I Heart SCV

Happenings: Goodbyes, Changes, First World Problems

2012-01-24T23:50:00.000-08:00

It was a meeting of goodbyes: goodbye to redevelopment, goodbye to former committee assignments, goodbye to a quiet neighborhood… But a goodbye to the recently deceased Clyde Smyth, a major figure in Santa Clarita education, government, and society, was the most profound one of the night.

The meeting began just a bit after six. Councilmember Laurene Weste delivered the invocation. She spent over ten minutes talking about shelter animals, noting that many more may be euthanized if Governor Brown is able to implement budget-cutting measures that shorten how long an animal is held before being killed. She then offered tips—spay and neuter pets, have your contact information on their collars, adopt from shelters—that weren’t exactly news to anyone, but certainly well-intentioned.

Individual reports and updates from the council members weren’t particularly revelatory—Councilmember Kellar spoke about Dionne Warwick’s recent performance, for example. Mayor Laurie Ender, however, took a few moments to talk about her memories of Clyde Smyth. She highlighted his role as superintendent, his championing of Newhall redevelopment, his efforts to build Central Park, and his desire to unify and optimize a transportation plan for the valley. She spoke of his commitment to transparency, one he codified with the statement, “We must do the public’s business in public.”

The council moved onto the consent calendar, which they approved in its entirety. This means that a 285-space park-and-ride lot will be designed for a plot near the corner of McBean and Valencia Blvd.; businesses in Newhall will be able to have bigger signs and some additional outdoor displays; and $215,000 will go to the Performing Arts Center over the next three years for community use of the facility. Cam Noltemeyer felt that the City of Santa Clarita was paying an “outrageous price” for the petroleum-contaminated property that is to become the park-and-ride. She said that her request for documents revealed that appraisal of the property had occurred after it was already in escrow.

Up next, Mayor Ender attempted to condense and more equitably distribute committee appointments among the council members. Before this evening, McLean served on or was an alternate for 20 committees, and Mayor Pro Tem Frank Ferry a mere 7. After she was done rearranging things and bargaining with her fellow council members, positions were spread a bit more evenly, though Ferry still managed to have the fewest. Ender grouped some committees together (e.g., aging and transitional care unit and senior housing committees), showing an eye for concision, and she dissolved some that would no longer be necessary, like the committee for the Santa Clarita Courthouse (now a foregone conclusion thanks to the County of LA). “Staff time means money,” Ender said, explaining that fewer committee meetings would free up staff.

A few of the changes didn’t go over so well. Speaker Duane Harte asked to have Bob Kellar put back on the CEMEX committee, citing his many lobbying trips to Washington and his familiarity with the issues. Laurene Weste would give her spot to Kellar, but she insisted on keeping the North Newhall Specific Plan Committee. Both Weste and McLean were emphatic about the need for this committee and its role in ensuring adherence to certain standards set forth for Newhall. Kellar would say he thought this role wasn’t appropriate for the City Council, suggesting that property rights were infringed upon when council members could all but dictate architectural designs to Newhall property owners. McLean was quite upset at Kellar’s suggestions, and she affirmed her staunch support of property rights.

Back down, Bob, said McLean’s eyes.

McLean had other objections. There was a tense little moment when she said she cared very much about the issue of senior housing, and wanted to be on the committee for it. Mayor Ender said, somewhat snarkily, that McLean caring about senior housing meant there were “five of us who do.” It was not easy to pry appointments from McLean’s grasp, and Ender’s resolve was rather admirable.

There were two items dealing with the dissolution of the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Santa Clarita. The City will be the successor agency, dealing with remaining debts, administrative duties, and the like. The agency has over $90M in total outstanding debt or obligation, but Redevelopment Manager Armine Chaparyan said the payments will have “no impact to the general fund” since funds have already been earmarked. She added that all property acquired by the Redevelopment Agency was now held by the City, simplifying matters somewhat. Still, no one was happy to see the redevelopment agency coming to an end--at least no one at the dais.

Public participation came next. Alan Ferdman encouraged Claritans to provide feedback as the sanitation district begin the EIR process for a new treatment plant. If you have no idea what he's talking about, he has posted a video online[2]. The Lutnesses spoke about rampant foreclosures in Santa Clarita (yes, still) and the rising problem of homelessness among senior and families. Most speakers, though, were upset about tennis lessons happening in their neighbor’s yard. First world problems, anyone?

I shouldn’t make light. Happy Valley residents bought homes in a quiet neighborhood expecting that their neighbor wouldn’t install what they’ve christened a “sports complex.” It includes tennis courts, lighting, athletic fields, unsightly fencing, and cash-only lessons—at least according to an ad in the yellow pages.

“I’m beyond frustrated” said McLean, clearly sympathizing with the community at large. City Attorney Montes couldn’t say much, since complaints from the sports complex operator and neighbors may lead to legal action. However, it was apparent that he knew it was a major concern for local residents and that resolution was a priority.

Before adjourning the meeting, Marsha McLean recalled raising a family alongside the Smyths, watching their children grow up and go to school together. She said of Clyde, quite simply, “He was wonderful.” The meeting ended a little after 8.

[1]Agenda.

[2]The 500 Million Dollar Invisible Gorilla in the Room, as Ferdman mildly puts it

Happenings: Redev. Extension, Newhall Regulations "Relax"

2012-01-11T06:44:00.000-08:00

“OK, here goes.” So began the first Santa Clarita City Council meeting of 2012[1]. The recently enthroned Mayor Laurie Ender said, “I know you’ll give me a break,” a tad anxious as she worked to find her bearings. In anticipation of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, she quoted King: “The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers.” Ender hoped Claritans would endeavor to find brotherhood with their neighbors despite their differences.

There was a slight divergence from the usual order or things as the council decided to add an agenda item for the evening. City Attorney Joe Montes said that the last-minute addition was OK, even though it couldn’t be publicly noticed. He explained that the item came up after the agenda was made and was considered urgent. Specifically, California Senate Bill 659 (or similar legislation) would allow redevelopment agencies to operate an extra two months after their planned dissolution this February. The bill may be introduced as early as the 11^th and decided before the next council meeting, so the council members voted to add an agenda item offering support for the bill.

Awards and recognition came next. Cross country runners from Saugus (girls team) and Golden Valley (boys team) were cheered as CIF State Champions. Mayor Pro Tem Frank Ferry described the unprecedented six-in-a-row championship of the Saugus team, ordering coach Rene Paragas, his wife (“Get up here, wife!” Ferry bellowed into the microphone), and the assistant coach, Kathryn Nelson, forward to receive credit as well. Mayor Ender said that she was delighted to see the young Golden Valley High School win such a prestigious title.

Comments and committee reports took an unfortunately long time. Councilmember Marsha McLean deserves the credit. She wanted to send an opinion about a draft MOU involving SCAG, the California High Speed Rail Authority, and others. The MOU covers improvements to rail lines and rail-based transportation systems, some of which operate nearby. McLean’s intended message was quickly lost in a lengthy discussion of whether it would be permissible to convey said message without it being approved as an agenda item (but essentially, she wanted to speed up the improvement process with a deadline set before the next regional transportation plan was released, not the proposed 2020 date). Joe Montes said he thought that if a letter was going to be sent on behalf on the whole council—none of the members of which had seen a copy—it should be on the agenda. He vacillated, though, wondering in what capacity McLean was hoping to offer the opinion and what impact such an opinion would have and so on. McLean felt like Montes was wrong and making the letter too much of a “big deal.” Ultimately, it was decided that Joe Montes and Mike Murphy, intergovernmental relations officer, would look it over and allow the whole council to sign or recommend that McLean send the letter on her own.

Councilmember Laurene Weste skipped her turn to offer comments. Ferry spoke about a visit with Jo Anne Darcy, where he learned that the former council member valued the personal relationships she had built more highly than all the plaques and honors she had received while in power. Finally, Ender shared numbers from 2011’s record-breaking year of filming—some 901 film days occurred in Santa Clarita, having a $19M impact on local businesses.

The emergency agenda item concerning redevelopment was considered next. As you likely know, a court decision means that redevelopment agencies will be eliminated in February, at which point successor agencies will take control to continue paying off debts and fully dismantling the operations.

City Manager Ken Pulskamp explained that a bill will attempt to delay the dissociation of agencies until April 15^th of this year in order to give the agencies more time to wrap things up. The whole of the council voted to send a letter in support of such legislation.

Considerable lamentation preceded the vote. Pulskamp said the courts had taken away “absolutely the most important tool in economic recovery and job creation.” Murphy said, “They in essence picked the worst of both worlds,” referring to the court’s decision not to allow redevelopment agencies to operate, even under a “pay to play” plan where they would send some revenue back to the state. Weste, too, was in mourning, noting that the agencies were dearly needed to prevent blight. Mayor Ender soured the mood a bit when she carefully mentioned the abuses of redevelopment agency funds that had taken place, but was quick to note that reform, not elimination of the agencies altogether, was preferable.

The rest of the agenda was approved without much discussion. The Santa Clarita WorkSource Center will be now be operated by COC. Federal lobbying services for transportation-related issues and the Whittaker-Bermite “issue” will be obtained for $77,000. The City will work on agreements with LA County to purchase tax-defaulted property that would be held as open space in the Placerita Canyon area. Cam Noltemeyer said that she hoped the site wasn’t contaminated, as some other open space acquisitions have been.

Some trivial (and perhaps one majorish) changes to regulations for Newhall businesses received a lengthy presentation and consideration as a public hearing. Perhaps it’s because I’m not a business owner in Newhall, but these didn’t seem like particularly controversial proposals. Under proposed changes, A-frame signs could be placed on the sidewalk during special events. 25% of a window’s area could be used for advertising, up from 15%. 36-inch lettering could be used on buildings, up from 18-inches, and during special events, some merchandise could be displayed outdoors. Talk about putting the “new” in Newhall! Of course, permits and or review would still be required to take several of these actions. The biggest change, perhaps, was allowing for legal non-conforming use to stand for 60 days, down from 180. This is the provision that allows businesses that don’t conform with the plan for Newhall (e.g., auto repair) to continue to operate. If one such business leaves a space, another business of the same type can lease its space—so long as they do so within 60 days. Thereafter, property-owners could only lease to businesses that conform with the Newhall specific plan. McLean wanted to reduce the allowance to only 30 days despite the fact that Pulskamp and Kellar said that it’s very difficult to lease a property in just one month. She didn’t win support for the 30-day plan, but the rest was approved.

During public participation, Cam Noltemeyer said that she suspected there had been Brown Act violations leading up to Ferry’s acquisition of the mayor pro tem title. She wondered how council members and staff could have known about his plan in advance, and tired of the “petty nonsense” and “arrogance” coming from Ferry et al. Lynne Plambeck, though she differs politically from Kellar, was also dismayed to see Ferry take the title that was supposed to pass to Kellar. Plambeck also mentioned that she’d like to see plastic bags banned in Santa Clarita. McLean responded that she had asked staff to look into such a measure some months ago, but she was waiting on the outcome of a lawsuit in Los Angeles to see if proceeding with a bag ban would be legal. McLean said, “I take cloth bags with me wherever I go.” Weste shared McLean’s enthusiasm for reusable bags, saying, “They’re colorful, they’re tough, they’re really useful.”

The meeting adjourned in the memory of Jeri Bronstrup, owner of the quintessentially Claritan Way Station.

[1]For your convenience and delight, here is the agenda.

Happenings: Beginning of the Ender; Ferry Puts Self First

2011-12-14T00:53:00.000-08:00

It was a big night.

While a tribute to Marsha McLean’s term as mayor was touching and Laurie Ender’s ascent was momentous, this was really the night that Frank Ferry snubbed Bob Kellar[1]. In a surprising twist, Ferry nominated himself to serve as Mayor Pro-Tem. While there’s no formal rotation, the informal one is almost always adhered to[2]. Bob Kellar was set to serve as Mayor Pro-Tem in 2011-12 and, it would follow, as mayor from 2012-13. Kellar would not acquiesce to Ferry’s self-nomination power-grab, but Ferry was easily carried by the affirmative votes of the female council members. He would hint obliquely at his motives by the end of the meeting, but we must wait for further explanation and to better understand the implications of this maneuver.

The evening started on an unusual note. The Senior Center Silvertone Singers were seated in the front rows. After several lengthy anecdotes from their director, they sang “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Home for the Holidays.” I couldn’t really hear the singing because the accompanying music was louder than their voices, but no matter—it felt festive.

Ferry's an ambitious fella, fa la la la la, la la la la,

Gonna steal Pro-Tem from Kella, fa la la la la, la la la la...

Out-going Mayor McLean was positively tickled, saying ““Let’s just make it a tradition, right?”

Next, McLean recalled some of the important strides made during her term as mayor. “It has been an incredible year for me and our city,” she began. Notable achievements included: very successful community gardens; Creekside Road streetscape; Fallen Warriors Memorial Bridge; grand openings of the public libraries under local control and issuance of 35,000 library cards; crime reduction; acquisition of Haskell Canyon Open Space; Senses and other events promoting Newhall; the various festivals and events like the marathon, concerts, Cowboy Festival…; city-wide landscaping projects; and keeping the record of passing a “100% balanced and on-time budget.” She closed with flashes of her fighting spirit, promising to keep opposing CEMEX mining and to hasten the clean-up of the Whittaker-Bermite site. She thanked her fellow council members, staff, the community, and her family for their support.

Assistant City Manager Ken Striplin presented McLean with a plaque and a bag she can use to carry all of her papers as she busily commutes to the various boards and committees on which she serves.

Oh, Ken, how ever did you know?

Then it was time for people to thank McLean. Local institutions and representatives from the offices of Buck McKeon, Cameron Smyth, Sharon Runner, and Tony Strickland were present to commend McLean for her excellent service as mayor. When posing for a picture with Marsha McLean, Scott Wilk and Scott Wilk Jr. stood next to Bob Hauter—they're not always the chummiest, especially since the race for State Assembly.

When it was time for nominations for mayor, Frank Ferry jumped in to nominate Laurie Ender, a motion that Marsha McLean seconded. Ferry said that Laurie Ender showed great leadership in pushing for the expansion of the Newhall Memorial Hospital campus and in spearheading the library takeover. Everyone gave their yes (or “aye”, in Weste’s case) to Ender.

Beaming with nervous energy, Ender called her family to stand next to her as she was sworn in. Ender made a crack about her son being so excited to have to stand with her, and Ferry jumped in to further embarrass the lad, saying, “He was flirting next to a cute girl and you interrupted him.” He has such a way with youth.

For a City Council that has, for so long, seen the same faces in different chairs, it was truly momentous for Laurie Ender to be taking on the role of mayor, even if the title is largely symbolic in importance. After the hugs and applause and handshakes, she joked that “The gavel may come in handy since I have three teenage boys!” Her first joke as mayor, awww!

When asked for nominations for Mayor Pro-Tem, Ferry very quickly nominated himself. There was a brief pause as people took in this unexpected power play. McLean was the first to respond, seconding the nomination. Mayor Ender asked for other nominations, but Bob Kellar did not nominate himself—nor did anyone else. He expressed his unhappiness at Ferry’s bold move by refusing to support Ferry’s nomination. “I would prefer to go with the usual progression,” he said, voting no. But everyone else said yes, so Frank Ferry is now Mayor Pro-Tem. This move distanced Kellar from the rest of the City Council to perhaps a greater degree than ever before. Ferry’s mention of HMNMH expansion and the library takeover, both of which were questioned by Kellar, seemed all the more meaningful in light of this maneuver.

Cake—and presumably some very strained conversations—followed.

The meeting resumed around 6:20. Mayor Laurie Ender presided over a couple of rather memorable acknowledgements. The first was so because it involved a vast sea of student volunteers in the “Safe Rides” program, the teens who drive their drunk peers safely home from parties[3]. McLean and Ferry were particularly adamant about thanking this group.

Bill Kennedy and his wife, Kathy, were recognized next. The pair has been a community fixture for just over a decade. Bill Kennedy’s work on the Planning Commission and his involvement in business and philanthropy were noted. Kennedy called his departure “bittersweet” because, while he’s losing the community he has been so involved in, he and his wife are moving to be closer to their grandsons. Kennedy had many kind words for Councilmember Kellar, by whom he was appointed to Planning Commission.

During reports and updates from the council, there was a little of everything. Kellar plugged Sake Bistro & Sushi. He has an old-timey sort of affinity for the entertainer, “Jimmy,” and made the joint sound like a swell place for you and your gal on a Sunday night. Ferry thanked Santa Clarita’s arborists for pruning trees so that recent windstorms didn’t topple them over, as happened in other Southland communities. McLean encouraged everyone to see the moving exhibit “Highwire Act: Insights into Substance Abuse”, at the town center through early January.

The Consent Calendar was approved without discussion or public comments. This meant that measures allotting funds for concrete repair and accepting a mini-grant to fund twelve sobriety checkpoints were approved.

Falling under New Business were the mid-fiscal-year budget review and adjustments. Ken Striplin said that despite the fact that that State of California is vying for local funds and has not reimbursed the City for certain expenses, the budget isn’t in fine shape. New spending would take place to fund a Canyon Country Community Center, improve the accessibility of open spaces, beautify Railroad Avenue, design more parking spaces for the Valencia Library, support community group use of the Performing Arts Center, and other sundry projects. $140K was allocated to improvements to the first floor of City Hall, including the council chambers.

In what probably should have been a separate item, staff also proposed establishing a trust to cover post-retirement health care benefits. Striplin said that the City is unique in being able to cover these liabilities without going into debt; the same cannot be said of other municipalities.

There were no speakers from the public. Councilmember Weste asked about staffing for the Canyon Country Center, and Striplin said it would be covered by full-time staff already under the employ of the City, with new part-time staff hired as needed and volunteers making up the difference. The recommended actions on budget adjustments and benefit funding were taken.

During Public Participation, the sole speaker was Berta Gonzalez Barbier. “I am a little confused as to how this works,” she said, referring to the fact that Bob Kellar hadn’t been voted Mayor Pro-Tem. “Just from a casual observer [her observations are hardly casual, most would agree], it sort of appears to me there’s been an effort to marginalize Bob.” Exactly. She said she wasn’t happy about the fact that he has lost his seat on some committees, and she was even less happy to have seen him skipped over at tonight’s meeting.

Ferry decided to respond. In a rambling, wide-ranging, unstructured, generally incoherent speech, he said that his life has changed a lot this year. He awoke from the coma, his sons are finishing school, and he may be getting ready to marry his partner. He said that after much “reflection and re-prioritizing”, he decided he really wanted to be mayor for his sixteenth year on the City Council. “I am looking forward to my life for what my future may hold,” he said. His speech was chock-full of “me”s and “my”s and mine”s. It was, truly, all about him (or his family, a more generous listener might contend).

One logical interpretation of his train of thought was that this was Ferry saying his life is moving onto a new phase. He either wants to go out as mayor, leaving on a high point (he did stress how very long he’d been at City Hall), or he’s seeking mayorhood as a means of reaching higher office and wants to have the big title while he pursues his ambitions. And of course, he has to get back at Kellar for his support of David Gauny, who almost took Ferry's seat, and who has fought Ferry and the rest of the council on a number of items. More clarity will emerge soon.

[1]This was definitely not on the agenda.

[2]Leon Worden goes over a couple of exceptions at SCVNews.

[3]I know, they’ll also drive people home who are just in unsafe situations and are not drunkards, too. And yes, I quite agree it's better they drink and call than drink and drive.

Happenings: Smart Meter Scares, Open Space, and a Plaque

2011-11-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

The two biggest points of contention at tonight’s City Council Meeting were not agendized: (1)A local advisory committee felt ignored and disrespected, and (2)The mayor expressed serious concern over the impending installation of smart meters by Southern California Edison.[1]

The meeting began, as usual, with an invocation. “Thursday’s Thanksgiving,” revealed Councilmember Bob Kellar, who then gave a brief overview of the religious, familial, and political implications of the observance.

After the flag salute, the City Council applauded seven awards from the International Festival and Events Association. They included recognition for excellent events for children, stellar event websites, and even a bronze for the “Best Pin or Button” category (Cowboy Festival, in case you were wondering. I still have mine—it‘s a fine pin).

When each member of the City Council had a chance to share updates, Councilmember Ferry passed. Mayor Pro-Tem Laurie Ender spoke about Thanksgiving dinner at the community center; over 600 people came. She also highlighted Santa Clarita Public Library’s support of book clubs, and she expressed her delight that a number of students from Valencia High School were attending the City Council meeting for class. Councilmember Bob Kellar lauded the annual Festival of Trees, benefiting the Boys & Girls Club. Councilmember Laurene Weste reflected on the death of Alan Mootnick, the man who ran the Gibbon Conservation Center in Saugus.

