zone at the north-east

[5:26:04] of Carson Street and the Lomo Circle drive APN 7525-023-034 and 7525-023-035. Resolution number

[5:26:20] 2023-26, the resolution of the City Council of the City of Torrance, California, approving

[5:26:26] a development permit as provided for in Division 9, Chapter 1, Article 45 of the Torrance

[5:26:31] to allow the construction of a 200 unit apartment complex and parking structure on properties located in the H-DA-1 zone

[5:26:40] at the northeast circle corner, northeast corner of Carson Street and the Lomo Circle Drive, APN 7525-023-034 and 7525-023-3-035.

[5:26:57] Resolution number 2023-27, a resolution of the City Council of the City of

[5:27:02] Torrance, California, approving a division of law, as provided for Division 9, Chapter 2,

[5:27:08] Article 29 of the Torrance Minus Code, to merge two parcels into one on properties

[5:27:13] located in the H-DA-1 zone at the northeast corner of Carson Street and

[5:27:19] Alamo Circle Drive, APN 752-5023-034, and 752-023-035, and lastly, Resolution Number 20-23-28.

[5:27:34] A resolution of the City Council, the City of Torrance, California, approving a modification

[5:27:38] of a previously approved precise plan of development, parentheses Pp65-38, as provided for

[5:27:46] Division 9, Chapter 6, Article 2 of the Torrance Municipal Code to allow the construction of a 200 unit apartment complex and parking structure on properties located in the H-DA-1 zone at the North East corner of Carson Street and the Lama Circle Drive APN 7525-023-034 and 7525-023-035.

[5:28:12] Motion to include the adoption of Resolutions 2023-24, 2023-25, 2023-26, 2023-27, and 2023-28.

[5:28:27] And I second that.

[5:28:29] Start voting please.

[5:28:37] Your Honor, that motion carries with Council Member Shake voting no and Mayor Chen absent.

[5:28:43] Thank you.

[5:28:45] We'll go ahead then and thank you to everyone.

[5:28:51] We're going to go ahead.

[5:28:52] I don't see any things scheduled under agency agendas so we'll move on to item number 12,

[5:29:00] a second reading ordinance.

[5:29:06] Honour, this is ordinance number 3913 and ordinance of the City Council of the City of Orange.

[5:29:11] I'm sorry, do you want to wait just a minute?

[5:29:13] Could

[5:29:17] we please have some quiet in chambers so that we can continue our business matters for this evening? Thank you.

[5:29:24] Please proceed.

[5:29:27] Your Honor, that was ordinance 3913 in ordinance of the City Council of the City of Torrance, California.

[5:29:32] Amending the Torrance Municipal Code to add a new Article 8 of Chapter 1 of Division 1.

[5:29:38] parentheses 11.8.010 authorizing the use of electronic signature.

[5:29:46] Any comments from the council?

[5:29:52] I see none.

[5:29:53] Do we have any public comments on this item?

[5:29:55] move to adopt ordinance number 39.

[5:30:00] 13. Second. Start voting, please.

[5:30:07] Your Honor, that motion carries with Mayor Chen absent. Thank

[5:30:11] you. We're now moving on to item 12 V. Your Honor, this is ordinance number 3914 and

[5:30:18] ordinance of the city council of the city of Torrance, California. I'm ending sections 46.1.2,

[5:30:24] definitions and 46.7.3 exceptions of division for public health and welfare. Chapter 6, noise

[5:30:31] regulation of the Torrance Municipal Code to exempt stationary generators for residential

[5:30:37] use from the city of Torrance noise regulation.

[5:30:42] Any comments from the council?

[5:30:45] I see none.

[5:30:47] Any comments from the public?

[5:30:51] Move to a dot ordinance number 3914.

[5:30:56] Sorry.

[5:30:56] Sorry voting please.

[5:30:59] You're on that motion carries with Mayor Chen absent.

[5:31:02] Thank you. We're now moving on to item number 12c.

[5:31:10] This is ordinance number 3915 in ordinance of the city council of the city of Torrents, California repealing ordinance number 3752

[5:31:18] and granting to fill up 66 company, a Delaware corporation, a franchise to construct, lay, operate, test, maintain, use, renew, repair, replace, move, and remove or abandon in place the system of pipelines and

[5:31:33] for the purpose of conducting, transporting, conveying and carrying gas, oil, petroleum products, and water on, along in, under and across public streets, ways, alleys, and places within the city of Torrent.

