City Council brainstorms at retreat

Prudent spending, boosting the business community and reducing in red tape for property development got the most traction at the annual City Council retreat.

The council agreed at the Jan. 31 meeting that the city should look at making life easier for folks who want to remodel or build on their property, do what it can to help local businesses stay keep afloat, but most of all, limit spending to the essential goals.

“It’s a question of paying the mortgage or getting a haircut,” Councilwoman Jane Egly said.

Unlike most previous retreats, no council members submitted subjects or individual goals for the agenda.

“We have no money to spend, but some big decisions need to be made,” City Manager Ken Frank said.

The first item for discussion was not in itself a high priority, but its possible effect is.

Sprucing up Broadway and a better arrangement of the clutter of utility boxes and parking meters would make the street more pedestrian friendly, which might boost business, a council goal.

The city is applying for a grant for to beautify Broadway from the bus depot to Forest Avenue, according to Frank.

Undergrounding utilities

Among the council’s high priorities is funding to bury utility poles and lines along Laguna Canyon Road.

“It is critical,” Mayor Pro Tem Elizabeth Pearson said.

Councilwoman Toni Iseman agreed and noted that undergrounding utilities can make the difference in the ability to evacuate the city.

“If the power [poles] go down on Glenneyre or Thalia, we would have an incredible problem in egress,” Iseman said.

The Laguna Canyon project funding might include a bond that would require a city revenue stream.

“We are talking about $20 [million] to $30 million,” Frank said.

“I will come back in a couple of months with options for Laguna Canyon Road,” Frank said. “We have a stream of money. The Street Lighting Fund has a surplus of abut $300,000 a year.” Use of the fund is limited.

Cut red tape

The council also discussed the city’s process for issuing permits for the development or redevelopment of residential or commercial property, which Frank acknowledged was difficult.

One possible simplification would be not to require a permit if a project doesn’t trigger an increase on the applicant’s property tax.

Mayor Kelly Boyd said Long Beach is an example of an efficient permitting process, which he intends to study further.

“I think we could streamline ours instead of people getting so bogged down, dealing with three or four different people at the front counter,” Boyd said.

Red tape also bogs down the process, Boyd said.

“We have added new rules because one person did something and we moved too quickly,” Boyd said. “We keep adding and adding. We have to be careful.”

About time

Councilwoman Verna Rollinger opined that keeping track of city projects, initiatives and timelines is difficult.

“I would like to see a chart with projections for Athens Group [Aliso Creek Area Redevelopment] or when the Lifeguard Headquarters is coming up,” Rollinger said.

About 150 projects are listed on the staff’s quarterly reports, according to Frank.

“They should be on the [city] web site and when there is an alteration have an asterisk,” Iseman said.

Limit speaking time

And the council discussed limiting the time they could talk during council communications and maybe holding themselves to three minutes per council member per item on the agenda, the same time permitted the public.

The number of speakers from the public on a specific item is not limited, although the time could be, but if all five council members spoke for three minutes on, say 20 items — well, do the math.

Even so, there are reasons not to limit the council’s mic time, Iseman said.

“Sometimes that is the only time we can talk to everyone because of the Brown Act,” Iseman said.

The Brown Act states that public business must be conducted in public, except for specific exemptions such as litigation or employee negotiations until resolved — council members can’t just pick up a telephone and chat with one another about an agenda item.

Making time for staff

Rollinger suggested the council should spend some quality time with city staff.

“It would be nice if the council served lunch for the employees,” Rollinger said.

The Laguna Beach County Water District has a barbecue about once a month, said Boyd, who has a close tie to the district.

“They have more money than we do and fewer employees — 32,” Egly said.

Pearson said staff birthdays could be celebrated on a quarterly basis.

“Something is cemented when you share cake and ice cream rather than when you just walk down the hall and say, ‘Hi,’” Iseman said.

BARBARA DIAMOND can be reached at (949) 380-4321 or [email protected].