Mayor Marsha McLean focused her comments on the installation of smart meters throughout Santa Clarita. Southern California Edison is adding the electricity-monitoring devices in the valley beginning this month. They're "smart" because they can transmit electricity usage information remotely. McLean expressed some anxiety over what installation means for people on life support equipment, since power is briefly disrupted to install the device. She also mentioned concerns about the safety and security of transmitting information about energy use. McLean encouraged residents to visit the SCE website or call their hotline if they wished to be put on a delay list out of concern over power disruption, radio wave emissions, etc. Her main issue was a lack of earlier notification of installation, and Councilmember Weste was sympathetic to her concerns[2].

The Consent Calendar wasn’t very substantial. Two items improved traffic signals and safety on Carnegie/Barcotta as well as Seco Canyon Frontage Road.

Another item recommended purchasing about 18-acres in Placerita Canyon to set aside as open space. Including fees and improvements, the price tag was $90,000. Cam Noltemeyer said of the property “It’s probably worthless in this market,” citing personal concerns over contamination from oil and the Whittaker-Bermite site. Jim Farley, who maintains that the assessment funding open space acquisition is improper/illegal, said that he thought the acquisition would be of limited benefit to the community. Rather than contributing to a green belt around the city, he said the property merely provided a site for Placerita Canyon horse owners to go trail-riding.

Finally, per the requirements of the Maddy Act, the last item presented a list of local appointments to various commissions, committees, and boards. Staff recommended it be made available in local libraries for review. Cam Noltemeyer saw the list as a reminder that term limits might be useful (some appointments have been in place since the 90s).

A motion to take the recommended actions for the six Consent Calendar items was seconded and passed with a unanimous vote.

During Public Participation, Anna Frutos Sanchez, representing SoCal Edison, was eager to set the record straight about smart meters. She said that she was there to share information and correct the rumors (it was reminiscent of how the CC addresses purportedly misinformed citizens). “Given the technological changes it is understandable that some people may have questions,” she said. However, she asserted that the smart meters raised no privacy concerns, had been tested for safety, and were no cause for alarm. Mayor McLean thanked Sanchez for her message, but closed the topic by re-stating the number to delay installation of a smart meter at one’s home. It was clear that McLean had not been convinced.

Pam Hogan, of Veterans Memorial Committee, Inc., spoke about a subject that clearly upset her. A pedestal/plaque was recently added to the Veterans Historical Plaza. It honors State Senator Pete Knight, an accomplished Air Force vet who helped secure funding for the plaza before his death in 2004. The trouble was, Hogan and other members of the Veterans Memorial Committee didn’t want the plaque. As summarized in an agenda item from August of this year, “SCV Veterans Memorial, Inc. considered the proposal, and prefers that the recognition for Senator Knight be consistent with the recognition for Assemblyman Runner, as both gentlemen were pivotal in securing funding for the purchase of the property that became the Plaza.[3]” In other words, they wanted Knight’s name on the donor wall, not on a special plaque. Hogan and her husband, a Vietnam vet,felt that the City Council had seriously disrespected them by ignoring their opinion on the plaque. I’m not clear on why the recognition was so contested and the cause for so much offense (comment if you know), but you can read the old agenda item for more information[3].

Before the meeting adjourned, Laurie Ender turned to Frank Ferry and reminded him that he came very close to death due to surgical complications this time last year (she used different words, obviously). “Of the many things I’m thankful for, a year later, you’re still here,” she told Frank.

Happy Thanksgiving.

[1]Here's a very small agenda

[2]Common questions about smart meters, answered

[3]Here's the item

Happenings: Cam Takes a Stand, Pulskampery Ensues

2011-11-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

They got their voting stickers: did you?

Our City Council, august and meticulous as it is, sometimes appears to just rubber-stamp staff recommendations. Despite the fact that millions of budget dollars, tens of thousands of people, and hundreds of acres of land were affected by this evening’s Consent Calendar[1,2], no one on the City Council had anything to say except Mayor Marsha McLean, who made a brief remark about permeable pavement. The lack of discussion was of concern to beloved/maligned local activist Cam Noltemeyer—a concern she made apparent with her unique brand of civic theatrics.

Rather little happened before the Consent Calendar portion of the meeting. The invocation was Councilmember Frank Ferry’s. He read a nice prayer in honor of Veterans Day. The sole presentation came from Southern California Edison/Edison International. It was a proclamation detailing SoCal Edison's greatness and its appreciation that Santa Clarita does business with such a great company. Handshakes and pictures followed.

Mayor McLean asked if there were any items that public speakers wanted pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion. The City Clerk rattled off a list that may have been longer than McLean had expected. The Mayor’s visage and voice sank ever so slightly as she accepted the stack of speaker cards with a drawled “OoooK.”

Public comments on various items followed. By public comments, I mean comments by Cam Noltemeyer. She decided to take a stand against hasty agenda approval this evening by forcing attention on several items for at least her three minutes of allotted speaking time. Lynne Plambeck would assist in this endeavor.

First up was a $60,000/year recurring advertising campaign on behalf of local auto-dealers, part of the “shop local” program. In case you didn't know, local purchases generate local tax revenue that is spent--you guessed it--locally. Here, it was Noltemeyer versus Fleming. (I issued a FlemWatch Alert on Friday; I hope you took heed.) Noltemeyer pointed out that $50,000 was given to Hart Baseball at the last meeting, but it was contingent on delivering concrete results (i.e., specific numbers of hotel rooms had to be booked for baseball tournaments). She wanted to know why the auto dealers weren’t being compelled to deliver similarly concrete results.[3]

In support of the advertising plan was Don Fleming of Valencia Acura, as if you didn’t know. He said a lot of words about partnering and community and trying to do a billion dollars in sales on auto row.

It was satisfying to hear City Manager Ken Pulskamp directly respond to a public question on this matter. Cam had asked “Where are the goals that they’re required to meet?” When it was his turn to respond, Pulskamp replied “There’s a very clear goal: explain to the public the benefits of shopping locally.” OK, so the actual content of the reply wasn’t particularly satisfying, but you take what you can get. He went on to claim that for the $60K investment, the City makes back “$3,822,000 and some change.” Obviously, this is baloney. The total amount of tax revenue from auto dealers is about $3.8M for the year. Unless everyone who bought a car in Santa Clarita did so because of the annual $60K shop local advertising campaign, that’s a grossly inflated figure for return-on-investment.

More items on the Consent Calendar slowly ticked by, marked by Noltemeyer's approach and retreat from the microphone. In many instances, it was the principle of an item—rather than the specific item itself—that was cause for concern. Regarding a plan to reimburse a developer for road construction, Noltemeyer expressed her dismay that taxpayer dollars are used to help build roads and bridges that will make the Mission Village development feasible. “Lennar should have paid for it”, she said. (The item in question was unrelated—a road construction reimbursement going to Williams Homes for work on Sierra Highway.)

When it came to the question of whether to purchase land for a park-and-ride, Lynne Plambeck was pleased with the idea of promoting the use of public transportation, but she wasn’t keen on the location. The proposed site comprises 6.4 acres of oak savannah by McBean and Valencia Boulevard for a price of $1.2M. Plambeck suggested a multi-story structure could be installed closer to the mall in order to keep a remnant of valley oak savannah from being paved over. She also wondered about the status of CEQA planning and compliance for the project, since it will be destroying a small but significant chunk of wilderness. The next speaker was a man who works at Boeing. He was wholly supportive of the park-and-ride. He described the difficulties of finding a parking lot that can accommodate the vehicles from his daily 14-person vanpool. He pointed out that the proposed site was rather ideal in that it would be safe and convenient, located near both transit facilities and the freeway.

City Manager Ken Pulskamp’s response proved unsatisfying from an ecological perspective. First, he deigned not to respond to a direct question about CEQA. Regarding the chopping down of three stately Valley Oaks, he said that it was three oaks cut and 87 oak saplings planted for “a net gain of 84 oaks.” .” Technically, he’s right. But then, so too would be someone who claimed that chucking a trio of Picassos for 87 Thomas Kinkades would be a net gain of 84 paintings.[4]

Public Participation followed the City Council’s unanimous, discussion-less approval of the Consent Calendar. It served as a forum for an elderly man to convey the need for a local police department. More focused comments came from Doris and Kent Carlson. They complained about filming companies getting carte blanche with their filming permits. Kent Carlson related an incident where he was bothered by extremely bright filming lights at night. He said that he spoke to a deputy from the Sheriff’s Department (paid $802 for the night by the film company, Carlson claimed) who was dismissive and told him to move along when he asked to see the filming company’s permit and asked questions about permit enforcement. Pulskamp asserted that filming is an important and valued industry in Santa Clarita, but that they work to be mindful of homeowner needs as well.

The meeting ended at 7:20.

[1]Here's the agenda.
[2]No, those numbers are not employed rhetorically. Millions of dollars: land purchases, road projects, and so on add up to millions of dollars for tonight's various items. Tens of thousands of people: land purchases and tax-dollar expenditures affect all residents directly or indirectly. Hundreds of acres of land: zoning and annexation for 540 acres in Sand Canyon for pre-zoning/annexation.
[3]Furthermore, the Hart money came only from a special tax on hotels. When Cam went to return to her seat, the Mayor said she should stay up front since she had turned in a number of speaker cards and would be at the microphone again soon. Noltemeyer kept walking, which caused Mayor McLean to say “Well we’ll start your time from when you walk up.” When Noltemeyer returned, she would snap back by saying “Don’t yell at people when they come here.”
[4]Pulskamp’s style of answering questions will be immediately familiar to anyone who has watched the Republican debates or interviews with legislators or White House briefings—he responds like a politician. Questions are met with over-simplified statements and generalizations, and he simply doesn’t answer the ones he doesn’t like.

Happenings: Baseball Tourism, Historic Indecision

2011-10-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

Tonight: the City Council acted as middleman in a tourism deal, the southern Sand Canyon area is all but annexed, and history hangs in the balance (well, at least historical structures)[1].
Councilmember Laurene Weste delivered the invocation. She made an appeal to support the Homes for Heroes program which is doing a major renovation of a local veteran’s home as its November 5th kick-off event. The primary sponsors are the Southern California Gas Company in partnership with KHTS[2].

What would a City Council meeting be without awards and recognition? Shorter. In any event, the ladies of Soroptimist International were on deck this evening. I learned that there are two distinct chapters—one for Santa Clarita Valley and the other for Greater Santa Clarita Valley. These competing factions called a truce to support the “Color Me Pink” and “Color Me Purple” campaigns. Pink (and the month of October) are devoted to the fight to end breast cancer, and purple (and November) to the fight to end domestic violence. A sea of soroptimists flooded the dais to receive the recognition, each member insisting on giving hugs to each and every council member. It took a solid two minutes.

Next, the new director of the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center, Rachelle Dardeau, introduced herself. She was gracious and warm, thanking the City for their support of the center’s important mission to nourish the oldies with food and friendship.

General comments from council members were given next, and they would take up a hefty chunk of the evening. Councilmember Frank Ferry recalled asking staff to provide resources for resolving neighborly disputes, which have been increasingly common and violent of late. There is now a page on the City’s website that links you to resources about how to talk to a neighbor you’re having problems with. To meet Ferry's request, staff apparently Googled "neighbor disputes" and pared down the results for Claritans in crisis.

I like the ironic modifier: "Neighborly Disputes".

Ferry also suggested that families visit Saugus Speedway to catch a glimpse of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. The piney cadaver will be placed on big trucks and carted into town on its way to Washington, D.C. If you’ve never seen a large, recently felled tree lying on its side in a truck, here’s your chance[3]. A food drive is also part of the event, and sounds decidedly more worthwhile. Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender had no comments apart from wishing Councilmember Weste a happy birthday. In a charming moment, Frank told everyone Laurene was turning 29 years old.

Perhaps because she was reminded of her own mortality—that’s what birthdays are for, right?—Weste devoted her comments to preserving Santa Clarita’s historic structures. She said that she wanted staff to do a study of what communities have done “across the nation” to preserve their local history.

Councilmember Bob Kellar emphatically disagreed with Laurene’s plan for additional research. “At some point in time we have to say, ‘We’ve done our homework.’” He contended that that time was now, noting that the City has been working on a permanent ordinance for historic preservation for half-a-decade. Ferry weighed in next, saying he would require a clear definition of what makes a structure historic, the ability to opt-in to a listing program rather than be forced into it, and an emphasis on pursuing public ownership of valuable, historic buildings. Mayor Marsha McLean said that she agreed with Weste that more study was needed and wanted the Planning Commission to reconsider the issue.

At this suggestion, Ferry said “I have no idea what the Planning Commission did. I don’t watch them…” (Shocker.) McLean explained that they had essentially de-fanged the ordinance, making historic listing a strictly opt-in process. There was considerable discussion of this, and City Attorney Joe Montes was visibly uncomfortable. He reminded the Council that they could only discuss whether to instruct staff to perform more research, since the topic of historic preservation was not on the agenda for the evening. Everyone but Kellar agreed to more study, which City Manager Ken Pulskamp said would take about six months.

Some, like Laurie Ender and Bob Kellar, were worried about how owners of the 49 listed properties would deal with the financial burdens of being unable to modify their property and having to disclose the possibility of historic designation to interested buyers for at least six more months. In a rare moment of empathy with the affected owners, Pulskamp said that he imagined the people on the list would feel that their property values were being adversely affected. Unfortunately, he immediately followed this statement by equivocating on whether they’d be right or wrong about feeling a financial burden.

Once this discussion was over, the Consent Calendar was approved in its entirety. There was some interest in an item to give Hart Baseball $50,000 (and up to another $50,000 per year for the next three years). The funds will be used to improve the fields and facilities in order to support tournaments that bring with them out-of-towners who spend money on hotels, at restaurants, and so on. Alan Ferdman objected to using taxpayer dollars to benefit baseball players and hotel owners. However, Pulskamp said the money would be coming from a tax that Claritan hotels pay expressly in order to boost tourism. In short, the City is the middleman, taking money from hotels and giving it to Hart baseball so that visiting ball players’ families will make more money for hotels. Dana Cop of the SCV Chamber of Commerce gave the proposal her full support. City Manger Pulskamp said this was a key way to get families to start “spending a whole lot more money” by being required to stay one or more nights in Santa Clarita. The goal is to have eight tournaments hosted in Santa Clarita by year four of this tourism partnership.

There was also a bit of discussion of Agenda Item 3, which renewed a contract with Data Ticket, Inc., a private parking enforcement company. Mayor McLean said that she wanted a bit of “discretion” in how harshly parking was enforced. She relayed an email from a man who was literally forced to carry his daughter from his car and who parked where he oughtn’t for a mere five minutes. Ferry and Ender pointed out that showing discretion in such circumstances is a very hard thing to do. One can’t tell if a car is parked illegally for the worst or best of intentions; red zones exist for a reason; etc. McLean was forced to be satisfied with the recommendation that special circumstances be handled in an appeal at court. The City Manager also promised to remind the company that it use good judgment when enforcing parking. The parking program is revenue-positive for the City ($300,000 in expenditures, $450,000 in revenue, of which $125,000 goes to the State). Furthermore, people in Santa Clarita love to help enforcers. 2,523 eService requests were completed, most for parking enforcement or abandoned vehicle requests.

Per usual, road maintenance and beautification projects provided additional, comment-free bulk to the Consent Calendar. Once those items were approved, a measure to approve the annexation and pre-zone of nearly 700 acres in south Sand Canyon was passed to a second reading. There is a movie ranch overlay zone to accommodate the Sable Ranch and Rancho Deluxe movie ranches. In case you had forgotten, the Santa Clarita Economic Development Corporation reminded us that movies are a big industry in the SCV.

Public participation followed. Alan Ferdman, who is nothing if not persistent, spoke about sanitation fees and board meetings. He was concerned that Santa Claritans have not been afforded a convenient opportunity to speak out against the millions of dollars being spent to comply with questionable chloride limits. He reminded the audience that more than $20M will be spent on planning a treatment plant alone; implementation and operation of the plant would cost many times more. A woman named Jennifer Adams also spoke. From her mobility scooter, she said that sidewalks near her home are in poor repair and make it difficult for her to get around. Pulskamp was distressed (embarrassed?) that she had felt compelled to come to City Hall to make this appeal and said a simple call would have received a response. Apparently there is a “pot of money” for just such unforeseen repairs.

The meeting adjourned at 7:27.

[1]Care to read the agenda? You can.
[2]Homes for Heroes
[3]That’s really the event. Read more here and here.

Happenings: City Upset That Newhall Fills Vacancy

2011-10-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

This is written in response to Leon Worden's article from SCVNews[1], which broke the story of the phoenix-like rebirth of an American small business. He, however, used somewhat more pejorative terms. The article can be read here. Be sure to check out the helpful map.

Automotive Technology, Mike Hagerty’s shop in Newhall, employed about a dozen people, did well over a million in sales, had several 5-star reviews online (and one one-star review, to be fair), and managed to keep its doors open through the recession[2]. Quite logically, the City of Santa Clarita decided to kick them out of town. In an article from The Signal[3] last year, Hagerty reacted to being evicted by the City, his new landlord:

"'With the old landlord, it was a handshake, a phone call,' Hagerty said. 'I was 15 days late to renew the five-year lease, according to the paperwork. So it’s out by the first of December. Merry Christmas to our family and everybody else around here. What did Automotive [Technology] do that was so bad?'"

Now, Hagerty has beaten them at their own game. He was made to shut down shop in downtown Newhall, but is right back again--right back in downtown Newhall. The City and Redevelopment Agency are not happy about this[4].

You see, the powers that be want downtown Newhall to become a place for a night out. They envision a land of theaters, wine bars, galleries, cafes, and boutiques. They do not want it to be a place that meets the more mundane, day-to-day needs of Newhallians, such as auto repair. Leon Worden elaborates in his article published yesterday:

"Current city codes prohibit the types of businesses that would impede that vision of a pedestrian-oriented shopping, dining and entertainment corridor. Banned from the five blocks of Main Street are auto shops, big-box stores, medical clinics, print shops, movie sound stages, drive-through restaurants and other businesses that interfere with a window-shopping and outdoor patio dining experience."

Indeed, Automotive Technology interfered with the sacred “window-shopping and outdoor patio dining experience.” To get them to leave town, the City bought (well, technically your tax dollars bought) a whole block that included the space Automotive Technology rented. The City evicted them and paid out a settlement of $255,000.

Automotive Technology found a new place to do business, and they started leasing there. The brilliant bit is that the new space is a stone’s throw away from their old shop, within sight of the new library, the nascent crown jewel of Old Town.

They managed this coup by moving into a vacant space formerly occupied by a motorcycle repair shop. Property owners can lease to “forbidden” tenants (vehicle repair shops, in this case) if done within 180 days of the other tenant leaving. This seems like a common-sense provision so that owners don't lose too much money waiting around for a more "desirable" business to rent their space.

While Worden calls the 180-day provision a "loophole" and sees a story of look-what-they-got-away-with!, I see it as a story of an-underdog-finally-won!. The City/Redevelopment Agency wields unprecedented power in Newhall. They are owner and landlord of more than a full block of town, they are generally successful in dictating what kind of business can and cannot set up shop, they spend taxpayer dollars on events to woo shoppers into town (events not lavished on other parts of the City of Santa Clarita), they have sunk millions of dollars into a library to replace an existing one mere blocks away, and they have used the power of eminent domain to forcibly take property. When a small business manages to persist with such uneven odds, it's hard not to cheer.

Now we just sit back and wonder whether more eminent domain awaits...

[1]SCVNEWS. Compare this with the story from The Signal (linked in footnote 3), which is far more sympathetic to the evictees.
[2]These numbers are from BizFind and may be outdated (or inaccurate--it's the Internet, as they say); there's simply no indication of how current they are. At least they serve to give you a ballpark estimate of the scale of the business.

[3]From The Signal for additional background and quotations.
[4]I base this inference on Gail Ortiz's quotation that they are trying to stop a similar event from happening again.

Only in SCV: Big Day for Birds--and Birders

2011-10-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

The Big Year premiers today[1]. You may have seen previews—it’s that movie with Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson about the obsessive pursuit of birds.

The National Audubon Society has, rather troublingly, spent six-figures on advertising the movie to its legions of birdwatching members and potential new recruits, so pivotal do they feel this moment will be in birding culture[2]. Obviously, the movie isn't going to be a blockbuster. It's being reviewed with words like "amiable", "affable" and "pleasant" at best. But I'm a pragmatist, and I too will seize on this moment, ideal or not, to talk about Santa Clarita's birds and the people who heart them...people like me. Really, how often are we topical?