[5:31:49] You're going to ask?

[5:31:51] Yes, ma'am, I have a motion.

[5:31:53] Oh, I thought you were going to ask for the public.

[5:31:54] Oh, forgive me. It is late. Any comment from the council?

[5:32:02] Anyone from the public wish to be heard on this item?

[5:32:06] move to adopt ordinance number 3915.

[5:32:09] Aye.

[5:32:09] Second.

[5:32:10] Third voting, please.

[5:32:12] Your Honor, that motion carried with Mayor Ken Afton.

[5:32:19] Thank you.

[5:32:20] We're now moving on to oral communications number two.

[5:32:23] This portion of the meeting is reserved for comment on items not on the agenda under the

[5:32:28] Ralph M. Brown Act.

[5:32:30] City Council cannot act on items raised during public comment, but may respond briefly to statements

[5:32:36] made or questions posed.

[5:32:38] request clarification, or refer the item to staff.

[5:32:41] Speakers under Orals are limited to either oral communications number one, or oral communications

[5:32:47] number two, and no longer than one minute per speaker.

[5:32:51] Speakers please turn off or leave your cellular phones when you come to the podium to speak.

[5:32:56] If presenting handout materials to counsel, please provide 10 copies to the city clerk before

[5:33:02] speaking.

[5:33:04] Starting at 12.03, is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak on behalf

[5:33:12] of a oral communication number two?

[5:33:19] Shall we go on with Councilor Orals?

[5:33:22] Councilmember Kaji.

[5:33:27] Good morning and good night.

[5:33:33] Thank you.

[5:33:35] Councilmember Lewis.

[5:33:36] Yes.

[5:33:37] I just wanted to let all of our residents with Torrance know that we had a very successful

[5:33:44] advocacy trip to Washington, T.C. to advocate on behalf of the city, and I wanted to thank

[5:33:51] all of the staff members that made our trip possible, including our legislative gurus that

[5:33:58] set up our schedule in our meeting.

[5:34:01] We hope to do that again soon.

[5:34:03] It was very productive conversations that occurred on behalf of our city.

[5:34:09] So thank you all and one go back.

[5:34:12] Happy birthday, Rebecca, belated birthday.

[5:34:19] Thank you, Councilmember Matucci.

[5:34:22] I have nothing tonight.

[5:34:27] Thank you, Councilmember Schick.

[5:34:32] Thank you, Mayor.

[5:34:34] I believe on there's going to be a drive-through event that is coming up

[5:34:39] For residents, they can safely toss out their hazardous household waste like paint, e-vist

[5:34:47] on March the 15th.

[5:34:51] And for more information, go to lacsd.org forward slash hhw or you can call 424-552-0930.

[5:35:05] And

[5:35:09] I also want to congratulate the Torrance Memorial Hospital as well as a little company

[5:35:14] of Mary Medical Center to be listed among the top best hospital in the United States.

[5:35:21] That was released recently and I also want to thank the staff for taking us to the DC that

[5:35:29] we had a great advocacy trip.

[5:35:31] We learned quite a few new items and I want to thank staff for supporting us.

[5:35:36] We are at very informative, educational, and fun trip.

[5:35:41] Thank you.

[5:35:43] Thank you, sir.

[5:35:44] Council Member Timber Griffith.

[5:35:47] Thank you.

[5:35:48] No more visual aids for tonight.

[5:35:51] Yeah, I want to also comment on the trip to Washington, D.C.

[5:35:55] That my colleagues, Council Member Sheik, and also Council Member Lewis attended as well as several members of our staff

[5:36:04] led by our assistant city manager Danny Santana. I thought it was a fabulous trip.

