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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJUNE 8,1993 I I alIa. "'(] O"-b111 CIs cot:.. 35:0144 CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS ARE TAPE RECORDED AND ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK ROLL CALL l. GRAFFITI - SPRAY PAINT ORDINANCE o ~o2(?"."O 2. WATER BACKFLOW PREVENTION {i~ '70- 70 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA and the ARCADIA REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING (WORK SESSION) JUNE 8, 1993 The City Council and the Arcadia Redevelopment Agency met in an Adj ourned Regular Meeting (Work Session) on Tuesday, June 8, 1993, at 5:30 p. m., in the Council Chambers Conference Room. PRESENT: Councilmembers Fasching, Harbicht, Lojeski, Margett and Ciraulo ABSENT: None ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None Consideration of a City ordinance regulating the sale of aerosol spray paint and marker pens to persons under eighteen years of age, which items could be used for graffiti purposes. The City Attorney advised Council that the status of State law has changed with regard to that which a city can do to regulate the sale of these items. In 1991 this issue was considered by the City Council and it was felt at that time that State law seemed to preempt cities of getting into this area where the City could dictate to merchants where and how the merchants could store or sell aerosol spray paint and wide tip marker pens. Recently the issue was adjudicated and the California Supreme Court determined that cities were not preempted by the State and could, in fact, enact this type of legislation. Subsequently, the County of Los Angeles adopted an ordinance regulating the sale of aerosol spray paint containers and marker pens and included a subsection stating that violation of the ordinance is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $500 and/or imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed six months. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors then caused a copy of said ordinance to be sent to all cities in the county and recommended that each city adopt a similar ordinance. The City Attorney noted that Chief Johnson feels an ordinance to this effect would be a step forward,in,mitigating'~he graffiti problem. Several cities in the area have since adopted ordinances. Considerable discussion ensued with general consensus to adopt a "wait-and- see" approach to see how effective this method will be in those cities which have adopted such an ordinance. The matter will be monitored and in six months brought back to Council for review and reconsideration. Mr. Tom Higham, City Water Quality/Backflow Inspector, prepared and provided to Council a comprehensive report for review, on the installation of backflow preventer devices within the City. The March 11, 1993, report discusses in depth the purpose of a backflow preventer which is a device to prevent contaminated water in a customer's water pipes from entering the City's water system. California law specifically prohibits the installation of a reduced backflow preventer device underground and therefore, the pipes can be seen at many locations in the City near the curbline in front of buildings. Mr. Higham's report stated in 1 6/8/93 3. WATER RATE INCREASE PROPOSAL O:3',O,I,_)U 35:0145 part that backflow preventers, although required by state law, are not aesthetically pleasing to look at. They fall into the same category as mailboxes, fire hydrants, sprinkler controls and fire department siamese connections and post indicators, all of which are found on or near the streets of Arcadia. In his presentation, Mr, Higham offered several proposals to the Council which would aesthetically improve the appearance of the above ground backflow preventer pipes which could be incorporated into the initial process for building permits. Slides were projected of said proposals as follows: 1) Backflow devices that measure 2 1/2 inches or smaller could be screened with foliage; 2) and 3) Installations 3 inches and larger could be required to be screened with a planter box or a wall, with just the fire department connection protruding through the wall or planter box. At the conclusion of Mr. Highamrs presentation the question of screening existing backflow preventer installations was discussed, The City Attorney advised that screening for aesthetic purposes, as long as it did not interfere with the function, would be legal if the requirement were written into an ordinance, Further, the requirement could be retroactive if the property owners were given a specified period of time to comply with the ordinance. At the direction of the Couneil, staff will proceed to implement the change to planning standards and permi ts, and work on the program to screen existing backflow devices, I For informational purposes and direction from the Council, the City Water Manager presented a report of the current condition of the City's water system, and a proposal to increase customer water rates. The Water Division conducted a survey of nine neighboring water agencies which was based on 44 units of wat.. used per customer bimonthly. Of the nine agencies surveyed, eight were on average 32' higher than Arcadia's proposed water rates. Sierra Madre's rate was 4' below the proposed rate for Arcadia, or $40.32 bimonthly on average. The Water Manager proposed that Arcadia's water rate be increased by 5' plus a $1.00 increase in meter base rate bimonthly, which is a fixed charge. Based on 44 units of water us'age this equates to a increase of $1.38 a month to the customer. In reference to all rate increases over the past ten years, Mr. Davidson noted these rates have been increased primarily due to: 1) Increased cost to purchase Metropolitan Water District water; 2) Inflation ranging from 3' to 7' over the last 10 years, which affected costs for materials, equipment, supplies. construction and labor; 3) Increased Edison power costs; 4) Cost due to new water quality testing standards; and 5) Increased maintenance costs due to the City's aging water system. The proposed IT 1993.94 budget of $6,585,087 for the Water Division without an increase in water rates produced a shortfall of $532,112 for the year. A projected shortfall of $192,927 will I occur even with the proposed increase in rates, The Water Manager recommends that the deficit be funded from the Water Operating Reserve Fund in order to maintain the 5' rate increase for IT 1993-94. Staff noted also that 2' of the proposed 5' increase, or $240,000, will be placed