You do what?

People always seem perplexed by what birdwatching/birding[3] is and why we bother. It’s exactly like it sounds—you look at birds and identify them, although any decent birder can also identify species by their calls and songs. Where’s the fun in that?, one rather logically asks, eyebrows furrowed. For starters, over 600 species of birds have been documented in California alone[4]. Learning to identify them and appreciating their stories quickly becomes engrossing. Our humble backyard mockingbirds somehow hold hundreds of different songs in their hazelnut-sized brains. In spring, you can train your binoculars on the night sky to see warblers and thrushes silhouetted against the moon, the merest indication that literally billions of birds are flying by night to reach breeding grounds thousands of miles away in Canada. And at any moment, miles offshore, there is a stream of skuas, shearwaters, and murrelets for which land is as alien as their open sea home is to us. The lives of birds are as diverse as they are astounding.

Another part of the appeal comes from birding’s listing aspect, the basis for big years. There is something in human nature that loves collecting. Tallying lists of the birds we observe satisfies this compulsion—lists of species seen in a particular place, over the course of a year, or throughout a lifetime. It's exciting to pursue birds that have no interest in cooperating with us. But even when not thrilled by the hunt for new list birds, the act of recording our observations gives a reason to be outside, sharpening and structuring our observations of nature. It also constantly renews our passion--this may be the millionth Canada Goose I’ve seen in a lifetime, but it’s the first one one for today.

Finally, one of our core motivations for birding (I hope) is a commitment to conservation. A drive to conserve birds has produced some of the world’s most rigorous examples of science conducted by non-professionals. Breeding bird surveys, nestbox monitoring projects, and migration counts mean we know more about birds than any other taxon of wild animals. It's made birds our best sentinels of environmental change and ideal poster-children for conservation.

That’s the best case I can make for birding’s appeal. But like any other avocation, something just has to click for you to really get into it. Some people are going to get a rush from seeing a Black Swift wheeling lithely overhead or from hearing the call of a drab little bird that cinches its identification as Cordilleran Flycatcher. Most will not. But if you’ve ever been obsessed with a sports team or winning a baking competition or memorized all the lines to some dumb sci-fi movies (no offense), you can at least sympathize with the single-minded, at times obsessive, pursuit of birds.

As for how this pursuit plays out in Santa Clarita, here are three vignettes.

The $11 Loon

The great thing about birds is that they fly (well, most do), and can end up far from where they are supposed to occur when, say, they make a wrong turn on migration. One of the big motivators for birders is the knowledge that some of these birds—vagrants, as they are called—will blunder into our local patches of field and forest.

When a vagrant is seen, there is a predictable cascade of events. First comes a moment of disbelief, followed by intent study of diagnostic characteristics of the particular species, followed by hurried photographing or note-jotting to document the rarity, followed by getting the rare bird alert out over phones and online. Depending on how good the bird is, other birders will hurry out into the field, keen on seeing the rarity and verifying your sighting.

Santa Clarita’s last big rarity was Yellow-billed Loon. Loons are sleek yet solid birds with massive dagger-like bills, stout compositions, and powerful legs. This puts them at home on the water, where they dive for fish. Many species are easy to find, but a Yellow-billed Loon is not one of them. That particular species is really at home in northern Canada or Siberia. But on March 8, 2010, a group of twenty birders found a Yellow-billed Loon on Castaic Lake.

This is what happens when a good bird is found. A posting on the LACoBirds group on Yahoo instantly reaches 1,057 LA-area birders, a few of whom may drop everything to chase down the rare bird.

This became LA’s first chaseable Yellow-billed Loon. I say “chaseable” because it stayed put for a while, allowing eager birders to re-sight it again and again. The sole other record for the county was seen as a fly-by off the coast in the late 1970s—decidedly not chaseable. The Yellow-billed Loon sitting on Castaic Lake, then, represented a first-in-a-lifetime species for LA’s many birders. That’s another key note: California birders are passionate about their county lists and want to add a bird like this to it, even if they've already seen it dozens of times outside the county.

I had to get out to Castaic Lake to see the loon, my drive considerably shorter than the one faced by birders coming from Orange County or San Diego. As I got close to the pull-out, I looked for a tell-tale clump of birders huddled around expensive Swarovski spotting scopes and impossibly enormous telephoto lenses. That’s a sure sign that the bird is still on the water. I scanned and scanned but didn’t see that reassuring clump of humanity. Regretting that I had waited a few days to come out for the bird, I drove up to the parking kiosk. The attendant said hello and apparently noticed my binoculars, for she knowingly proffered a very birderly statement, one that gives the hearer as much satisfaction as the teller: “It’s still here!” After her three words, our shared smile, and an $11 parking fee, I had seen it, too.

Bird-watching pumps $36 billion into the economy each year[5], and here was Santa Clarita’s own little piece of the pie[6]: scores of $11 parking passes purchased by people who had come to Castaic not to jet-ski or bass fish but to stare at a Yellow-billed Loon, their first real chance in the history of birding in LA County. Considering most birders are, ahem, older, the senior discount made it not a bad deal at all.

The Endemic, Rare, and Endangered

Even our common birds are good ones, if you keep a global perspective. In twenty minutes on the Santa Clara River, you can see about half-a-dozen of California’s endemics or near-endemics—bird species found nowhere on earth but California, sometimes a bit of Oregon, Nevada or Baja as well. These birds are Oak Titmouse, California Towhee, Wrentit, California Thrasher, Nuttall’s Woodpecker and, on a good day, maybe a flock of Tricolored Blackbirds (don’t you just love bird names?). For people living outside the Golden State, these are destination birds. They don’t do much in the way of migrating or dispersing far afield, so it’s very unlikely they’re going to inadvertently make it to Florida or New York, much less Britain or Australia. Many of our endemics are rather drab, blending in well with their brushy homes. But what they lack in color they make up for in song, filling our hills with a chorus of chips, chants, whistles, and trills that can only be heard in California.

In addition to these endemics, many of which are locally abundant, we also have some globally rare birds. The endangered California Condor is in a class of its own. It is immense, weighing over 20 pounds with a wingspan of nine feet, an arresting image in flight. But it is another number that’s far more staggering. There are just shy of 200 California Condors living in the wild at this moment; most of us have more Facebook friends than there are condors. Without extraordinary captive breeding efforts and millions of dollars spent in on-going monitoring, feeding, and conservation, they would most certainly have gone extinct. Yet the few that remain are often seen in and around town, especially on canyon drives through Placerita and Sand Canyons[7].

There is something bittersweet about glimpsing a species like the California Condor soaring free. The sight is special for a reason in which you can take no relish: we almost lost them and may still lose them yet.

SCV CBC, FTW

Let’s close this discussion in the way we close the year of birding in Santa Clarita: with the Christmas Bird Count. A CBC is an attempt to identify and count every single bird in a 15-mile diameter circle in 24-hours. The National Audubon Society makes all of the data collected available to scientists and enthusiasts alike. Some count circles, as they’re called, have been counted for more than 100 consecutive years. A map on Audubon’s CBC website shows that America is literally blanketed with these end-of-year counts, a vast and comprehensive data pool for biologists.

The effort in Santa Clarita usually yields some 130 species of birds. Non-birders are often astounded—maybe astounded is a strong word—by the fact that there are so many species in Santa Clarita. Most of the SCV’s CBCs also turn up unusual finds. Black-and-white Warbler, Plumbeous Vireo, Harris’s Sparrow, and Red-necked Grebe are all fine birds seen on previous CBCs, not typical of this part of California (again, such wonderful names). One discovery, a Painted Redstart, even got local kids birding. It’s a gorgeous creature: jet black with a brilliant scarlet belly, bold white wing patches, and a delicate white crescent cradling its eye. For weeks, one darted among the pines of Newhall Memorial Park, as it would have done in the forests of Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains, where it was expected to occur. The kids at the adjacent Boys & Girls Club took a trip to visit the bird, naming it Paco[8].

Christmas bird counts continue annually, drawing anywhere from 15 to 30 people. It’s a mixing of seasoned observers with enthusiastic beginners. This is especially true in years where The Signal runs a story and draws in locals. Otherwise, Claritans are sorely lacking at the event. It may be an odd way to spend the morning, counting the number of Glaucous-winged Gulls on Castaic Lake or estimating the size of a flock of Cedar Waxwings flying overhead or going to great lengths to make sure that we are indeed counting a bird as Red-naped Sapsucker, not Yellow-bellied or a hybrid. But count we do, every year. We put on jackets over jackets and imitate owl calls at five in the morning and slog through mud in pursuit of animals that we love to watch and long to know and have a vague but intent urge to protect for others to enjoy long after we’re gone. We count birds because birds count—to us, at least.

[1]It’s shocking to learn what the movie is about judging from the previews, which made it look like The Bucket List, but with more falling down. Here’s the film's website and generally unimpressed reviews from Rotten Tomatoes.
[2]There is supposedly some Audubon branding throughout the movie, but really, this investment of my dues makes me cringe. A small fraction of people may be deeply affected by movies—say those who perversely got clownfish after watching Finding Nemo or kids who dive into dictionaries after watching one of the spelling bee movies—but let’s be sensible here. This is, at best, a sweet little pleasant film, not a force to spawn thousands of eager new birders ready to send checks to their local Audubon chapter.
[3]People get overly concerned about the distinction between bird-watching and birding. Birding is just shorter and easier to say, so many people use it as their default bird verb. However, it usually connotes a more intense and practiced pursuit of the observation of birds than, say, enjoying “the pretty red bird” that eats at your sunflower seed bird feeder (it’s called a House Finch). Birders are also often the sort who will travel to “chase” rare birds that are reported elsewhere, whereas bird-watchers are typically happy watching most anything.
[4]Here’s the list of all those birds , as published by the California Bird Records Committee. World-wide, there are another 9,000+ species more. Literally no one on earth has ever seen all the living species of birds. Ever. Some have gotten close.
[5]So says the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
[6]Well, technically, the money went to the County, but you’ll allow me some thematic license, won’t you?
[7] LA’s most authoritative birder, Kimball Garrett, reported seeing one from near Vista Valencia golf course this past May, so most anywhere is fair game for a condor flyover.
[8]Paco may have been a girl. There's no way to tell from afar. So here's his/her story.

Happenings: 65 Minutes of Nothingness

2011-10-12T02:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder, Councilmember Weste.

All of City Hall’s important business is saved for just before the holidays or when people are away on summer vacations[1]. This mid-October meeting, then, was predictably tedious—just a consent calendar and the usual chorus of come-to-this and donate-to-that and hooray-for-us.

Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender delivered the invocation. She said that breast cancer is a bummer, the refrain we hear most everywhere this time of year.

Recognition went to the Rubber Ducky Regatta fundraising event held annually at Castaic Lake for Samuel Dixon Family Health Centers. A large yellow ducky came up to accept the proclamation for Rubber Ducky Regatta Day. Well, I thought it was a duck until it strode off stage and pulled off its head, revealing it had been an imposter—a man wearing a duck costume!-all along. This disappointing revelation soured my enjoyment of the rest of the meeting.

Next, LA County Sheriff Captain Paul Becker spoke about his anti-gang task-force. He said that gangs have been “migrating” from major cities to suburbs, drawn by Santa Clarita’s proximity to Los Angeles and the promise of customers with plenty of disposable income for drugs. He also talked about using localized crime prevention zones to maximize efficient deployment of law enforcement resources. And he stressed that Santa Clarita has never been statistically safer, judging by aggregate crime statistics.

The City Council harbors the collective illusion (or delusion; take your pick) that more than a handful of Claritans are watching them conducting the City’s business. As such, they indulge in a round-robin series of updates and reports that—whether dull or innocuous or important or admirable—aren’t really heard by too many people. But they like going through the motions. As such, Councilmember Laurene Weste spoke about the Homes for Heroes kick-off event next month to help meet veterans’ housing needs. Councilmember Kellar reiterated that the rubber ducky regatta was a worthwhile event. Mayor Pro-tem Ender encouraged people to attend Daniel Pearl World Music Day, a tribute to the journalist who was kidnapped and murdered by Al-Qaeda. Councilmember Frank Ferry applauded the marriage of Dennis Luppens, long-time bachelor and Santa Clarita Special Districts Administrator, to Carrie Barnes. The ceremony took place in the very chambers in which the council was presently assembled. Aww. Finally, the Mayor wants you to take a survey about community services on the City of Santa Clarita’s website, and she mentioned that you can learn a new language using software available for free at the libraries. Swell updates, all.

The Consent Calendar was approved without much in the way of discussion, save some recognition of City employees for completion of the most recent phase of the I-5/Magic Mountain Parkway road improvements. Laurene Weste also expressed appreciation that the City will try to acquire open space in Agua Dulce by applying for a grant from the State. It would cover up to $250,000 of an unmentioned purchase price. The parcel is over 1100 acres of potential mining property—ask the nearest real estate agent to do the numbers (one's never far off in the SCV).

Among other items approved were revisions to personnel rules to govern City employees. These rules are mostly what you’d expect: helpful reminders to employees that no, it’s not OK to threaten co-workers with a gun and you can be disciplined for being drunk at work, accepting bribes, or sleeping on the job (that last one is Rule XI, Section 2S). Why even bother showing up for work? However, the revisions approved pertained to representation by Service Employees International Union, the rightly maligned and dreaded acronym that is SEIU. Finally, Newhall Hardware has been officially freed of the shackles of potential designation as a historic site with the second reading and passage of an ordinance modifying the current Historic Preservation Ordinance. Basically, it is no longer of official historic value--yay. The City shouldn’t have been able to have it both ways, at once destroying the shop when it altered Old Town Newhall's traffic flow, then refusing to let the owners sell their place to let it become something else. Many other buildings are still in a kind of historic preservation limbo.

There was some confusion as a woman wanted to be sure that she got to speak while the council members were trying to unanimously approving the consent calendar. After assurances that she could speak in just a moment, all items were passed with the recommended actions.

Public Participation followed. An elderly man expressed concern over Lee Baca and prisoner abuse. He was distressed at how much condemnation is coming out from the media before all the facts are known, yet also made it clear that prisoner abuse is a very real problem that must be adequately addressed, yet also emphasized that Baca should have his day in court, and also felt that taxpayers shouldn’t be put in a position to be liable for violent abuses perpetrated by law enforcement. Everyone found something to agree with. Alan Ferdman had a more focused message, challenging the City Council to stay committed to fighting unfair chloride regulations. Recall that millions of dollars are being spent to start planning for a chloride treatment plant that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Mayor McLean would tell Ferdman that they are only doing what must be done to avoid potentially enormous(er) fines from authorities.

Finally, Rudy Losorelli pleaded with the City to help him reach some kind of solution to his problem with a profoundly inconsiderate neighbor. You likely remember the name and the story. Losorelli and his family live literally feet away from a fenced tennis court with very bright lights. The court is only one part of what they describe as a “commercial sports complex” in the middle of the otherwise quiet Happy Valley neighborhood. He and his wife spoke about safety concerns as 100 mph tennis balls might come flying into their yard or through their windows at any moment. Mrs. Losorelli said that a number of City personnel have been out to try and mediate the problems, but “We’re losing faith,” she despaired.

“Folks, I gotta tell you something: [dramatic pause] You couldn’t give this house away,” lamented Bob Kellar, folksily. He said the City needs to work harder and faster on the problem, and wants an agenda item to look over code to insure that no other homeowner is forced into a situation like the one facing the Losorelli family. “This…stinks!” said Ender of the situation, after talking about how the man who uses the courts doesn’t even live on-site.

The meeting ended at 7:05.

[1]Here is the agenda.

Happenings: Not Enough Garbage, Too Many Ballots

2011-09-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

At tonight's City Council meeting, the members took a very hands-on approach to reducing competition for local businesses, contemplated landscape districts, and were warned about becoming party to a UN conspiracy to wrest sovereignty and freedom from the United States, one city at a time.

Best in the World

Of course, none of this could happen before the City Council took time for awards and recognitions. The Hart Pony Mustang Baseball Team defeated teams from Texas, Illinois, the Philippines, Mexico, and ultimately Puerto Rico to become Pony Mustang World Series champs. One of their coaches said that when he told other teams that they were from Santa Clarita, "They say, 'Wow, that's a great place.'" (Apparently the whole world hearts SCV). Next, Andrew Skinner and the Triumph Foundation were recognized for their service to people with spinal cord injuries.

Box Town

Councilmember updates followed the feel-good portion of the evening. Councilmember Bob Kellar had already mentioned the many wonderful programs held in recognition of 9/11 during his invocation (he specifically lauded Route 66, the Elks Lodge, a very impressive turnout at the Performing Arts Center, and a service at Northpark Community Church.) He suggested residents continue in the patriotic spirit by attending an upcoming Constitution Day Summit. Councilmember Laurene Weste reminded the audience about the website heroinkills.org; she said, with grave emphasis, "The high is a lie." Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender talked about an event where you can sleep in a cardboard refrigerator box city for a night to raise money for Family Promise[2], which helps homeless families in Santa Clarita. I have many fond memories of time spent in refrigerator boxes so, rather perversely, I look forward to this event with a mix of nostalgia and charity. If you want to send me donations to help reach the $100 fundraising goal for entry into Box City...nevermind, that would complicate our blogger-reader relationship; just send money to Family Promise directly. And Mayor Marsha McLean said, among other things, that children will have a chance to "read to a dog" at local libraries, a means of getting over the fear of reading aloud and public speaking. Sigh.

A Grand Conspiracy

The City considered joining the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC) as a step toward meeting its greenhouse gas reduction goals as mandated by AB 32. On the LARC Membership Charter is language regarding a United Nations goal of sustainability, and LARC counts among its members ICLEI--Local Governments for Sustainability (the retained but now defunct acronym stood for International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives). The reasons the City Council plans to join are simple: it may make meeting EIR demands for greenhouse gas reduction easier (this is relevant to big projects like One Valley One Vision), and the commitment to greenhouse gas reduction implied by membership would provide "leverage for grant funding," in the words of Mayor McLean. Basically, they pay to join an organization that makes them look green and thus more deserving of green grant money.

Though membership wouldn't place any requirements for action on the City, a few public speakers thought joining LARC was tantamount to treason. Ed Ventresca called it "seditious, if not treasonous behavior" to surrender power to the ICLEI/UN operatives planning to assume some measure of world control under the guise of greenhouse gas reduction. (I may be misstating the particulars as his tirade was a bit non-linear). The typically reasonable Alan Ferdman expressed similar concerns. While membership in LARC may be ineffective or unimportant or lame, it's hardly the end of the world it was made out to be, but Councilmember Kellar was sufficiently disturbed by public testimony that he had discussion of this item continued to the next meeting.

In another atypical moment for Ferdman, he would applaud the City. He was pleased that there were measures to make Santa Clarita safer for pedestrians and drivers. These included tonight's acceptance of intersection safety enhancements.

Not Enough Trash?--Ditch Free Market Ideals

In Santa Clarita, a temporary-bin and roll-off franchise began in 2006. Ten enterprises joined the franchise, eager to cart off and recycle trash. Membership declined to six enterprises in 2010, when franchise agreements were extended for another five years. But what about other waste-hauling companies that want to get in on the game? These include people like Tom Ybarra who spoke at tonight's meeting. He raises his family in Canyon Country, and he said that he and his wife want to work where they live, serving the waste disposal needs of the entertainment industry in Santa Clarita. No such luck.

City staff placed a request for proposals (RFP) in The Signal last month, and three enterprises sought to join the franchise. But the RFP will be terminated, and proposals for new franchise agreements not reviewed. You see, the six companies with existing franchise agreements were able to pressure the City into letting them enjoy their collective monopoly on temporary-bins and roll-offs for another several years. Speakers for nearly all of these franchise holders came forward to say there wasn't enough business, and they didn't want to face more competition. Of course, they phrased it by saying the City needs to support local business (hell, even the Chamber of Commerce showed up) and noted that they had diverted a lot of trash from landfills but, ultimately, they just didn't want anyone else competing with them.

It was surprising that Kellar and Ferry didn't offer a word of protest, instead lending this measure their full support. So companies that were around in 2006 got lucky--others will have to wait until at least 2015 when the City *might* let more haulers apply to work in Santa Clarita. Don't count me as surprised if the six current holders of franchise agreements donate to reelection campaigns.

Landscape Maintenance Districts--Part I

Reading this section is not for the faint of heart.

The City's plan for landscape maintenance assessments is, in a word, a mess. Even The Signal got it wrong in their story on the subject, conflating "districts" with "zones"[3]. And boy oh boy are those not synonymous. In any case, we should have a little background.