[5:36:10] We've asked for many, many millions of dollars and I'm reasonably confident that in large

[5:36:17] part to the efforts of staff and our advocacy out there in front of the agencies and legislators

[5:36:22] that we were lobbying, that I think we will be getting many millions of dollars for the benefit of

[5:36:28] city. So I think the trip was well worth it. And I think that's one of the things that

[5:36:35] sets torrents apart from other cities. A lot of cities don't have the capacity or will

[5:36:39] power to send a delegation to talk to their legislators and the agencies that have money

[5:36:46] to dole out. And that's why we get some and some of them don't. And so I think that's what

[5:36:51] helps us apart from many other cities. So thank you staff for that and all your efforts

[5:36:56] efforts to make that trip successful, looking forward to the state trip as well coming up.

[5:37:02] And I think the only thing for me is I wish everybody a happy St. Patrick's Day on Friday.

[5:37:08] Thank you.

[5:37:08] Thank you very much.

[5:37:10] And I have some amendments if everybody's interested.

[5:37:12] Thank you.

[5:37:13] I actually have a quickly have a few things.

[5:37:16] The next performance of the Torrance Theatre Company is wild with happy.

[5:37:20] performances are from April 1st through April 22nd at 1316 Cabrillo Avenue in

[5:37:28] downtown Torrance. You can go to www.torrancetheatercompany.com to get your

[5:37:33] tickets and reservations today. Thank you. I want to thank you for the honor and

[5:37:41] trust of being your Mayor Pro Tem this evening. I wish Mayor and Mrs. Chen a

[5:37:48] safe and prosperous trip as he meets with and establishes relationships with

[5:37:53] friendship cities. And finally, I would like to kind of bring back up the fact

[5:38:00] that this Monday, many people around the world and in many different countries are

[5:38:06] going to be celebrating the change of season to the new year. In my family it's

[5:38:12] actually called No-Rooz.

[5:38:14] Many other people will be celebrating as well.

[5:38:17] So for my Persian family and friends throughout the world,

[5:38:20] I want to say a De Shumomobarak and Rooza Hubi Dashtibashid.

[5:38:25] Happy New Year and have a good day.

[5:38:30] OK.

[5:38:31] So with that, the council will be recessing into closed session.

[5:38:35] We're not done yet this evening to confer with the city manager

[5:38:38] and city attorney on the agenda manners listed under 14A

[5:38:42] conference with labor negotiators.

[5:38:44] and 14-B conference with legal counsel existing litigation.

[5:38:49] A closed session on these matters is authorized by California Government Code Section 54957-546.9D1.

[5:39:01] And we'll be back with you soon.

[6:31:42] Morning. We're going to call the meeting back to order an open session at 1-0-1-am. We have been in closed session, city manager. Do you have any actions to report? Nothing to report your honor. Thank you. Thank you. We will now reconvene our city council meeting. As we conclude this evening's meeting, I want to thank you for your active participation and interest in staying informed. Your involvement continues to help shape

[6:32:12] Torrance, and keep us moving forward.

[6:32:14] As a reminder, as Commissioner Whit mentioned earlier tonight, this week kicks off the

[6:32:20] Social Services Commission's annual toiletry drive from March 17 through March 31.

[6:32:26] This year's drive will help those experiencing homelessness in the city of Torrance and

[6:32:31] benefit nonprofit agencies including Family Promise, 1736 Crisis Center, Harbor Interfaith

[6:32:39] Services.

[6:32:39] Donation bins will be located in the City Hall lobby, City Hall West Annex, Katie Geysert,

[6:32:46] Civic Center Library, and the East Annex Permanent Center.

[6:32:50] Visit torrentca.gov or call 310-618-5880 or email Social Services Commission at torrentca.gov

[6:33:00] for more information.

[6:33:02] Thank you again for joining us tonight.

[6:33:04] the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting takes place on Tuesday, April 11th.

[6:33:11] Have a good night and thank you. I'll now take a motion to adjourn.

[6:33:19] So moved.

[6:33:25] Anybody? Second.

[6:33:30] I'll add you. Thanks.

[6:33:36] You vote no.

[6:33:53] Oh my God it's not letting me click the vote.

[6:33:57] We can do it.

[6:34:08] Start voting please.

[6:34:15] Councilmember Lewis.

[6:34:17] You don't want to go home?

[6:34:27] That motion carries the councilmember shake voting,

[6:34:29] now in Mayor Chen absent.

[6:34:31] Thank you, good night.

City Council Meeting

Agenda

Transcript