into the Water Facility Replacement Fund. Considerable discussion ensued of the aging reservoirs, wells and water mains, and the replacement of these major facilities over time and projected costs. The Water Manager commented that this could be part of the master plan combined with a water rate evaluation within a time frame. In reference to 2' of the base rate charge going to the Facility Replacement Fund, Councilmember Harbicht commented that the percentage should be based on the variable water usage since customers are each charged the same flat rate no matter how much water they use ,., this would be equi tab Ie. However, he is in agreement wi th the proposal as 2 6/8/93 I I 4. RESIDENTIAL STREET LIGHTING tJ 1t C(t') ~ <-1 35:0146 presented for FY 1993-94. This in conjunction with the spirit of cooperation that the citizens have displayed in the water conservation program. By consensus Council agreed that the proposed 5% water rate increase is consistent with the fact that Arcadia water customers have conserved water at a 15% rate and water rates should not be raised any higher; also that the shortfall of $192,927 be absorbed by the City using water reserve funds. A public hearing on the proposed increase will be scheduled for a July City Council meeting. At its meeting of May 12, 1992, the City Council directed staff to investigate alternatives for lighting residential streets. Specifically, the Council requested staff to come back with a report regarding decorative lighting to offer property owners as an alternative to the cobra head luminaire which is currently the City's standard street light. Subsequently staff contacted various agencies such as Los Angeles, Pasadena, Long Beach and Anaheim and found them to be dealing with similar situations of trying to find an alternative to their existing residential lighting standards. Staff also contacted the Southern California Edison Company regarding street lighting and visited their Customer Technology Application Display Center to view examples of street lighting poles, lumina ire designs, aggregates and finishes. Other agencies were also surveyed to determine what was the acceptable level of illumination on their residential streets, and the method used to determine and develop their standards. Staff is concerned that in a liability situation it could be difficult for an agency to defend its standards. Therefore, staff sought an illumination standard backed by research and development. The only such standard staff could locate was ANSI/IES,ap-8, which was developed and published by the Illuminating Engineers Society (lES) and approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI/IES is a culmination of 57 years of research and testing and sets a minimum level of light that should be used for roadway lighting. Staff research indicated that although there are many types of decorative street lights available, there is only one type of lumina ire that has been field tested and_proved to be effective in meeting ANSI/IES RP-8 illumination levels, and producing quality light. Such luminaire is the Olympian which is produced by Unicorn and has the best photometrics. Architecturally, this decorative light design blends in well to residential neighborhoods and tends to add to the aesthetics of the street during night and day. Moreover, it meets the minimum required level of lighting according to ANSI/IES RP-8. However, the cost to install such a decorative street light system can be approximately twice as much as a cobra head luminaire system. The City of Los Angeles is installing the Olympian in selected areas. Staff noted also that approximately one third of residential streets in Arcadia .cIo not have street lights and posted mapa of the'City highlighting those areas without street lighting for Council's appraisal. Further details of staff's investigation and findings are detailed in the June 8, 1993 staff report. Following a video produced by Public Works staff of the variety of residential street lights within the City, considerable discussion ensued; representatives from the Edison Company were introduced and offered their recommendations to Council; staff explained the petition process for those neighborhoods desiring to have street lights installed; the additional costs for installation of decorative poles and lights as opposed to the cobra lights was explored; consideration was given to offering residents an option of either decorative lighting or the cobra head lighting; also for new residential developments could a developer be required to install decorative lighting; and Edison representatives explained that after initial installation costs in an Edison owned system the City will pay the monthly costs, however, more poles are involved with the installation of 3 6/8/93 5. LOJESKI (Maidie Bong) CIRAULO -}/~O - 70 (Chamber/ N5P Comm. Bus.Expo) ADJOURNMENT ATTEST: 35:0147 decorative lighting and therefore higher monthly costs to the City. Further, if the City owned the system, the monthly cost would be even higher; the issue of offering an option to those petitioning for street lighting of either the cobra or decorative lights was considered. Councilmember Fasching preferred that only decorative lighting be available for residential areas in order to establish uniformity throughout the City. Councilmember Margett agreed with Councilmember Fasching. Mayor Pro tem Lojeski and Councilmember Harbicht preferred to offer residents a choice so as not to preclude those who may want street lighting but cost becomes a factor. Mayor Ciraulo felt that this is Council's opportunity to develop a master look for the City in street lighting. The City Manager advised that this item will be placed on the City Council agenda for further consideration in July. ITEKS FROM. COUNCIUlEM.RERS Mayor Pro tem Lojeski reported that Mrs. Maidie Bong, a long time resident of the City, had recently passed away. The Bong family were former owners of the property on which a portion of the Residence Inn is now situated. Mayor Ciraulo, liaison' to the Senior Citizen's Commission, reported that the Commission recently voted in favor of holding the Chamber of Commerce Business Expo at the Community Center in March of 1994. At 8:15 p. m. the meeting ADJOURNED to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 15, 1993, in the Conference Room of the City Council Chambers for an Adjourned Regular Meeting, and to conduct the business of the Council and Agency and any c~osed session necessary to discuss personnel, litigation matters or evaluation of properties. , , 4 6/8/93 I I