There are Landscape Districts 1 and T1, comprised of many different zones. Property owners in each zone vote on assessments that are scaled to and serve the landscaping needs of their zone. Votes are weighted by parcel size/property-type. But here's the weird part: since all the zones are in one district, if a majority of voters vote in favor of a body of rate adjustments, the various rate adjustments are made on all zones within the district. And here's the shady part: the vast majority of voting weight resides in the hands of residents in zones that will see a small reduction in their landscape maintenance assessment. Relatively little voting weight was held by Newhall residents, who will be paying new assessments. Assuming people vote for a measure that lowers their taxes and against a measure that raises their taxes, the assessment adjustments will pass for all, carried by the yes votes of people who stand to save a little money over their current assessment. We will find out how the votes went down once they are counted (it will take a couple days), and if there is a majority in favor of adjustments, the City Council will vote to accept them (or not). So, in a sense, tonight's discussions were either too late (to affect voters) or premature (complaining about a voting outcome not yet made official).

Councilmember Bob Kellar was understandably baffled by the situation. He asked why there couldn't be many districts instead of many zones, so that each local, geographic region could vote on their own landscaping maintenance assessments alone, and not on a sweeping, valley-wide plan. Deputy City Manager Darren Hernandez and Assistant City manager Ken Striplin (City Manager Ken Pulskamp wasn't present this evening) tried to say that they kept one big district to streamline things for City staff, essentially. This was hardly a satisfying answer. Jim Farley was among the speakers opposed[4]. Though he stands to save $13.46 with assessment adjustments, he didn't think it was fair that his vote would be forcing a new assessment on Newhall residents. Of course, most voters didn't know about the convoluted and confusing voting structure, so the many will take their tiny assessment reduction while the few (i.e., Newhall Residents) start paying a lot more. Hernandez and Striplin peddled some bullshit about how they didn't know how the votes would turn out, which is insulting and disingenuous in about equal measures.

To make this even more of a cluster-you-know-what[5], City Attorney Joe Montes said that, "in an abundance of caution," Weste, McLean, and Ender ought not participate in this discussion or, ultimately, in approving the Engineer's Report to implement the adjustments (likely to be up for a vote at the end of September). They live in or near areas undergoing the district adjustment, so they might have a conflict of interest. Montes was emphatic about stressing that it was a "potential" conflict of interest only. But that left only Ferry and Kellar, and two votes aren't enough for accepting the changes. Therefore, envelopes were given to the female councilmembers, and Weste drew the one that will let her participate in and vote on this matter, so long as she states her potential conflicts up front and goes through some other basic protocols.

In short, all of this is being played out to Weste, Kellar, and Ferry alone, and Kellar's pretty frustrated by the whole thing (the other two are mum). Look for Part II come September 27th.

"The most obscene thing I have ever seen..."

During Public Participation, we heard another ICLEI guy speak, but the most relevant comments concerned chloride and its removal from water sent down the Santa Clara River. Cam Noltemeyer was outraged about plans to spend $21M on a facilities plan and EIR for a treatment center to reduce chlorides[6]. Councilmember Weste explained what had prompted the action. They had received a Notice of Violation for high chloride levels. Weste said the City couldn't stand to face a fine, which could be as high as $10 per gallon per day that water exceeds the acceptable chloride limits. And with 20-million gallons of water sent downstream per day, that would be a potential fine of $200M a day[7]. "The fining is the most obscene thing I have ever seen...the most egregious abuse of power...I resent it," declared Weste. Without saying it directly, it seemed like this design plan and EIR are being funded to buy some time to work out the chloride issues without paying more dearly in fines or outright embracing a plant costing hundreds of millions of dollars to build, let alone operate. Of course, if the plant is eventually required, the plans and EIR will come in handy.

The meeting ended at 8:13.

[1]Here is the agenda.
[2]Come to Box City.
[3]Here is The Signal's take, but if you read the agenda, it clearly says Newhall is a new zone, not district as the paper suggests.
[4]A relevant site.
[5]I don't know why I'm being so crude with the language tonight; apologies.
[6]Published at West Ranch Beacon.
[7]Surely that can't be right...can it? She certainly said it.

Happenings: History Will Have to Wait

2011-08-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

At tonight's City Council meeting, the new County Assessor displayed smiles; Laurie Ender displayed a new do; and Leon Worden displayed questionable taste in ties.

They’re Back

After what I suspect was a summer break full of drunken debauchery, the City Council members returned to City Hall, ready to do the work of the people—which people, I do not know[1]. I do know, however, that I wasn’t alone in dreading this first post-vacation meeting; recall what happened last year (starts with an “l”, ends with an “ibrary takeover”.)

Councilmember Frank Ferry offered the invocation. He recently went to the wedding of a former student, and the father of the bride said “it took a village” to raise his daughter, a phrase I thought had perished when the Clintons left the White House. In any case, Ferry said that having more than 100 heroin-related arrests and 9 heroin-related deaths in a year meant that Santa Clarita needs more of a village mentality, keeping an eye on drug use among all kids, not just one’s own.

Plambeck’s Protégé

City recognitions and presentations came next. Recently retired Saugus Superintendent Judy Fish was applauded for her work. John Noguez, the new LA County Assessor, came in to introduce himself. “Thank you all for showing up for me, this is wonderful!” he joked while looking at the large audience. Noguez was all smiles and full of good news, noting that there are fewer foreclosures and a small increase in Santa Clarita’s total property values. "At least the recovery is now here,” he offered to more or less skeptical minds. Lastly, 9th grader Isabella Clark came up to detail her pursuit of a Girl Scout Silver Award for a project with SCOPE, the involvement of which may have riled the City Council a bit. Isabella riffed on endangered and under-appreciated wildlife of the Santa Clara River. She then explained her project to bring signs to bridges that span the river, letting people know the Santa Clara is there. She was a regular little Lynne Plambeck.

McLean Wants to Ban Plastic Bags?

Councilmember updates followed. Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender talked about couples that will be honored as role models and leaders of character at some Boy Scout Event. The list included at least one couple that should be cause for raised eyebrows. Councilmember Bob Kellar spoke about remembrance ceremonies for 9/11. He also encouraged bringing kids to the upcoming Constitution Summit, which sounds exactly like something kids want to do. Councilmember Laurene Weste said that Senator Boxer will be at the new transit facility for a dedication. Dedicating a structure may be one task the half-witted senator can perform ably...but then I’m an optimist. Mayor McLean asked people to donate food to food pantries, noting an on-going need. She also reminded Claritans to bring items for the library time capsule being entombed on Thursday. You just bring something that fits in a gallon-sized plastic bag, and it goes into the capsule. I'm thinking about bringing some sushi from our best restaurant, Maru, so that people in 50 years will know about what we ate.

And then the Mayor just asked for trouble. With some trepidation, McLean said she wants to start a “really big conversation” about following the path of LA County and banning plastic bags at local retailers. She framed it as if she just wanted to get more information, but the mere proposal of such a discussion shows that a bag ban is something McLean is ready to consider. Mentioning plastic bags is worth at least 40 comments on The Signal’s website, so I’m sure this conversation, if it happens, will indeed be “really big.”

Consent Calendar Conundrums

On the Consent Calendar, most comments came and went with little consequence. Cam Noltemeyer and David Gauny were concerned about a parcel map of the Newhall Memorial Hosptial campus. The map provided on the agenda didn’t show the boundaries of the three parcels that were created, and it was a poorly presented item pertaining to what remains a sensitive issue. That did not help quell suspicions. City Attorney Joe Montes promised that the map was simply implementing and illustrating decisions that had already been made.

There were also concerns over Item 12, which created an Enforceable Obligation Payment Schedule in response to dissolution of redevelopment agencies. The courts still have to weigh in on the contentious topic of special redevelopment agencies, like the one for Newhall, and there are certain obligations dictated by the State regarding these agencies. It seemed that what had the primary opposed speaker (Cam Noltemeyer) really upset were the amounts of debt revealed in the payment schedule. There is some $93M in outstanding debt or obligation for the redevelopment of Old Town Newhall, which is kind of a lot of money.

As a result of the Consent Calendar passing, the Enforceable Obligation Payment Schedule was accepted, as was the hospital parcel map, and there will be various improvements, such as a Valencia Meadows pool renovation and sidewalks and landscaping for part of Newhall Avenue.

Welcome to Clarita

Annexations can be hugely controversial, but tonight’s wasn’t. 3200 homes, 3 schools, and 3 parks will be pre-zoned in preparation for annexation into the City of Santa Clarita. They’re located in the northern reaches of the valley and comprise Bouquet Canyon, Haskell Canyon, and Raintree. Also pre-zoned were three tracts that will add another 132 homes, if or when they are built out.

As noted, this was a generally popular plan. 87% of respondents to the initial survey on annexation liked the idea, so the council had no problem moving forward with the process. There were a few speakers, most of whom presented rather localized concerns about a few houses being left out or regarding the policing of trespassing motorcyclists. The most memorable speaker, though, was an elderly woman who was talking rather quietly. Mayor McLean asked her to speak into the microphone, promising “We want to hear you.” Without missing a beat, the woman replied, “No you don’t!” Laughter ensued.

Hands off My History
"What is historic to some is simply old to others."
Alan Ferdman

The Historic Preservation Ordinance has been debated for years. To bring you up to speed, there are old places in Santa Clarita and people don’t want them to be bulldozed. Thus, staff prepared an ordinance that would designate certain structures as historic and, in so doing, severely limit what the owners could do to their structures. Depending on the severity of the code (which is very much in question), paint couldn’t be changed and additions would be prohibited and owners would have rather little control over what they could do with their own property, thus lowering the value of their property. (In a specific case claimed by the owner of Newhall Hardware, a real estate agent said the building would be worth north of $1,000,000 if it wasn’t listed as historic, but would only generate interest at around $400,000 if buyers were getting a structure with a historic designation).

There were a few paltry incentives, like certain fees waived and building efficiency codes reduced. And though an opt-out clause had been discussed previously, one did not appear in the language presented tonight.

Presented alongside the preservation guidelines were eight properties that were highly recommended for listing. Dave Peterson described each property and how their owners felt about being declared “historic.” It was pretty ugly.

*Newhall Ice: property owner non-responsive to City letters and one phone call (but a representative came forward later in the meeting and said the owners were opposed)
*Sheriff’s Sub-station: owner wished to be removed from the list of designated properties
*Tom Mix Cottages—property owners “neutral” to idea of listing
*Old Newhall Jail—owner wished to be removed from the list
*Melody Ranch—owners wished to be removed from the list
*California Star Oil Company/Standard House—property owner not responsive
*American Legion Hall—owner “in favor of an opt-out clause”
*Heritage Junction—SCV Historic Society was, shockingly, in favor of its structures being listed

In sum: of the eight priority properties, one owner was neutral, one was unresponsive, and five wanted off the list. The Historic Society alone didn’t mind.

Before public speakers, Councilmember Laurie Ender asked for clarification on the opt-out clause (or lack thereof). Dave Peterson said that it would give the owner a period of time to say they didn’t want to be listed, though they could change their mind later. Peterson said this was essentially synonymous with an opt-in clause, but speakers would successfully challenge that contention.

19 speakers opposed the ordinance, and four were in favor.

Speakers expressed opposition for a variety of reasons. One of the Valuzat brothers—owners of Melody Ranch—gave a heart-felt speech about all the work they put into improving their property, and about the practical reality of needing to be able to change structures on a working movie ranch. He and his brother hoped to be able to pass along the property to their six grand-children, and he said “we need that flexibility,” not a historic designation.

Several gaping flaws in the presented plan became apparent. Tim Crissman, speaking on behalf of Newhall Ice and others, said “an opt-out puts an onus on the property owner.” Indeed, he said opting-in would give owners control and allay fears that they might be listed if they miss a letter or a phone call from the City. Alan Ferdman and David Gauny noted that any property could be designated as historic once the ordinance was passed, not just the select few presented tonight. Since every property owner might be a potential victim of historic preservation, all should be notified. That’s how Katrina Issa felt. She is a homeowner who said she had not been properly noticed about historic listing and proceeded to deliver an impassioned condemnation of the whole City Council: “Shame on you! It’s shameful!”

Other speakers included Valerie Thomas, who called the plan inverse condemnation (and called out the supposed "good Republicans" sitting on the CC), and another woman who was certain this was part of a United Nations conspiracy to assume control of private property.

I think the most entertaining testimony came from historian Cynthia Harris, who spoke about standing in front of a bulldozer to save the historic Mitchell Family Adobe. Berta Gonzalez Barbier had brought up the near destruction of the adobe as evidence of the need for a historic preservation ordinance. Harris reminded her and others that it was actually the threat of historic designation that had prompted the owner to get a bulldozer, anxious as he was to avoid having his rights constrained. Indeed, Harris was one of a several history-minded Claritans who opposed the ordinance as presented.

The others who spoke in favor of the ordinance were largely drowned out by the sheer volume and fervor of speakers who wanted historic designation only if it was an opt-in process. The idea that historic structures disappear forever was brought up a number of times, but the general consensus remained unchanged.

The City Council responded. Councilmember Laurene Weste said “There are no great communities that don’t value their history.” This prefaced her case that a historic ordinance without the option of opting-out was needed. She did, however, suggest that property owners should be allowed to paint and add-on and remodel so long as they preserved the general spirit of the building, not necessarily every historic molecule of it. Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender wanted an opt-in clause, and she even went so far as to suggest removing the existing moratorium on construction of potentially list-able historic structures. Councilmember Ferry split the difference of these opinions, saying if a structure was of such dear historic value, it should be purchased: “If the community values it they should pay for it.” He didn’t want people opting out of saving vital historic structures, but at the same time didn’t want owners to suffer financial hardship. Councilmember Bob Kellar was also in the opt-in camp, and gave a rather refreshing argument that “Our system’s not broken.” That is, many historic structures have been preserved successfully without government intervention (e.g., those at the historic junction), and he thought purchasing structures as needed might be the best option and a means of avoiding a “bureaucratic mess.” McLean delivered the final blow to the battered ordinance, saying “I feel that we did do this backwards.” She wanted more incentives for property owners and less forced hardship for them.

There was considerable discussion, which led Frank Ferry to yell “I’m tired […] give me an opt out!” The City Manager tried to summarize the wants of the council, which included an opt-in clause (3/5 of the CC was in favor), strengthened incentives, exploration of the possibility of simply purchasing historic structures outright, and better communication with property owners. In the end, Laurene Weste proposed continuing the discussion to a date uncertain, which was about the best they could hope to do.

Go Bike Somewhere Else

During Public Participation, TimBen Boydston talked about a 9/11 event at the theater, which the City Council agreed to back with a couple grand, pretty much on the spot. This did not sit well with Mayor McLean, who had wanted Boydston to email her with specifics about matching and the like. Ferry wasn't the only one cranky at this hour.

Some people also spoke about the big tennis court and blindingly bright lights that went up in a formerly tranquil Happy Valley enclave, making for many obvious “they’re not so happy now” jokes. Trying to head off an agendized discussion of what to do about the situation, Laurie Ender begged staff to try and get the inconsiderate property owner to shield his tennis lights, lower his fence, and not try to run a tennis business in what is essentially the backyard of ten other homeowners.

And then there was Kevin Korenthal. He was upset that a trail in Placerita Canyon has been closed to mountain bikes, even though the trail (I assume he means Los Pinetos) has, since time immemorial, displayed a sign that very clearly forbids bikes. It's only now being enforced. Hearing about the closure of the trail to mountain bikes was thrilling, since I have been nearly run over by bikers on at least three occasions there, and they generally expect you to step off the trail to let them pass, and they destroyed a nice Silene californica plant that was growing on the trail. I was birdwatching there one morning and told the bikers that they weren't supposed to be biking, and all they did was make a peace sign: ugh. (Sorry for the personal anecdote.) Anyhow, Korenthal wants more mountain biking opportunities on local trails.

The meeting adjourned a little after 10. Huzzah.

[1]Here's the agenda. Look at Item 12 for some big numbers.

Happenings: Indecision...and Nuns!

2011-07-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

Amen.

Tonight’s meeting was a fine send-off for the City Council, which will be “on hiatus”, as Councilmember Weste put it, until August 23rd[1]. (I hope you didn’t have anything urgent to tell them.) It was remarkable in several regards. This is the first evening in memory that included a superfluity of nuns (yes, that’s the collective noun); neither Lynne Plambeck nor Cam Noltemeyer spoke; and City Manager Ken Pulskamp waxed philosophical: “Iconic art is in the eye of the beholder.” Ultimately, rather little got done over the five-hour course of the meeting. Most items will simply come back before the City Council in a couple of months.

I tuned in beginning with councilmember updates. The male members chose not to speak. Mayor Pro-tem Ender and Councilmember Weste gave brief, forgettable updates. And Mayor McLean was typically verbose. She praised the dedication of 526-acres of open space in Haskell Canyon, suggested implementing a Mayors Information Breakfast for the press (I won’t attempt to force an apostrophe in there given the Mayor’s/Mayors’/Mayors Prayer Breakfast debacle), and reveled in the successful library openings. McLean also asked that staff keep a close eye on high-speed rail developments. It’s adorable that we focus so intently on issues where the City of Santa Clarita exercises essentially no influence of control.

The first contentious item on the Consent Calendar involved changes or updates to City Council norms. It’s a pretty entertaining list, with highlights including: “Council should not make snappy, sarcastic comments to the public or to each other”, “Council shall treat members of the public equally, i.e. refer to citizens by surnames”, and the proposed addition of “any member or other person using profane, vulgar, loud or boisterous language at any meeting or otherwise interrupting the proceedings, who refuses to be seated or keep quiet when ordered to do so by the Mayor or other presiding officer of the Council, is guilty of a misdemeanor.” It was this last bit that had people talking. Deanna Hanashiro wondered about the fine line between being outspoken and criminally disruptive. TimBen Boydston thought that “loud or boisterous language” was not cause for a misdemeanor, citing his and Frank Ferry’s tendency to raise their voices. Berta Gonzalez Barbier was more receptive, hoping the explicit statement about proper decorum might keep certain parties from chatting distractingly throughout the meeting. Ultimately, language about the mayor’s power to order people to be removed was not added to the norms and procedures. The power still exists, but Councilmember Bob Kellar succeeded in convincing fellow councilmembers that an overt statement was too “in the face of our community,” reminding them that “These are our friends out here, this is not the enemy.” Debatable.

Discussion of how to handle abstentions from voting were tedious. City Attorney Joe Montes spent several minutes (and a multitude of hand gestures) explaining, re-explaining, and re-re-re-re-explaining that if five members were present and two voted yes, two voted no, and one abstained, then a motion would pass. That is, abstention was viewed as acquiescence to the motion. This does not follow Robert’s Rules of Order, which would direct such a situation to be interpreted as a tie. Once this was understood, there was debate over which was better ensued.

Despite his many excellent and expressive hand gestures, City Attorney Joe Montes had difficulty getting Council to grasp a rule that would would discourage abstention from voting.

Somewhat ludicrously, Mayor McLean spoke about needing to protect council members who “want more information” by allowing them to defer an item by abstaining. Obviously, she forgot these concerns when the library issue came up and Councilmember Kellar pleaded for one more meeting to gather information. Ferry countered that abstention could be used as a weapon, which didn’t really make a lot of logical sense. He prevailed, however, and a 2-2-1 (yes-no-abstained) vote will officially pass. Unfortunately, no one abstained when voting on the item.

Following a recess at 7:39, the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance was discussed for the umpteenth time. During the staff presentation, ideas from recent meetings were presented. There had been the discussion over whether to allow owners to “opt out” of having their structure listed as historic, a designation which would severely limit their rights to altering the structure and so on. The option of opting out was popular with most of the public. As an alternative, an independent committee might instead consider listings—if opting out was not an option—to give owners additional opportunity to make their case for not being listed, for instance. Everyone agreed that there should be more incentives put in place for buildings designated as historic, and most thought that informative plaques would be a fair addition to structures that were historic but that were not officially designated as such. The Mayor and City Attorney, in anticipation of numerous comments from the Queen of Angels Church in Newhall, said that churches were exempt from historic designation if there was a protest and such listing would result in financial hardship.

Nearly two dozen parishioners and members of religious orders still took to the podium, arguing that Queen of Angels should not be forced to accept the burdens associated with being designated as a historic landmark. They wouldn’t be so designated, by all assurances, and Kellar asked that a letter be drafted to put this in writing. I didn’t find their repetitive remarks too annoying, perhaps because I’m Catholic (though not the QOA sort of Catholic), but also because they were rightly suspicious of why their church was still on the list of buildings to designate and because they thought other property owners shouldn’t have to endure burdens either. Plus, I have come to realize that there is an inescapable quirk of human nature that leads one to read all prepared comments whether or not they are strictly necessary.

A classier crowd than usual.

Preferring the strongest possible historic protection were Duane Harte and Leon Worden. Worden spoke somewhat incoherently about property values in other communities that used historic designations and about the need to accept the will of the City, whether regarding oak trees or the preservation of 80-year old windows on historic structures.

Ultimately, staff will get back to work on the ordinance, drafting specifics for a committee and writing a letter about exemptions for religious groups and taking another look at the proposed list of historic structures. Ferry called Newhall Hardware more “endearing” than historic, for example, and wanted only indisputably historic structures included on the list. He also made some worthwhile points about a preference for public ownership of truly historic structures rather than counting on cooperation from private owners.

You may recall Councilmember Weste asking about a Veterans Historical Plaza Commemorative Brick Finder. Her idea fell on receptive ears, and staff presented three options that would allow people to find the brick dedicated to their loved ones: paper maps updated every six months, an electronic database/smartphone app, or an electronic kiosk. The option of an electronic database was the cheapest and seemed to be favored, but Kellar wanted formal feedback from the Veterans Memorial Committee. Options will be re-visited in the late summer or fall after additional rumination.

Finally, there was an item concerning a Request for Qualifications for what is intended to be an iconic art project for the roundabout in Old Town Newhall. Ferry wondered why the Arts Commission wasn’t playing a more prominent role, and Weste, too, wanted more expert opinion, noting many times that they want artwork that is truly unique and iconic, in a league not previously commissioned by the City. Pulskamp took an “iconic art is in the eye of the beholder” stance, and seemed confident in being able to get appropriate responses from artists. The City Council seemed receptive to increasing the budget from $45,000, but will wait for a recommendation from the Arts Commission, requesting that the artwork contain an appropriate, local historical emphasis. “We’re not looking for a statue of Paris Hilton,” joked Ender, usefully.

Public Participation was rather brief, including a "thank you!" the City for helping with parking for the Canyon Theater Guild. A man named Adam Parsley came forward to talk about medical marijuana use, saying his little brother had cancer and used it after chemotherapy. He said a drive to Hollywood was very taxing for his brother. Following this, they opened up a family “pharmacy”, which Parsley said is well-accepted by the community and donates to local hospitals. He said that he wants to open a co-op to serve legitimate medical users (and, ostensibly, some of the not-so legitimate users) of Santa Clarita. Ferry expressed his strong opposition to marijuana dispensaries, calling them a “sham” that “just isn’t going to happen.”

The meeting ended at 11pm.

[1]Here is the agenda.

Happenings: Hasley Hills, Suffrage, Contingency

2011-06-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

It was a quiet evening[1].

Mayor Marsha McLean began the City Council meeting by speaking about wounded servicemen and an organization—Tempered Steel—that tries to bring the wounded and their stories to the broader public. She addressed a mostly empty chamber and Mayor Pro-Tem Laurie Ender’s empty chair (she was with her son for a national volleyball competition).

Councilmember updates were of the generic sort. Councilmember Laurene Weste reminded the women in the audience to consider turning out for the Fourth of July Parade celebrating the Centennial of Women’s Right to Vote in California. After a proclamation in observance of the centennial, McLean roared meekly, “Yay women everywhere!” “And thank you all the gentlemen who voted for us!” added Weste, who I think has undergone a gradual mental transformation wherein she now sees herself as a suffragette.

The City received a couple of presentations next. First, Darren Hernandez introduced the six librarians that will be managing the libraries for LSSI starting in July. Trotting them out was an absurd, indulgent exercise for Hernandez, who is apparently trying to make up for his earlier incompetence by demonstrating that he can manage floor tile situations (see last meeting and the $300K contingency expenditure this meeting) and basic introductions.

Next, there was a presentation on air quality. It seems fine particulates are the new ozone, and they are being targeted through a variety of programs wherein individuals, government agencies, or businesses can trade in the old for the new. It’s old lawnmowers for quiet electric ones, gas guzzling vehicles out for natural gas powered cars or electric vehicles, and so on. These programs are being actively used or evaluated by the City.

At 6:53, the Consent Calendar was discussed. The City adopted a small grant to support golf’s equivalent of T-ball—a sports program that will teach the young how to golf, an ability that remains annoyingly mandatory for those with a Y-chromosome. There was a second reading of an ordinance to adjust animal keeping/breeding fees. $297,000 from the Contingency Account was dedicated to repairs at the Canyon Country Library, and McLean will serve on the Santa Clarita Library Board of Trustees (a technical reappointment that one man protested, saying that McLean “voted to destroy the library book by book by book,” and that “we do not want you anywhere near the libraries,”—a little dramatic, I know). And the next City Council will officially receive a 10% raise (Kellar dissenting on this item).

Roger Ludwig of Hasley Hills expressed his hope that the City wouldn’t withdraw their annexation application from LAFCO. Ferry made this suggestion at the last meeting, noting that tens of thousands of residents will be added to the City through existing annexations, and that it wasn’t necessary to push through more contentious annexations, like Hasley Hills. Bob Kellar sympathized with those who had worked hard to initiate the annexation process, calling it “downright painful” to have to put a stop to their efforts because of certain, obnoxious power players fighting the annexation (not his exact words). The City Council approved of the withdrawal excepting Mayor McLean, who abstained from voting.

A 2% assessment on hotels to fund the Tourism Marketing District passed easily, and nine parcels were added to the City’s streetlight maintenance district.

There was no Public Participation this evening; a silent end to an uneventful meeting.

[1]Here is the agenda.

Happenings: OVOV Accepted; 10 Cats per House; District Woes

2011-06-15T05:54:00.001-07:00

One Valley One Vision had its night. The recent revelation that a well was closed due to ammonium perchlorate contamination did little to dampen the enthusiasm of City planners and councilmembers for the immense planning project, now at the end of its ten-year realization. Councilmember Weste was “in the other room” for the OVOV discussion and other portions of the meeting; decisions in the Placerita Canyon area affect her financially, so she abstained from participation. Alan Cameron’s bizarre exchange about the City creating a policy that would kill thousands of dogs fulfilled the evening’s crazy quota. And per requirements for typical 2011 CC meetings, there was continued micro-management of the libraries. Attention was lavished on a mom who wants books for her twins (now!!!), and Darren Hernandez delivered a dissertation on library carpet tiles.

Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender offered an invocation relating to volunteerism. She likes it. Ender said that 23,000 hours of volunteering at an estimated value of $21 per hour meant that City events have benefited from about $500K worth of volunteer assistance. I remember jumping through these volunteering hoops when applying for college. It was heartening that Ender did not overtly promote volunteering for LSSI as I thought she surely would. Instead, she cited a study that said two hours per week of volunteering leads to tangible health benefits, and she encouraged more of it.

There was the flag salute, after which Mayor McLean said “Happy Flag Day, everyone. Yay.”

City Attorney Joe Montes intervened at this point, clarifying an item on the agenda that related to pet ownership laws. Staff had mistakenly reduced the number of cats and dogs that a household was permitted to keep, but he clarified that even with the proposed changes in fees and licenseing requirement, people can still have up to four dogs and ten cats. The cat ladies purred with delight.

In one of the stranger installations of awards and recognitions, Santa Clarita’s Sergeant Hargraves was recognized “for adoption of abandoned horse,” in the words of the agenda. He encouraged animal adoption in general. Then, The Signal and her makers were recognized for receiving awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association in a variety of categories. Apparently, there were 170 papers competing for various awards and The Signal performed very well, making me fear for the quality of papers elsewhere in California. It was all smiles and friendly quips and laughs as TMS’s staff came up for a photo with the City Council. The City and The Signal: they’re besties.

Michael Millar came forward to give an unfortunately thorough progress report on the Arts Commission. I hardly think these twice-yearly updates are necessary, so I napped. He spoke so long that when I woke up, I found him still talking about art displays and projects and grants and involvement in the Arts & Economic Prosperity study and who knows what else?—the arts are being supported, we get it.

During updates, Councilmember Frank Ferry spoke about annexations. He said that the City has been busily bringing many neighborhoods into the fold and suggested slowing down when it came to the west side of town. Ferry requested that a future agenda include an item to withdraw from the annexation process in certain areas so that staff could work more closely with “west side neighbors.” Ender described a lobbying trip to Sacramento where she expressed support for enterprise zones. She said that she wasn’t optimistic that the zones would be able to offer the same benefits they currently afford businesses. Ender also reacted to the freshly proposed political districts mapped out for Santa Clarita. She was quite quotable, saying the committee members “weren’t even close to what they said they were going to do,” and that the congressional district includes “the craziest line you’ve ever seen […] somebody got crazy with the crayon.” This was in reference to the inclusion of a small piece of Newhall with a much larger chunk of the San Fernando Valley. “They didn’t realize there’s a complete mountain range separating our valley from the San Fernando Valley,” remarked Mayor McLean, “Our city needs to remain whole.” Weste is looking forward to have women lead the Fourth of July Parade that, this year, celebrates women’s suffrage. Weste put on a period plum hat and invited Claritan women to get their own suffragette costumes and help lead the parade. Comments concluded with McLean, who showed off new library card designs. She picked an “open space” themed card that doubles as a bookmark.

To waste some time, Deputy City Manager Darren Hernandez came forward to speak about closure of the Canyon Country Library. He offered explicit details on a moisture problem in the community room, describing carpet floor tiles and how their corners can curl up; detailing the process of collecting and analyzing core samples to help identify the extent of the moisture in the room; and speculating about potential sources of floor dampness. It was profoundly useful.

On the Consent Calendar, most items passed as recommended, including the final acceptance of the 2011-12 operating budget and a resolution of intent to establish a Tourism Marketing District. Hotels will pay a 2% assessment on guests that will generate an estimated $400K annually for marketing and promotion of Santa Clarita as a tourist destination. Not all items passed unanimously, however. Ender and Kellar both voted “no” when it came to the second reading of a proposed pay raise for the next City Council. The other members disagreed, and pushed the 10% raise through.

On the item regarding pet ownership licensing fees and penalties, Alan Ferdman, Berta Gonzalez-Harper, Diane Trautman, and Allan Cameron were all pleased that they could still keep four dogs. Each had planned to protest the printed reduction is allowable dog numbers from four to three, but had been mollified by the statement that it was just an error, and four dogs were still allowed. Only Allan Cameron insisted on taking the better part of his comment period to express his relief. Apparently, he had sent out a “dog killing” email to a number of people, suggesting that reducing the number of pets allotted per household was tantamount to killing dogs, as more would have to be euthanized at animal shelters. Ender found the email particularly “upsetting.” She asked that he send out a correction email, but he said he would only do so if Ender sent special notifications of animal-keeping ordinance updates to various facilities with a vested interest. He called it a counter-offer and grinned as he delivered it.

People get worked up about animals, but the real discontent was reserved for the discussion of One Valley One Vision. (Though there was perhaps not as much as may have been expected.)

I won’t provide an extensive detail of the plan and EIR, as I gave these details during my updates on Planning Commission meetings this year and last (search “planning OVOV” if you want to read these). Jason Smisko went through a presentation of the now very familiar OVOV plan. He said the family of pertinent documents comprised the Final EIR, General Plan, Land Use Maps, and Entitlement and CEQA Resolutions. “This has been 10 years in the making,” he began. Smisko noted that the plan laid out 840 goals, and that half of the page count (8,000) was devoted to environmental concerns. Preemptive, defensive statements punctuated his summary (e.g., “It’s not an entitlement,” and an emphasis that they weren’t mandating this development). Concepts like walkability and a valley of villages were touted. In short, it’s a plan for a more densely populated Santa Clarita Valley (up to 483,000 people) with everything (jobs, shops, recreation, transit) closer and more accessible. Theoretically.

Paul Brotzman came up to address the “water issue.” He correctly anticipated that speakers would be emphasizing their concerns about overall water availability, which the plan assumed would be adequate, in light of perchlorate contamination. That is, the Valencia Water Company announced that it closed a well in 2010 because ammonium perchlorate was found[2]. Brotzman argued that “There is definitely adequate water,” because “that perchlorate issue will not affect the water supply issue we’re looking at.” He called it an issue of treatment, not availability, and noted that pumping the contaminated water would help prevent the plume from spreading. How reassuring.

Public comments came next. Mitch Glaser of LA County’s Department of Regional Planning spoke first. He said that the Santa Clarita and LA plans were virtually identical in the various major aspects. Terri Crain gave the plan the blessing of the Chamber of Commerce. With these endorsements, what else was needed? But protests followed. Carole Lutness asked why the City hadn’t said anything about the perchlorate-related well closure last year. She assumed they had known about it and that withholding the information “smacks of possible collusion with Newhall Land Lennar”, which, she claimed, “would stand to gain if this information was kept from the public.” Later, City Manager Ken Pulskamp said he was informed by the Valencia Water Company General Manager, Keith Abercrombie, on the same day of the recent press release. (That’s pretty shady.) Lutness worried that the spread of the plume of contaminated groundwater might cause supplies to dwindle, and spoke about her own thyroid removal and concerns for the health and safety of her granddaughter. Diane Trautman addressed a major complaint that most of the comparisons presented in OVOV were between projections under the existing and new general plan, not comparing on-the-ground conditions with future projections. Most everyone—whether environmentalists or homeowners in Placerita Canyon or those who just hate sitting in traffic said that they wanted more time to review the documents.

The City responded, via Paul Brotzman.

Public Point : Brotzman’s Counterpoint

*No comparison to existing conditions: Originally a “correct” complaint, but he said they added some comparisons after the Attorney General directed them to
*Traffic woes: The new general plan improves traffic conditions, but again, relative to the old plan—Brotzman was promising improvements to traffic conditions that had not yet been realized in actuality, which isn’t terribly useful
*F-rated road intersections: Argued that it would be prohibitive to widen roads to avoid rush hour gridlock, so gridlock at some major intersections is a simple eventuality
*Population growth too fast: Brotzman only addressed growth within the City, ignoring the central notion that Santa Clarita be treated as a whole. He said there might be a climb from 180K to 225K in 50 years at current growth rates, but again, that’s within City boundaries and uses average growth since the late 80s to project future growth. It was a rather annoying answer.
*People not pleased with how he responds to their questions: “We think we’ve done a good job bringing this into balance,” and people are always going to complain.
*Removal of bike lanes for wider roads or development: Said they “placed an emphasis on expanding bicycle use and we have incorporated the non-motorized vehicle plan,” but didn’t argue that some bike lanes will be lost as others are gained.
*Alan Ferdman’s point that increasing population while reducing greenhouse gas emissions seemed like goals at odds with one another: not addressed

Dan Masnada came forward to speak more about perchlorate concerns. He led off by talking about perchlorate present at 5-12 parts per billion in the contaminated well, and how a part per billion is a very small quantity. Smiling, he showed that if the distance to the moon was broken into billionths, one ppb would be about a foot. This was a condescending and utterly stupid way to start the discussion. We detect things at parts per billion because they concern us at parts per billion (botulinum toxin is lethal if ingested at one part per trillion parts body mass). Talking about how small a unit of measurement just isn’t useful. Masnada affirmed that there were the resources to treat effected water and suggested speakers were over-stating concerns about how serious a problem it was.

Finally, a suit from Impact Sciences said they answered responses to their EIR at the same level of specificity or generality in which they were asked. This was to address concerns that responses weren’t to the questions actually asked by residents.

The City Council liked OVOV. Speakers were critiqued for having not been more involved from the beginning (though many were), misunderstanding some issues (deliberately or otherwise), and not trusting the experts. Mayor McLean called the General Plan a “living document,” by which she likely meant that they will ignore it as they wish, like they do with the existing plan and frequent exemptions or exceptions to it. So it passed with Laurene Weste sitting out the vote. I’m not sure why she had to sit out when the document, by its very nature, affects all of the councilmembers, but she does have the most at stake.

Next up was a discussion of the Compass Blueprint Concept Plan for the area of Newhall along Railroad Avenue, including areas in West Newhall and near the Masters College. Placerita homeowners were not pleased at the plan, which proposed far more development than they thought their community could sustain and new traffic patterns they thought might lead to problems. “We’re gonna disrupt your little corner of heaven,” Sandra Cattell said (her pronouns referring to what the City was essentially saying to residents). She said she would prefer a school/park combination and expressed fears about traffic and creeping medium-high density mixed-use developments. Others noted that Weste stood to gain financially from the acceptance of the concept plan (she sat this vote out, too).

“We’ve tried to create a concept where we’re discouraging traffic from penetrating further into the Placerita Canyon area,” countered Paul Brotzman. Mayor McLean actually hounded him a little bit about whether he had made sufficient efforts to reach out to homeowners. But ultimately, since the plan was designed to guide rather than mandate, it was yessed through.

Next, Ferry gushed over Susan Shapiro, saying she was the best of many outstanding candidates for a seat on the Arts Committee. She got it.

During Public Participation, Scott Wilk explained that he didn’t like the Gorman to Malibu proposed State Senate District for Santa Clarita, and he said that his group will be presenting an alternative map. Wilk said that Claritans need to make more noise and try to keep Santa Clarita whole and within compact political districts. Susan Huffman, the mother of 7-year-old twins, spoke next. She said “The timing couldn’t be worse” with regard to the closure of public libraries for the LSSI takeover. The mother was at a loss for what to do without access to books for her daughers’ summer reading. Cam Noltemeyer was more exasperated than usual, saying “Your arrogance is infuriating” to the City Council, having not effected change to the outcome of OVOV.

Huffman got immediate attention. In an unusually interactive exchange, there were two back-and-forth with McLean, Ender, and the bookless mother about how they could get her kids something to read before the libraries re-open in July. There were suggestions for Parkmobile conversions or elementary school libraries opening, but Pulskamp said the practical solution was just to go to county-run libraries in Agua Dulce or Castaic. This didn't sit well with the mother or the Mayor.

The City Council was looking for more responses to public comments, but Frank Ferry walked out of the meeting at 10:54, saying “C’mon Mayor, adjourn us” as he strutted to the door. Official adjournment came a minute later.

[1] Agenda
[2] Here's an article from TMS

Happenings: Budget, Ball Game, Trashed

2011-05-25T05:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight, we saw the juxtaposition of small town and growing city[1]. The Council rearranged the agenda so Assistant City Manager Ken Striplin could run off to coach his son’s baseball game while, moments later, approving an operating budget of $160M—more than the GDP of the Republic of Kiribati. Nearly all matters before the City Council this evening involved big expenditures and the raising of fees that help support such spending: $8M to acquire library properties and materials (well, all materials except the historically unique ones, which the County may well retain), $3M to buy new property for the open space initiative, $2.2M for a roundabout in Newhall as part of the 2011-12 operating budget, and $50K for artwork to adorn said roundabout.

After Councilmember Bob Kellar delivered an invocation encouraging the meaningful observance of Memorial Day, the agenda switcheroo occurred. Ferry was able to get Striplin’s big presentation on purchasing libraries facilities and materials moved before everything else on the agenda so that he could make his kid’s playoff baseball game. I thought it was nice he wanted to support his son, but why didn't they just formally arrange the agenda in a way that allowed him to leave without making such a to-do? About $5.5M was required to obtain the libraries themselves and another $2M for most of the materials.

Cam Noltemeyer and Lynne Plambeck were none too pleased to have such an important matter moved from the end of the meeting to the beginning. They said that people who had planned to speak on the item would miss their chance, having not anticipated the need to arrive so early. (In all fairness, this maneuver just saved speakers the trouble of voicing their concerns to a Council that is largely disinterested in them.) Plambeck called the impromptu revision of the agenda “a slap in the face, once again,” and was concerned about the rising costs of the library takeover, predicting “it’s going to be fifty-million dollars by the time you get done with it!” On the Council, discussion mostly revolved around historically significant and locally meaningful volumes, contributions by Claritans like Randy Wicks and A.B. Perkins. When Councilmember Laurene Weste asked Deputy City Manager Darren Hernandez about what would happen to these cherished pieces of Claritan culture, he said that—as far as he knew—the significant volumes/collections were not part of the materials the City was buying. The County had the right to retain them, he explained, and might house them at the new Stevenson Ranch Library now in planning. Once the item passed, Striplin ran off to his game. Ferry, who can’t abide a City Council meeting without texting his way through it, would later reveal that Striplin had texted him the winning score of eleven to one.

Awards and recognitions came next for the Lions Club (Thanksgiving dinner for seniors for 32 years), Deputy Shoemaker (Every 15 Minutes Program), and the Castaic Lake Water Agency (congratulating the City on saving 600 acre-feet of water per year by using weather-based irrigation.

Councilmember reports and updates came next. Ferry, who apparently hadn’t been given a Henry Mayo press release to read this month, praised community gardens and safe grad nights. Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender recounted the Relay for Life event this weekend. Participants raised about half of a million dollars for cancer research. Mayor McLean announced a service that will save bees swarming in your yard or attic, collecting them and moving them to a new location. She also announced a few open houses on climate change that will be sponsored by the City.

The Consent Calendar was approved without remark. And indeed, it was unremarkable with a provision to replace traffic lights with LEDs, a vote of support for a bill protecting desert lands in California, and a contract for cleaning bus stops.

A number of public hearings followed. The Council reviewed the 2011-12 Annual Operating Budget. Some $160M in revenue will support City services and operations, with the biggest chunks going to public safety and parks and recreation. There is a far more detailed breakdown in the agenda[2]. Alan Ferdman was unhappy that the public was given only three days to review it and three minutes to speak about such a large budget. Still, it was accepted.

The next public hearings increased fees collected by the City, levied special district assessments, and were profoundly boring. There was a ritualistic back and forth twixt the Mayor and Clerk, a chanting of prescribed phrases followed by rote responses that sanctify the collection of more money this year than last.

Not helping matters, an impossibly long discussion of trash was next on the agenda. After negotiations over terms of franchise extensions, Burrtec and Waste Management were afforded a 2.64% rate increase and a number of “extraordinary rate increases” ranging from 1.5-2.5% that can be looked forward to in the coming years. The City Council highlighted the perks of the agreement, however, such as Santa Clarita’s enviable position as the lowest-paying service area in North Los Angeles County and a 20% discount for those who will trade in their 96-gallon bins for 35-gallon bins. Literally every detail of the agreement was discussed by Robert Newman. In the end, the rate increase and other franchise extension conditions were approved.

Councilmember Kellar’s long-awaited discussion of a Public Safety Committee finally took place. Kellar dominated this discussion, but Ender chimed in to make sure that the committee would take a very broad view of public safety, consulting with the Fire Deparment and even public works (safe bridges, anyone?) in addition to the Sheriff’s Department. Others agreed, and the Committee was formed with Mayor McLean and Bob Kellar as its first members.

The matter of councilmember compensation was next. Having not raised their salaries in years, the City Council (except Bob Kellar and Laurie Ender) voted to increase the salaries enjoyed by the next sitting City Council. That is, they gave themselves a raise that was a bit confusing—Ferry said 5% raise applied twice, which isn’t the same as a 10% raise, which others seemed to equate it with. So who knows? Shockingly, Cam Noltemeyer was against this action. She said that the generous benefits given to the CC were at odds with their cost-cutting values. She said “drop ‘em” of their health and other benefits. But they did not.

Finally, a 526 acres in Haskell Canyon will be purchased for $3.1M. It’s close to existing communities and will help curtail northward expansion, it was explained, and all City Councilmembers were happy to make the purchase.

Public Participation included only Cam Noltemeyer, who wanted to know who was benefitting from the open space acquisition (i.e., off-loading undesirable land for a good price).

[1]Agenda
[2]Budget

Happenings: A Little Support

2011-05-11T05:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight’s City Council meeting was Ferryless[1]. Mayor Marsha McLean began the meeting by assuring concerned Claritans that he was fine—i.e., not suffering ill health—in reference to his absence following severe surgical complications this past winter. Because of his absence, it was decided that discussion of the new Public Safety Committee would be delayed until the next meeting. This left an agenda comprising symbolic votes of support and rather more concrete increases in levied assessments. And then there was concrete support ($200,000) for the Economic Development Corporation that takes mostly symbolic actions, so it was a rather symmetrical evening, in the end.

During the Awards and Recognitions phase of the evening (that’s the come-get-yer-photo-taken-with-the-mayor! Section), the College of the Canyons Ice Hockey Team was recognized first. They won the Division 3 National Championship, apparently the only team of more than 400 to go undefeated. Next, Sandy Fischer received an award for her work on and initiating the Arts Commission, a post she had to leave unexpectedly soon due to medical reasons. Fischer took her acceptance speech as an opportunity to express not only gratitude, but also specific recommendations for providing continued funding to the commission. It was a bit long, and McLean seemed a bit less than enthused that this was the direction she took. Finally, Gail Ortiz, officially Communications Manager, unofficially High Priestess of Propaganda, was recognized for receiving the CAPIO Lifetime Achievement Award. (That’s California Association of Public Information Officials). Mayor McLean noted her focus on civic engagement and building relationships for the past 21 years in Santa Clarita. Ironically, Ortiz chose to remain uncommunicative following the award, taking a photo and walking quietly back to her usual post, sans speech. The City Council expressed their admiration of Gail. Mayor McLean said she admired her for being able to “take what we each wish to say and make sure we say it correctly!” Something tells me that statement wasn’t passed by Gail.

Next were councilmember updates and reports. Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender talked about Santa Clarita’s upcoming cupcake wars, today’s rather depressing version of panem et circenses. People will wander the streets with other people who, shockingly, also enjoy individually-sized portions of dessert items. More interestingly, Ender gave an update on redistricting and decided that another letter was needed to strongly encourage the preservation of Santa Clarita in one voting district. It’s become more apparent that no other cities want to join Santa Clarita, so it’s hard to decide where district lines should be drawn in this area of Southern California. Ender warbled a rather horrific metaphor: “Cut the baby here, cut the baby there.” Councilmember Bob Kellar congratulated man and woman of the year Harry Bell (Elks, Rotary). He made a reminder about the Memorial Day program at Eternal Valley.

On the Agenda, the City voted to support and oppose various pieces of State and Federal legislation. Support went to Senator Barbara Boxer’s bill to resolve Santa Clarita’s twelve-year old battle with CEMEX over mining in eastern Santa Clarita. Congressman Buck McKeon has failed every year he introduced a bill to similar effect, but Michael Murphy laid out a plan for this bill (hearing in July, after which it is incorporated into an omnibus natural resources bill) that gave an illusory sense that it might just work this time around. Or it could just become another of Boxer’s long string of accomplishing nothing on the Senate. The City Council chose to oppose a State bill that would let citizens vote before their libraries changed from public to private operation. This came at least partly response to the debate over library management that has played out so gracelessly in Santa Clarita. The usual public library supporters said it was only fair that the people express their views on such an important matter, throwing around the phrase “right to vote” rather a lot, while Berta Gonzalez-Harper said that the bill would protect unions, not the public. There was also support lent to extending the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program, which obviously benefits Santa Clarita. In all cases, no one beyond Santa Clarita will take notice of Santa Clarita’s positions on these matters.

In terms of taking money in, the City Council approved an increase in the Open Space Assessment of $1.50, bringing the total to $29 per parcel. Various other assessments were also levied and adjusted.

And in terms of spending money, the City Council could not resist throwing another $200,000 at the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation. This group performs services that are, at best, redundant—Santa Clarita has no shortage of support for local business. Bill Kennedy could offer very few examples of what the SCVEDC has actually done apart from expanding the enterprise zone, an action that may well prove meaningless given Governor Brown’s push to eliminate these zones. Otherwise, the SCVEDC has held meetings, the odd conference, and made a website. It’s an immensely worthwhile cause for public support.

Finally, in terms of concrete actions (literally), there were some road adjustment plans. The ever unwelcome lobbyist Hunt Braly said that one of his clients would be adversely affected by a traffic change in Newhall that would affect the Burger King business there. He said he wanted the City Council to continue the item, as his client was vacationing in Alaska and hadn’t been reached. Yes, I’m totally serious. Braly said that he had spoken with staff on the issue earlier. Refreshingly, Braly got no special treatment, as City Manager Ken Pulskamp had said that the City had extended three letters and two phone calls to the client since June 2010 regarding changes that might affect his business.

Finally, there was a bit of streamlining in terms of Santa Clarita’s committees, some of which are out-dated or unnecessary.

The meeting ended at 7:55 with just one comment under public participation, TimBen Boydston’s praise for Newhall having turned a corner and being on the road to full realization.

[1]Agenda here

Happenings: Library Tax Avoided, Vista Canyon Embraced

2011-04-27T06:31:00.000-07:00

This evening’s meeting began with Councilmember Laurene, who was clad head-to-toe in Weste-ern garb[1]. She can hardly wait for the Cowboy Festival (to be fair, neither can I) and read Johnny Cash’s prayerful “Oh, Bury Me Not” for the invocation: “I've never lived where churches grow/ I loved Creation better as it stood/ That day You finished it so long ago/ And looked upon Your work and called it good.”

Next, Mayor McLean moved onto the Consent Calendar. This first visitation of the Consent Calendar is just to determine which items need discussion, but she had Dave Lutness come up to speak on Item 10 for the heck of it (he wants checks to be published online for review; they will be). Perplexingly, the other CC speakers were reserved until later on in the meeting.

During Awards and Recognitions, the SCV Veterans Memorial Committee was applauded for their work honoring America’s heroes. They will hold a Memorial Day ceremony next month. Next, Grace Baptist Church members were recognized for assisting in neighborhood beautification and in Extreme Neighbor Makeover efforts. While Jesus focused more on the glory of basic charity--“For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in” (Matthew 25:35)--Santa Claritans embrace the glory of more suburban charity: “For my lawn was unmowed and you sheared it down; my siding was weathered and you painted it beige; my yard was unkempt and you made it tidy.” I don’t mean to be the ludicrous sort of person who criticizes good acts for not being good enough--it’s just a shame that simple courtesies once extended by neighbors now require a concerted church-city effort.

Finally, Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender spoke about Autism Awareness Month. She drew attention to Santa Clarita’s Special Needs Registry, maintained by the City in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Department. Autistic persons can wear trackable bracelets so that law enforcement can reconnect them with their families should they go missing.

Councilmember Frank Ferry read from his obligatory HMNMH press release, highlighting the grand opening of the helipad. It rests atop the giant, oppressive parking structure painted in vile pastels. Ender sought support for the Relay for Life. Councilmember Bob Kellar promoted Memorial Day observation and reflection. Laurene Weste solicited help for Castaic Animal Shelter’s “Big Sunday” in May wherein they will try to get a lot of projects and improvements completed with community help. Then she floated ideas about regulating non-conforming uses (e.g., auto) in downtown Newhall using amortization ordinances—she really, really wants it to be an unbesmirched arts district and wants it now. Weste also suggested that staff “look into wind energy”. It was the vaguest of requests, but she drew comparisons to home solar units after Bob Kellar tried to get her to be a little more specific. So I *think* she wants staff to see if it’s feasible to encourage business or homeowners to implement small-scale wind energy projects? Perhaps she wants Santa Clarita to enter the electricity industry? Anyhow, Kellar used the topic as an opportunity to say that California needs “balance” between environmental regulations and promoting economic interests lest it become even harder to do “bih-ness” in the State. Finally, Mayor McLean spoke about chlorides. She said that she was able to request a meeting on the topic when Governor Brown visited last week, and she is already in communication with one of his staff members. She also gushed about a bi-coastal duet as part of CalArts’ Wild Beast Concert Series. A pianist in New York played music with the pianist in California, linked by some advanced Yamaha piano technology.

After these reports, the City Council returned to the Consent Calendar, which would be approved unaltered. There were some second readings to approve the pre-zones for the Norland Road/Robinson Ranch Area as well as Elsmere Canyon. Assemblyman Cameron Smyth’s bill to make for objective, state-wide chloride water standards was supported (despite the fact that it’s going nowhere because agricultural interests requested a couple of years of whining rights before the bill that might force them to be reasonable is discussed). And finally, there was some community support for a new MOU between the City and COC, allowing community access to the Performing Arts Center for another year for $70,000. Speakers requested that the City consider 5-year MOUs or contracts in the future.

Next, the City Council considered closing the public hearing for the development and annexation of the Vista Canyon area. Per the requests of Laurene Weste some weeks ago, the developer had agreed to many conditions of development, including widening the river corridor in some areas, decreasing the number of residential units, adding trails, eliminating parking next to the wildlife corridor, restoring the Mitchell Hill cemetery, etc. The usual chorus of project boosters spoke next, no one saying anything of use or interest. Anyone who has heard of the project by now also knows that Canyon Country feels neglected and that many of her residents want the new housing and jobs that are promised by this project. Following this was the chorus of naysayers, who repeated the usual stuff about needing to import half-a-million cubic yards of soil to build in the floodplain and the inadequacies of the EIR. One new statistic was brought up by TimBen Boydston, who said that this supposedly transit-oriented project only foresees 16% of its population using transit for commuting. The Council--minus Bob Kellar, who had to recuse himself due to business dealings--approved the recommended action for the item.

Next were a number of library-related issues. To summarize, Deputy City Manager announced that Santa Clarita has been successful in its bid to join the Southern California Library Collective (one "formality" awaits, he said). This will add access to another 29M items for Claritans. He also found that "levying and collecting the special library tax is not necessary." That is, the library tax that the City couldn't collect without putting a new tax measure on the ballot wasn't needed--Hernandez essentially boasted about not needing a tax that the City wasn't entitled to collect anyhow. He gave some budget projections over the coming years, and said that there will be operational "surpluses" (conventional wisdom dictates that you place any Hernandez promise in quotation marks) over the coming years so that the library fund can repay money it borrowed from the general fund in about a decade. Said Berta Gonzalez-Harper in light of the need for no special library tax: "Despite the critics, somebody is doing something right." Deanna Hanashiro, stalwart COLA Library defender, still lamented the LSSI transition. She said that contrary to City spin, none of the 13, full-time professional librarians who currently work in City of Santa Clarita libraries will remain come July 1. She did say she was glad that the City wouldn't be collecting the tax that it wasn't allowed to collect in the first place.

There was minimal discussion from City Council on any of the library issues, but Laurie Ender did thank Gonzalez-Harper and other members of the citizen library committee for enduring angry emails and comments from misinformed citizens who liked the libraries the way they were. Ender gave one of her trademark, critics-be-damned smiles and said "Another good piece of good news along the way."

Next, nearly $400,000 was approved for implementing an RFID system that will allow for quick inventory and check-out of library books at Santa Clarita libraries. The system allows a whole stack of books to be scanned at once, so long as they're within the general proximity of the RFID reader. This will be important for Santa Clarita to conduct efficient exchanges with the Inland Library Network. Valerie Thomas and others who have criticized the library takeover process wondered about this additional expense. Mayor McLean actually asked Darren Hernandez whether it had been a planned expense, and Hernandez took the typical path of obfuscating instead of illuminating: "This was not unanticipated." A little vague.

The final library item was appointing the City Council as the Library Board of Trustees. Speakers and even Councilmember Kellar wondered if there were others who were better qualified on library matters and whether independent voices might not be welcome. However, the City Council will take control for at least the first couple of years, it seems, though they will revisit the structure and openness of the Board to outside members a year from the date of the library takeover.

After a 5-minute break, there was a discussion of redistricting. As we know, Santa Clarita is not large enough to warrant its own representatives, so the City must band together with other, similar areas in order to ensure appropriate representation. Ferry and Ender, who comprise the Council Legislative Committee, had some recommendations. Their essential goal was keeping the Santa Clarita Valley undivided, but there was debate over whether it would be best to try and join communities in Western Ventura County (like Fillmore), the Antelope Valley, or the North San Fernando Valley. Each of these areas has its own interests as well, and the AV, for example, wishes to stay separate from most of Santa Clarita. Ender and Ferry's recommendation was to join with communities like Granada Hills, Northridge, and Chatsworth as well as other communities at the northern end of Los Angeles County. There wasn't meaningful resolution and a number of options seem acceptable so long as Santa Clarita was preserved intact and wasn't lumped with areas of LA that might have different or competing interests. Scott Wilk, who is probably more involved with these efforts than anyone else locally, advocated crossing county lines (against State wishes) to join similar communities in Ventura. In the end, it seems that advocating a holistic approach to redistricting the Santa Clarita area will be advocated.

During Public Participation, noted community volunteer Tom Haner came forward to say that "I got crippled by one of our Deputy Sheriffs." Though his account wasn't perfectly coherent, it seems he accused a deputy of pushing him around leaving lasting injuries (the event happened a couple of years ago), which he hesitated to bring up. Mayor McLean requested that someone speak with him. Last, Steven Petzold requested that the "In God We Trust" posted next to the City Seal have its quotation marks removed. He though they implied a certain irony, a "degree of disbelief or sarcasm." While I agree that they're unnecessary, I'm even more delighted that this was the first punctuation-driven comment I've seen at City Council. Hooray.

[1]Agenda, here.

Happenings: Public Safety, Public Nuisance

2011-04-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Blogger isn't preserving my formatting into distinct paragraphs. I fear you'll have to wade through this one big block of text. I was a little late getting to tonight’s City Council meeting[1], but it seems they had a late start anyhow. I tuned in just in time to see an elementary school class getting its picture taken with the City Council; it seems the CC had been the focus of a letter-writing lesson. The class was there to see government in action, witnessing more government inaction instead, as is the norm for the start of these meetings. . After Mrs. Vasquez’s second-graders had their photo taken, new LA County Fire Chief Daryl Osby was recognized and welcomed to the community. He said that Santa Clarita was the first of 58 cities served to invite him out—that’s just how Claritans roll. Chief Osby used the word “strategic” rather frequently, as in strategic plans to deal with budget cuts and Santa Clarita’s strategic place in the county. A number of firefighters joined him for the obligatory photo with the City Seal (the round, not flippery, sort). The second-grade kids and their parents took the shuffling about as a chance to flee the chamber. “Bam! They saw an opportunity and they bailed!” guffawed Councilmember Ferry, lustily, wondering whether the firemen would be savvy enough to do the same (they did). The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life was recognized next. A passionate speaker said that since its first year of participation, Santa Claritans have raised $4.3M for the cause. During councilmember reports, Ferry continued with his unofficial job in hospital PR. He read the news that Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital had been ranked 21st out of 138 hospitals in the Los Angeles region by US News & World Report[2]. Providence Holy Cross, the preferred choice of many Claritans, was 18th on the list. So, at least by USNWR standards, the hospitals are closely ranked. Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender talked about all of Santa Clarita’s trees in recognition of the City’s 21st consecutive “Tree City USA” award and the approach of the Earth Arbor Day celebration. This Saturday at Central Park, there will be 1000 free tress and 1000 free bags of mulch distributed. Councilmember Bob Kellar spoke about the funeral services for US Army Spc. Rudy Acosta, saying he had never been prouder of Santa Clarita than when he saw the massive show of support. Councilmember Laurene Weste gave an update on the community gardens. She said they have been very successful and that people are adding “amazing personal flair” with everything from stained glass to hummingbird feeders. She then read some basic facts on the Civil War (e.g., it changed America forever, has been known by many different names) that she thought were important to have on the record in light of the Battle of Fort Sumter being fought on April 12th, 1861--150 years ago today. Finally, Mayor McLean said that there will be a new Metrolink schedule implemented in May providing more trains for those commuting from the Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys to LA. She mentioned a drive-thru car wash at the Hyatt on April 17th to benefit Bryan Stow, the paramedic who was severely beaten after a Dodger Stadium baseball game. McLean also said that she was applying for a new library card in preparation for the library takeover by LSSI. “The application is extremely simple and very easy,” she said, redundantly. You can get your application at santaclaritalibrary.com, where there are ungrammatical advertisements for the revamped libraries (they omit hyphens and have unorthodox capitalization). The Consent Calendar was approved without discussion. The only major item was the second reading and adoption of the ordinance to regulate mobile billboards. Two public hearings on annexations followed, the first for prezoning the area of Norland Road/Robinson Ranch, and the second for approving the annexation of Elsmere Canyon. McLean called the latter achievement “fantastically wonderful,” a sentiment with which we can all agree. If you’ll recall, there was an agenda item some weeks ago that pertained to landscaping some on-ramps and off-ramps—a $260,000 contract. An out-of-town company, Valley Crest Design, submitted a higher bid than a local company, Santa Clarita Landscape Development, but they were selected by staff on the basis of more experience. This led Bob Kellar and Laurie Ender to vote no on contracting with the out-of-towners while McLean and Weste voted in favor. Since Ferry was gone, City Attorney Joe Montes opined that the two votes were all that was needed to break the tie and award the contract to Valley Crest Design. The issue was revisited this evening. Curtis Nay, Assistant City Engineer, came forward with new information about how Valley Crest had scored a 92 on questions relating to qualifications, experience, and expertise whereas the local Santa Clarita Landscape Development, Inc. scored in the 60s. He added that, though located in Santa Ana, Valley Crest would likely use local sub-consultants and thus benefit local workers. It was the kind of information that could have averted the whole kerfuffle in the first place. Kellar thanked Nay for the update, and said he was now in agreement with staff’s choice of Valley Crest. There was one public speaker, Alan Ferdman. He recalled his reaction to the 2-2 vote on the initial measure, “I was astonished; a tie represents a majority—how can this be?” Based on official FAQs for city governments, Ferdman concluded that Montes was “misinformed” in his opinion on the number of votes needed for the ordinance. Montes countered that there wasn’t a specific code section for this type of ordinance, and the City would do well to clarify its policy on ties over such ordinances. Ferdman was rather dramatic when talking about the implications of the purportedly mistaken legal opinion, and this inspired a defensive response from the City Council. Bob Kellar said Ferdman had made an “unnecessary attack,” and McLean said “Some of those remarks from Mr. Ferdman were unwarranted…as usual,” with her usual eye-roll. In new business, the City Council discussed formation of a Public Safety Sub-Committee composed of two coulcilmembers who would meet regulalrly with Captain Paul Becker. It was Bob Kellar’s idea from back in January, and he thought monthly meetings would be a swell idae. I thought the plan would be enthusiastically embraced. However, the other members of the City Council seemed to be advocating a more reasonable position than Kellar. Unusual, I know. They reminded him that Becker had a lot of people to report to already: he spoke with Pulskamp almost daily, by Pulskamp’s account; there were County officials to answer to; and he already offered regular updates before the whole City Council. “I’m not sure there’s a need for it,” summarized McLean, who seemed to prefer updates delivered to the public and whole City Council. Kellar insisted that the sub-committee and monthly meetings were warranted, arguing that if the City has a vector control sub-committee, it should certainly have on devoted to public safety. (Apparently, there are about two-dozen sub-committees, and Ferry thought it was time to clean house and get defunct committees “off the books.”) Ultimately, staff will return with information on the parameters of such a sub-committee and what purposes or needs it would fill. During Public Participation, a speaker compared the City’s LSSI dealings with how the Democrats rammed healthcare reform through the US Congress against public opinion, an analogy that none of the City Council Republicans likely found very flattering. Scott Wilk asked the City Council to emphasize the need to be involved with California’s redistricting efforts. “Our population’s only large enough for about one-half of an assembly seat” said Wilk, and on Saturday, April 30th, there will be hearings in San Fernando that will shape our future representation. It’s a date cunningly set to coincide with the Cowboy Festival, when SCV power players will be preoccupied with Baxter Back and buffalo tri-tip. Valerie Thomas spoked next, and said that she wished the City would answer more questions about the LSSI library takeover. “Councilmembers, you are our elected representatives. Please represent us.” She said that they presently don’t, and “treat the public at best as nuisances.” Finally, David Gauny read aloud from City Council norms and procedures in response to McLean’s dig at Alan Ferdman. He found some gems, such as “Council will make the public feel welcome,” and “Council should not make snappy, sarcastic remarks.” Ken Pulskamp responded to the library by spouting the usual bullshit about extensive public outreach and involvement in the library takeover process. To be fair, there was extensive public participation—the City just didn’t act in a way that made it seem like they had been listening. Regarding Valerie Thomas’s perception of being thought of as a nuisance, Pulskamp said “I take offense at that.” He said he can’t always respond immediately to the hundred or so emails he receives every day, but does his best to address every question in a timely manner. Mayor McLean agreed that her words to Ferdman hadn’t been the best, but said “When we are constantly attacked, and things are taken out of context, […] we get a little frustrated.” She closed with a little mock martyrdom, saying “I should have sat here and listened to you berate us.” The meeting ended shortly before 8:00. [1]Here is the agenda. [2]US News rankings

Happenings: Cash for LSSI, Vista Canyon Approved

2011-03-22T21:02:00.001-07:00

Most of this evening's speakers were against $1,348,000 in funding with which LSSI will acquire new materials, furniture, and marketing services leading up to their July takeover of local libraries. In addition to the 26 speakers[1], Lynne Plambeck offered over ten-thousand signatures opposing the library takeover. Berta Gonzalez-Harper was the only person present in support this evening, but Darren Hernandez assured us that focus groups were enthusiastic, and Laurie Ender said that "almost to a person" she has been told "I believe that you're doing the right thing" with regard to the libraries. Bob Kellar had the best line of the evening when he said of these purported, excited supporters: "They weren't excited enough to be here."

Tonight’s City Council Meeting was long—six hours, six minutes with two potty breaks[2]. It was dominated by discussion of the library takeover and the Vista Canyon development. The residents of Santa Clarita opposed the library because they were misinformed (acc. to D. Hernandez and F. Ferry), but they generally supported Vista Canyon, ostensibly because they were well informed. That’s how it works.

Mayor Marsha McLean delivered the invocation. She touched on the tragic death of Army Medic Rudy Acosta. He grew up in Santa Clarita before he was shot on March 19 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. McLean’s voice was raw with emotion as she asked us to observe a moment of silence.

Awards and recognitions were but one—Jim McCarthy, Councilmember Laurene Weste’s husband, won the LA County Star Award for his work as a “protector of our natural resources, advocate for trails and open space.” Weste said he was selected out of 88,000 employees. In addition to doing good environmental work, McCarthy sports some truly remarkable facial hair.

The councilmembers didn’t have much to say during their reports—they knew there was a big agenda ahead of them. Mayor McLean did mention the annual bus trip to Sacramento where she and others spoke with State legislators about issues near and dear to Santa Clarita, particularly redevelopment agencies.

With the exception of Item 11, the Consent Calendar was approved with little discussion. Alan Ferdman did mention concerns over sanitation district fees, wondering about impending increases and service to newly annexed areas. TimBen Boydston applauded a measure to regulate (i.e., ban) the mobile billboard advertising that has popped up around town.

Item 11 brought out Santa Clarita’s library devotees. The item appropriated funds for more books, furniture, and other goodies to make an impressive show once LSSI assumes operation of the libraries. What’s $1.4M for some positive PR? While virtually all speakers opposed the item, their opposition took one of two distinct forms. Some just expressed generic opposition to LSSI for all the well-known reasons--it was poorly vetted, there have been unforeseen costs, it will employ likely fewer highly-skilled librarians, etc. These folks asked that the City Council stay the contract with LSSI. After the first speaker suggested this, there was some applause. McLean overreacted ever so slightly: “If you break out into applause I will clear the room!” she threatened, “I am not going to accept any disrespect.” Speakers emphasized that opposition to LSSI had both “depth and breadth,” in the words of Lynne Plambeck. She said opposition included conservatives and tea partiers along with union liberals and SCOPE types. “That should REALLY worry you,” she said of the broad opposition. David Gauny stressed that it was ridiculous for the City to maintain its position that it was firmly in control and the public was suffering from misunderstandings and unfounded doubts: “I don’t think you [City Council] realize how many people are embarrassed for you.”

The more topical speakers addressed the particulars of the item on tonight's agenda. They noted that LSSI receives 5% of the money used to acquire new stuff and services, so it would be in their interest to overstate the need for new materials. Deputy City Manager Darren Hernandez revealed that the need for new books was decided after a “qualitative analysis” of the collection. The quantitative analysis was reserved for the County, which confirmed that there were 287,000 items on the shelves of Claritan libraries.

The dauntless Berta Gonzalez-Harper comprised the pro-LSSI contingent. She highlighted the benefits of local control and asserted that “LSSI works for us, not the other way around.” She supported the item because a recent visit to the Canyon Country Library confirmed “those shelves are very, very sparsely filled.” All those who matter—City Staff and Council—agreed with Gonzalez, so she had all the company she needed.

Responses from Darren Hernandez and most of the City Council were predictably dismissive. Hernandez was unimpressed by the 10,004 signatures collected to support the LA County Library System over LSSI. “Obviously the items in the petition are either incorrect or misleading,” he said. The four items he contested can be viewed here, and briefly state that there have been (1) cost overruns; (2) a lack of transparency and rushed approval process; (3) loss of access to the LA County system; and (4) a lack of a Board of Trustees, which may have been necessary for the service contract. A judge threw out the lawsuit concerning the last item (i.e., the City was OK to proceed without a board), so that’s a fair thing to dismiss. But all the other points are true. The City never anticipated it would pay to complete the Canyon Country Library renovation. The project was rushed from beginning to end, and emails and meeting records reveal that the City had, essentially, a working relationship with LSSI before they were contracted. Hernandez insisted that the project hasn’t costing more than anticipated and that it has been a transparent process throughout. It's incomprehensible, but Darren will admit nothing has gone wrong. Were he a better actor, you might think he actually believed it.

Councilmember Bob Kellar offered some validation for those who had spoken in protest. He said that the City had no idea that they wouldn’t collect the special tax (the City Attorney is waiting to offer his next opinion on that matter until May 10th!), have to pay for Canyon Country renovations, or lose access to LA County’s collection—a situation that may or may not be rectified. He called BS on Hernandez’s promise that people are excited about the takeover: “They weren’t excited enough to be here.” Kellar would be the only dissenting vote on the plan.

Ferry made an unsuccessful bid to make it seem like everyone agreed about the libraries. “We are furious, as you are, when it comes to library services.” Who “you” refers to is uncertain, since no one has complained about inadequate library hours, service quality, or collections apart from City Staff pushing the takeover. Perhaps he was talking to them. Then Ferry lectured the audience on how annoying it has been for him to have to deal with even more ferocious public opposition on other projects like the hospital parking structures, Performing Arts Center, etc. that have been viewed as essential since construction. People just don’t seem to know what’s good for them. As a final treat, he offered condescending remarks to the opposition, such as “You were given bad information” and “There’s always fear of change.” Indeed, opponents are still being caricatured as poorly informed sticks in the mud.

There was a recess before discussion of the Vista Canyon project. The City Council was asked to consider approving the development. The same item also made provisions for annexing the newly developed area and other local areas, like Jakes Way and Fair Oaks Ranch. Jeff Hogan described Vista Canyon as a “transit-oriented neighborhood” on 185 acres. High-density housing and businesses are located in close proximity with the developer promising an “up to” 4:1 jobs:housing ratio. A proposed Metrolink station and bus transfer station would facilitate use of public transportation. The project proposes massive amounts of grading, importing some 500,000 cubic yards of soil in order to build up the floodplain (it’s located on the edge of the Santa Clara River).

Speakers generally approved of the plan, including a number of business men is suits who gave adulatory remarks about the project they’ll soon be selling. People were thrilled that Canyon Country was getting something big, master-planned, and new. 28 speakers expressed support with only 7 expressing some level of opposition. Shockingly, even Carole Lutness conceded “Vista Canyon in many ways is a very good project.” Noltemeyer and Plambeck noted that many of the planned amenities might not come to be, but it was clear the project would be approved (and it was).

Approval came with a number of conditions. They’re too numerous to list fully, but Councilmember Weste made several provisions to maximize the amount of open space, ensure a functional wildlife corridor, preserve the unique Mitchell Hill and Mitchell Family cemetery, and try to facilitate relocation of the Metrolink Station from Via Princessa to Vista Canyon. Laurie Ender did worry that the lighting Weste preferred—down-lit, so as to not disturb animals. “Crazyy séance stuff” will move from the cemetery to the park if it’s poorly lit, worried Ender. Sand Canyon and Lost Canyon Roads would also be linked with a turnabout, the City Council decided, after receiving a presentation on their superior safety and about how to drive through one.

These and other conditions were included as part of the approval. Jakes Way and other neighborhoods will be annexed alongside Vista Canyon, though Mayor McLean worried about the costs of patrolling Jakes Way with its potentially higher crime rate.

After approving an item about parking at Valencia Town Center, Mayor McLean suggested that the remaining two items on the agenda be continued to the next meeting. They concernced reevaluation of a landscaping contract and creating a public safety sub-committee.

With these items moved off the calendar, only Public Participation remained. Todd Hoover asked the City to reevaluate OVOV because the Attorney General had problems with the County’s plan, particularly air quality. Alan Ferdman touched on sanitation fees again, asking why they will serve newly annexed residents when the district loses money with every new user. The meeting ended shortly after midnight.

[1]David Gauny is the missing speaker of the 26; I missed a screenshot while jotting down his speech. I suppose you could also add Marsha, Frank, Laurie, and Laurene to the "In Support" column and Bob to the "Opposed" column.
[2]Neither potty break appears on the Agenda.

Happenings: City Council Won't "Landscape Local"; Redevelopment Woes

2011-03-08T21:21:00.000-08:00

Tonight’s was a quick City Council meeting[1]. The most heated discussion was reserved for a $260,000 landscaping project--exciting, no? (Kellar wondered why an out-of-town company was selected over a homegrown company that made a lower bid.)

The evening began with Councilmember Kellar’s invocation. “On Saturday, I was invited to join the Gelig family,” he explained. They recently hosted a one-year remembrance for their son, Sgt. Ian Gelig, who died while serving in Kandahar. His death would also be mentioned by the Grandmothers for Peace group, three members of which spoke at the end of the evening.

After Kellar’s opening remarks, the camera pulled back to reveal that Councilmember Frank Ferry’s chair was empty. And no, it wasn't empty because he was sitting on Marsha's lap; he was absent.

Next on the agenda were some presentations to the City. Mayor Marsha McLean invited law enforcement speakers to take to the podium. Mark Divis, Vice President of ALADS (Association for LA Deputy Sheriffs) offered McLean a scroll with important dates from Santa Clarita’s history as part of “a simple thank you.” It was odd. McLean said “We are more than supportive of the 8200 deputy sheriffs that do their jobs here and we appreciate it so much.” Captain Paul Becker followed, delivering an update on public safety. He said that addressing juvenile drug use remains a priority for SCV Sheriffs. The J-Team (Juvenile Intervention Team,) has been successful since its formation last summer, receiving 147 crime tips that resulted in 57 arrests. Becker also said that a program focusing on recidivism among juvenile offenders has proved very successful, far-exceeding the normal standards of efficacy. Everyone thanked Becker for his leadership and outreach.

It was next time to address the Consent Calendar. Three written comment cards supported a move to prepare boundary maps for north Copperhill, a concrete step towards annexation. The City formally adopted a revised retirement policy that was introduced at the last meeting. Also notable was a purchase of the leasehold interests of auto businesses in Old Town Newhall. When the City bought the property these businesses leased, they became landlord. As such, they just didn’t like the locally operated, locally patronized automotive businesses, so they've given them the boot. Why let people work when you can buy them out, pay for new buildings, and try to attract a new business more in keeping with your personal taste? Planners envision the spot as "a mixed use project which may entail a theater, an art show room, retail space, and residential units."

While the Consent Calendar was approved as a whole, there was some friction on Item 5. City staff recommended that the council award a contract for landscaping along Sand Canyon Road to Santa Ana’s Valley Crest Design Group. They proposed a $258,848 project. However, Santa Clarita Landscape Development, Inc. proposed a $240,104 project--$18,744 cheaper and a way to “shop local.” According to the agenda, “Based on the review of the consultants' proposals, which included their technical qualifications, understanding the scope of work, Caltrans experience, and references, staff invited three qualified firms to participate in oral interviews with City staff.” Both Valley Crest and Santa Clarita Landscape Development qualified, but staff picked the guys from out of town. Kellar wondered why. Curtis Nay, Assistant City Engineer, said that Valley Crest had more experience, the primary criterion for awarding the contract (by law, it can’t just be the lowest bid) and that SCLD Inc. left some things out of their proposal. Pulskamp said that Valley Crest has had more experience with Caltrans as well. It appears that the City is just more comfortable using a company that’s worked for them on similar projects before--probably easier on them, too.

Bob Kellar said that there will be an article in The Signal coming up—they are usually written by staff and just signed by a councilmember, he revealed—in which “he” will promote all that the City does to help local businesses. He said he wouldn’t feel comfortable making that claim while snubbing a qualified, less expensive landscaping company from Santa Clarita, so he voted no. Ender joined him, but Weste’s “yea” and McLean’s “yes” were enough to award the contract to Santa Ana’s Valley Crest Design Group. (City Attorney Montes said 2 votes were enough as it wasn’t a resolution.)

During councilmember reports, Weste gave an update on Newhall Memorial Hospital. She said that some sycamores have been plopped in front of the hideous parking structure now hovering oppressively over residents of Valencia's lowlands. (She didn't phrase it that way.) Her comment was a classic case of window dressing--twofold, unsuccessful window dressing. Obviously, there's the reality that a couple of trees can't hide a concrete monstroisty. But more importantly, after a lackluster poll of patient satisfaction[2], a doctors’ vote of no confidence in CEO Roger Seaver[3], power plays on the board[4], and some shocking salary figures among executive[5], nobody really cares about a few sycamores. An update on landscaping ignores the slightly more important question of whether HMNMH is in a meltdown.

McLean gave the lengthiest updates. She asked people to voice their support for redevelopment agencies, arguing that they are invaluable when it comes to revitalizing communities and that their funds should not be redirected, as the State may well be preparing to do. She also announced a volunteer Senior Transit Ambassador program and suggested that everyone tune into the Norfolk Botanical Garden Eagle Cam, a camera that watches a Bald Eagle nest, as a “fun thing.”

When the Public Participation portion of the meeting arrived, Lynne Plambeck spoke first. She was concerned about the City’s plan to use money for bicycle trails to expand a bridge. Pulskamp replied that a 16’ wide Class 1 trail is part of the bridge and that only $6,000 in bike funds are being used on the $1M+ design contract for the project. She and several speakers were curious about an upcoming special session for the City Council, the topic of which was a mystery. David Gauny wondered aloud whether the City would use the meeting to cover their ass for not appointing a Library Board of Trustees, the basis for a recent lawsuit aimed at blocking the LSSI takeover. Pulskamp stepped in to say that the meeting will deal with redevelopment law. He frets redevelopment money may be going away very soon, and he wants to look at moving property and funds from Old Town Newhall's Redevelopment Agency to the City. He said they are in “defensive mode.”

Finally, the Lutnesses and a couple of grandmothers lobbied the City Council to consider a resolution to become a “City of Peace.” One woman said that, compared to 2005, she gets more honks and fewer middle fingers when she holds up her peace signs on Sundays, suggesting the public sentiment has changed over the years.

People criticized the Santa Clarita City Council for talking about immigration, saying it was an issue they had no control over. There’s no doubt that the City has even less control over foreign policy and warfare. Still, the grandmothers were able to speak their mind. So too did Kellar, who felt “there’s no good war,” but believed that implementing the ideas of the pacifists would lead to a “life expectancy of America of about two seconds.”

The meeting adjourned at 7:10.

[1]The agenda, for agenda seekers.
[2]No way to spin a lack of enthusiasm for the hospital
[3] Jim Holt wrote about it.
[4] Changes
[5] West Ranch Beacon has devoted a special blog to rants and raves about HMNMH--there seems to be a lot more to rant about than rave.

Happenings: Don't Mess with "Rural Equestrian Community"

2011-03-01T23:49:00.000-08:00

The Planning Commission spent more of tonight listening than speaking[1]. It was the penultimate meeting on One Valley One Vision. Come April 19, they’ll be weighing the Final EIR and making recommendations for the City Council, which is having a study session on OVOV in early April. The County, meanwhile, is taking its time and won’t discuss its plan until May 25. Recall that One Valley One Vision is a misnomer—the City of Santa Clarita and County of Los Angeles are both producing plans. Differences are supposed to be minor, but there are still differences.

Senior Planner Jason Smisko offered a refresher on what OVOV means for Santa Clarita: 459,000-483,000 residents, increased commercial densities, more jobs, less urban sprawl, less rural density, mixed use-development, fewer car trips... He’s had a lot of practice repeating these phrases—they come out with the rote fluidity of someone reciting a prayer, which probably isn’t too far off. Still, his delivery is consistently sincere and he never comes off as condescending. He could teach Pulskamp a thing or two. This does not preclude Smisko from making questionable remarks. Tonight, for instance, he said that Santa Clarita has “actually been a slow-growth city since incorporation” with an average of just 255 new units a year. (I think it's one of those City vs. County type statistics)

Next, the residents of Santa Clarita had their chance at the microphone. Here’s a summary:

Carole Lutness: She wants to make sure there is adequate low, very low, and extremely low income housing, saying that even rentals “ are far above fair market value, and far above what most low income people can afford.”

Diane Trautman: Clad entirely in black—a portent of impending judgment—Trautman swept up to the podium. She offered a withering critique. The massive size of the OVOV documents “runs contrary to CEQA’s purpose of informing the public and decision-makers.” She worried about transportation, about transparency, about the naïve expectation that all the crucial pieces will fall into place. If even a few don’t, she worried, the plan’s promises would be in serious jeopardy. She advocated taking a lot more time to consider the plan and forming a General Plan Advisory Committee.

Todd Hoover: "Reopen and extend the comment period for at least another 6 months, preferably a year.”

Minerva Williams: Williams asked a number of questions, many that she first posed at the City Council meeting last week. Funding road construction projects and cleaning up the Whittaker-Bermite site were primary concerns.

Sandra Cattell: A resident of Placerita Canyon, she worried about the potentially high-density projects coming to her neck of the woods. She dropped the phrase “rural equestrian community” four times to make it clear what Placerita Canyon and North Newhall are and ought to stay.

Valerie Thomas: “I’m back with the same comments: circulation.” She didn’t accept the response that developers are going to shoulder a lot of the responsibility for roads. As a Placerita homeowner, she also worried about proposals for the Smiser property that seem to ignore the serious possibilities of liquefaction and flooding.

Cam Noltemeyer: The local government’s persistent critic seemed a bit exasperated. She asked what good a plan is if it’s only going to be ignored. “You’ve approved a lot,” she observed, referencing exemptions to the General Plan granted to developers. Oak tree and ridgeline ordinances seem to fall by the wayside when necessary for a big development. She concluded graciously: “I know you’re going to approve it because I think you have your marching orders.”

Rob Hall: Another member of the PPP (Protect Placerita Posse), he made sure to drop the term “rural equestrian” again.

Arnold Graham: The Attorney for the Placerita Canyon Property Owners Association requested more time to sort out the concerns of residents. He was encouraged by recent meetings between members of the PCPOA and City staff. No wonder Placerita Canyon gets special treatment—half of them show up at the faintest whiff of a project near their beloved canyon, lawyer at the ready.

Ben Curtis: Also from Placerita, he said “we simply need more time to get anything accomplished” and spoke the magic words, “rural equestrian community” for the umpteenth time. Maybe “rural equestrian community” is some kind of a trigger phrase, repeated for good measure, to awaken a sleeper agent on the Planning Commission who will now work to destroy OVOV. (My money's on Eichman.)

Lynne Plambeck: Suffering from allergy-irritated eyes, she couldn’t read her prepared notes or any excerpts from the 100+ pages of comments she and SCOPE submitted regarding OVOV. So she just asked that the planners try and strengthen the language in the plan. She said that responsible development is “not gonna happen with ‘promote’ and ‘encourage.’”

Alan Cameron: Winning the night’s insensitivity award, he made a Nazi analogy. Cameron was upset that the City is accepting “F” grades for circulation on some heavily traveled roads. To paraphrase, he said that the room they were standing in could accommodate 180 people, but based on how Germans pushed Jews into train cars, it “could” conceivably fit 500 people. It was as awkward and tasteless as it was unnecessary to make his point that there’s a difference between can and should.

Jason Smisko responded. He said that the roads will get funded with a combination of City funds and developer fees, meetings about the fate of north Newhall will continue, and that he is all for strengthening the language in OVOV where possible, as Plambeck suggested. He knows not to mess with Placerita Canyon, and promised continued meetings regarding the community’s “rural equestrian” character—yes, he said it—and that new language would be drafted for OVOV based on talks with the property owners. They’ll have it to review by the end of the week. Now that’s service!

The commissioners didn’t add a whole lot. Commissioners Kennedy and Ostrom agreed that stronger language should be used wherever possible. Ostrom also touched on traffic issues and thought that “report card type designations” that grade circulation as A or F over-simplified matters.

Vice Chair Dee Dee Jacobson was relieved that the PCPOA and City were talking face-to-face and said, a little sternly, “Stay on this, get it done quickly.” Eichman concurred.

Dee Dee wants people to get their stuff in order. Fast.

The Planning Commission approved a motion to continue the item until April 19. Staff will have the final EIR, responses to comments, and recommendations for the City Council ready by that meeting.

After OVOV, the Commission passed a recommendation that the City Council pre-zone 792 acres of Elsmere Canyon for annexation. They also supported altering the designation of the area, making it "open space" instead of "residential estate" (a single home in the vicinity will maintain the latter designation). The meeting ended a little after 8 so that Chair Burkhart could dash home and watch American Idol.

[1]Here’s the agenda. Minutes are up already—how snappy these meetings are compared to the CC.

IHSCV Book Club: Love and Monsters in John Boston's Naked Came the Sasquatch

2011-02-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the second meeting of the I Heart SCV Book Club. I’d offer you a seat, but it seems you’ve already found one.

Naked Came the Sasquatch: I liked it. As promised, John Boston’s novel is a love story shaped by reincarnation, the author’s life, and monsters—in that order. But let’s take these in reverse to save the most interesting discussion for last. The whole book is up for discussion, so if you don’t want to learn the ending, go no further.

Monsters and Maniacs: Recap

A number of curious events befall the small, Sierra town of Basin Valley at once. Mike Fenberg, editor of The Basin Valley Bugle, loses a reporter when an Indian shoots him at his desk—“Red didn’t particularly care for reporters.” His replacement is one Elaine Mitikitski, a lovely young divorcee (three times over), with whom Mike shares an immediate, inexplicable chemistry. He has been faithfully mourning his dead wife and child, but Elaine awakens fresh hope in Fenberg. Enter M. J. Behan, a self-made millionaire and falsely pious evangelical type. He has relocated his family to Basin Valley for the fresh mountain air and small town values. Though he professes wanting relax, Behan seems hell-bent on driving The Bugle out of business by publishing his own paper. Mike and he share an almost immediate, inexplicable distrust that runs deeper than their competing publications. Mitikitski and Behan aren’t the only newcomers in town. Several residents report seeing a large monster (“maniac”) prowling around at night. And, finally, there is a series of vicious murders in which the victims have been torn apart, partially eaten, and sloppily buried. No one knows who to blame. That’s the basic premise.

The slaughter of Behan’s daughter by the as-yet-unknown murderer is a flashpoint. John Tuberski, Mike Fenberg’s brother, becomes the prime suspect. Though generally peaceable, the eccentric Tuberski is capable of whupping whole motorcycle gangs and bending steel with his bare hands—at least when he’s not tending houseplants or offering spiritual advice to Native Americans. Since he fled the murder scene and has the size and strength to kill, he’s a wanted man. Yet the murders continue, and it becomes apparent that it is something, not someone, behind them.

One night, Mike is with Elaine. Their relationship has blossomed and she is trying to tell him that she is pregnant, but she leaves when he’s too dense to catch her hints. Moments later, the fugitive Tuberski returns after months spent hiding in the woods. He arrives with an enormous Sasquatch in tow. Tuberski insists that the monster it is far too gentle to have been responsible for the grisly murders around town. When law enforcement arrives, Fenberg, Tuberski and the Bigfoot make for an escape but only the beast eludes law enforcement, kidnapping Elaine Mitikitski on the retreat to its forest home.

After a brief stint in jail, Fenberg and Tuberski hurry to search for Elaine and the Sasquatch that grabbed her. They scour the woods around the mountainous lair of the creature. Meanwhile, Behan is also feverishly searching for Elaine. Why is he so desperate to find her, we wonder? It’s because Behan is a werewolf whose destiny is to sire Elaine’s child and turn her into one of his own kind, naturally—well, supernaturally. Indeed, it’s Behan in his werewolf form that has been terrorizing Basin Valley and devouring defenseless residents, not Tuberski or the Sasquatch. And it turns out that Mike and Elaine are reincarnated persons, both of whom were killed by Behan in a former life. He’s got a lot of blood on his paws.

There is a mad dash for Elaine ending in a cataclysmic confrontation between Fenberg and Behan on a mountain peak. The fateful night ends well, for the most part, Mike saving Elaine and the Bigfoot being cleared of wrong-doing. And more important than defeating a human-devouring werewolf, Mike comes to terms with moving forward in his own life.

The Author: Boston Manifest

Despite a werewolf and Sasquatch, the story may seem a little formulaic: gather a gang of oddballs and slowly reveal the ties that bind them, the grand plan by which they’re united. But the story is considerably better than that. Though “out there,” the characters are satisfyingly developed and they aren’t all wacky for wackiness’ sake. Boston seems to have used his own life as inspiration. A home called Scared O’Bears Ranch, a love affair with journalism, a legal name change, and a string of unsuccessful marriages are divided amongst the main characters so that each is a bit Bostonian[1]. He devotes at least one chapter to fleshing each of them out with colorful, often sympathetic prose. This care and Boston’s clever tweaks on traditional plot elements make for a compelling, cliché-defying read.

The central role of the small-town newspaper also relies heavily, we presume, on Boston’s writing career and his long, tumultuous history with The Signal. His depiction hearkens back to the good ol’ days of journalism when reporters actually investigated stories and put out snappy, stylish copy. Also recognizable to Claritan readers are a mobile home park that floods every year, the Alliklik tribe[2], and character types like Norman the Mormon (who’s not exactly a model saint). Santa Clarita's small town days are behind her, but this may offer a bit of a glimpse back.

Boston’s jokes are another familiar presence for readers who know his columns. The thing he does so, so well is infusing humor even under the darkest and most bizarre of circumstances. Take Mike, the widower whose primary fault is an inability to let go. He is devoted to stoically mourning his deceased wife and son. They died in a car accident five years prior, and he keeps a photo of them as a cherished reminder. Elaine Mitikitski realizes she’s vying for Mike’s attention with a dead woman (as yet unreincarnated, so far as we know) and takes her own version of the photo—blonde wig, baby doll in her arms and all. It sounds horrifying, but it comes off as almost sweet and affectionate in the book. In another scene, Elaine is about to be raped by a werewolf in the middle of the forest but manages a steady stream of one liners. “I don’t eat people…not even for special occasions” she replies to Behan’s offer of dining on Bubba, the Sheriff.

Some of the humor falls flat. For example, Boston twice jokes about money not growing on the abundant trees of Basin Valley. Roy Rivenburg interpreted such inadvertent repetitions as a sign of “exhaustion and lack of editing” from the prolific Boston[3]. There is so much fresh, original, and hilarious, though, that a very few rough patches (and perhaps some pacing issues near the end) seems a small price to pay.

Despite appearances, I don’t like putting too much emphasis on authorial considerations. Still, there’s one last germane question: intent. Boston is quick to poke fun at the genres he borrows from. He often defies the reader’s expectations, as with his string of unconventional love scenes or his decision to realize Bigfoot not as a rugged, fearsome creature but a rather tame being suffering unrequited inter-species love and carrying a few extra pounds. Furthermore, Boston is a satirist who entitled his novel after Naked Came the Stranger, a book written as a stunt/critique in the 1970s. So there’s that most basic question of whether it’s all a put-on, the whole book being some kind of critical caricature. Personally, I think Boston’s ultimate goal is creation, not critique. There is vulnerability in writing so much that is sentimental and blushingly autobiographical, and you sense that he has a deep affection for his characters, one the reader will likely share.

Reincarnation: Variations on a Theme

The crux of this story is reincarnation, a fact that is readily apparent. Within the first chapter, there is a legend of the Mandrango (Indian version of the werewolf) arising again and again. Norton Fenberg realizes a rebirth of sorts when he changes his name to John Tuberski, and there is an overt mention of his belief in reincarnation. Indeed, the concept appears everywhere, as in a touching scene where the littlest Fenberg brother holds his breath until he passes out and worries he has died and returned as a different boy. Though an unconventional topic, Boston’s treatment of reincarnation is one of the places where he uses conventional narrative devices. Elaine’s past and future appear in dreams, and there is unexplained uneasiness around certain people that makes sense, suddenly, when these characters are revealed as reincarnated enemies.

The novel’s mythology is explained in Tuberski’s philosophical musings. “…People could come back as soft little babies. It gave them a chance to be loved and held. It allowed them time to rest up from the previous life’s heartbreak before they went at it all over again. It was a comforting private thought to Fenberg.” It’s the cherished second chance.

Eventually, we discover that things ended poorly the last go-round. Behan reminds Elaine, “It was up here, a century ago. […] Your husband Michael left you. Alone. Of course, that wasn’t his name then. It was all so perfect, except you were carrying his child, and I had to kill you for your infidelity and wait. Wait another hundred years.” This begs the question of why outcomes should differ when the players and intentions are the same. In the confrontation found in this book, it’s Michael and Elaine who prevail, not Behan. The change in outcome certainly doesn’t seem to stem from having learned anything in past lifetimes. Rather discouragingly, the same mistakes are repeated. Rather, Fenberg succeeds where once he failed because he has new allies—Tuberski and Sasquatch—and because of a little cosmic chaos in the form of Red Dog Rasmussen’s deus ex machina-tions. Like Tuberski’s business ventures and Elaine’s marriages, all the characters fail and fail again until that critical piece finally clicks into place.

Since this is a Claritan book club, it’s appropriate to close the discussion of reincarnation with an image that evokes how Clarita Valley—I mean Basin Valley—goes through the same motions again and again:

“The Bugle ran a balanced menu of stories about sports, society highlights, traffic accidents, murders, births and weddings, maniacs (when they were available), fires, politics, and an interchangeable tired old photo of the captains of local industry shaking hands and grinning inanely while hunched over some new ground-breaking ceremony celebrating the cementing of some portion of Basin Valley which had not previously been cemented, […] blurbs on who looked nice at the prom, updates on recent heart attacks, baby and puppy pictures, and the annual feature on how the senior citizen mobile home park had once again been demolished by flash flood (the park was built in the wash.)”

How reassuring.

The Santa Clarita Valley bears more than a passing resemblance to Basin Valley. (A ground-breaking from 1998 and one of the more recent floods through Polynesian Mobile Home Park; see above quotation.)

Place in the Claritan Library & Final Words

Boston should have his own shelf where Naked Came the Sasquatch sits next to binders of clippings from favorite columns, with enough room to house the sequel that may or may not be coming. He kind of reached a bit in setting it up (lecherous vampire hag who leads a Dark Brotherhood focused on collecting the souls of Mitikitski and Tuberski) but I really hope he writes it. As one of the exceedingly few pieces of quality fiction to come from a local author—Mr. SCV himself—the book has a foundational role and warrants detailed explication by students pursuing advanced degrees in Contemporary Claritan Literature.

I have more questions and comments about Hav-a-tampa cigars, long-term relationships with werewolves, Red Dog Rasmussen, the Pynchonesque and vaguely Russian names, the Magonogonovitch brothers, whether children really can run newspapers, prophetic dreams, Roulette Rozinitti’s breasts (“so big, giant herds of bison could thunder across one taking a week to pass”), the younger Fenberg brothers, “Arthur Mantooth, the legendary Indian trombone murderer”, the practical side of reincarnation, and the first bedroom scene involving Mike and Elaine, but we simply can’t get to everything. Suffice it to say I found this to be a very worthwhile book.

Book Club Selection for March

Up next is John Boessenecker’s Bandido: The Life and Times of Tiburcio Vasquez. Yes, that’s the Vasquez of Vasquez Rocks, the Vasquez who was a womanizing, lawless fugitive that called Santa Clarita home for a short spell. The IHSCV Book Club will discuss the man, the history, and how Santa Clarita influenced him (or vice versa). Read it by March 26.

[1]I've never met him, so all biographical details are drawn from what he reveals in his columns (i.e., a lot). For those curious about his original name, it was Walter Cieplik Jr.
[2]Called the Alliklik by Kroeber and the Tataviam by Harrington, these are the people who inhabited Santa Clarita prior to the Mission Period. Travis Hudson has much to say about what to call them and their language.
[3]Here's a long, interesting article on Boston that came out shortly following the release of NCTS. It's from the LA Times.

The Signal's Classless Stunt--UPDATED

2011-02-27T15:57:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: The Signal will now consider awarding money to non-subscribers, too. Way to go.

It should read "Signal to lend someone else's money for our own gain"

Ian Lamont could make a cynic out of anybody.

The Signal announced that it will give away $500(!) every week(!!) to local, deserving individuals and organizations (!!!).

Lamont introduced the exciting plan today[1].

"Five hundred cash. $500 moolah, dough, spondulicks, greenbacks, bread, bucks, smackers. Whatever word you like to use, that is the amount (on average) The Signal will be giving away every week for the next 52 weeks.

"Why? We are in a recession. While the SCV economy has been better than most markets, there are still plenty of folks who are struggling, who are being challenged, who are stressed out and beat down.

"So why not give away on average $500 every week, provide some good news, and put some smiles on the faces of people who could use them?"

How munificent our hometown paper is! They’re looking out for the struggling, the challenged, the “stressed out and beat down” by giving away $500 a week for a whole year.

Two catches. First, it’s not their money they’re giving out. By the fourth paragraph, Lamont gets around to mentioning this fact. He describes a generous couple who wrote a check for $25,000. They wish to remain anonymous and asked that The Signal take charge of finding worthy recipients and distributing the money. Lamont, who likes using “most” as an adverb, described the donation as “most generous,” the arrangement as “most unusual,” and the couple as “most interesting and wonderful.”

Apparently, they were inspired by a Midwestern paper where the luckless could write for advice and small donations from a local philanthropist, Harold. Lamont provides a for-instance:

“To the single mother who needed a few hundred dollars more for the
deposit on an apartment in a better part of town where her kids would be safer,
Harold would wish her well — and write a check to make her dream come true.”

This story could come true in Santa Clarita, too, but only if that single mother was a Signal subscriber. That’s the second catch. Nominators and recipients must both be subscribers to The Signal, having paid their subscription for the past 90 days or being prepaid for the next 90 days. Yup, that mom who wants to move her kids to a better part of town would have to be getting The Signal every day or she’d still be stuck.

If The Signal was fronting the money (they said they’ll contribute some--no amount given), I would have no problem with this stipulation. It would be a clever marketing ploy that’s doing a lot of incidental good. But it’s not their money. It was that wonderful couple’s money, and it seems unlikely they would want to see their gift restricted to deserving Signal subscribers rather than deserving Claritans in general.

It becomes altogether too much when Lamont waxes idealistic:

“My hope is the fund, in helping SCV individuals or organizations in need, will prompt others to action, either by doing a good deed for someone in need or sending a check to the fund so more people can be helped. Doing so provides an endless loop of goodwill, generosity and smiles that will honor the couple who got it all going.”

As long as you’re a subscriber paid-up for 90 days.

It's easy to be generous on somebody else's dime, especially when you get a lot of the credit and it benefits your company financially. The Signal hasn’t started this program yet, so let us hope they will show some class, decency, and humility by being generous to the whole community with that couple’s money, not using it to so forcibly leverage more subscriptions.

[1]Read all about the plan here.

Happenings: City as Patron, Senior Center, "Defensive Measures"

2011-02-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

Councilmember Frank Ferry started tonight’s City Council meeting by championing the SCV Senior Center; the night ended with two seniors alleging persistent abuse at the hands of a Senior Center worker[1]. Lying between these bookends was a meeting that included Redevelopment Agency scrambling, acquisition of more open space, and grant disbursement to local non-profits.

Of course, none of this could happen before the obligatory awards and recognitions. “This is a really good one!” beamed Mayor Marsha McLean, a smile apparent in her voice. She described how City Manager Ken Pulskamp was recently honored with the Wes McClure Award from the League of California Cities. McLean described Pulskamp’s many achievements, such as seeing Santa Clarita through 11 federally-declared disasters. “Thank you for everything you do…this is truly well deserved,” she said. After the spiel, Pulskamp strode about five yards northwest of where he usually sits to pose for a picture (that’s going on the wall!) and say a few words. “It’s really not about me,” he protested with a gracious smile. Pulskamp may have detractors, but all the people running the show seem to be fans.

Next, Duane Harte came to the podium to tell the City Council about the goals of the Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Commission that he chairs. They included vague but affirmative plans to get more people active and outdoors. There were a few interesting specifics: look for opportunities for a community center on the east side of the City (tempered with a “perhaps”), work on the master plan for the Pioneer Oil Refinery historical site, and investigate using 10% of the City's open space as "active parkland." Hmmm-ing about the last bit? Recall that the Open Space Preservation District allowed for 10% of acquired land to be used for “improved active parkland.[2]” This year, we may find out what the City has in mind when it comes to the provision.

Councilmember reports followed and were of the usual sort—events for worthwhile causes were advertised and remarkable local groups were commended. Mayor McLean asked that everyone visit santaclaritalibrary.com for a survey about the library changes soon to be thrust upon residents. Questions include “Are county-run libraries awful or really awful?” and “Will LSSI make our libraries better, much better, or much, much better?”

The opening formalities concluded at 6:35, and it was onto the Consent Calendar. Some $2.85M in Redevelopment Agency funds will be transferred toward the development of low- and moderate-income housing. Cam Noltemeyer spoke on the item. She arrived a little late, showing her softer side in a terse summary of her tardiness: “I had a grandson playing baseball. They won.” She immediately returned to the matter at hand and asked why there wasn’t more discussion of such a significant action. “No discussion? No telling the community what you’re doing?” she demanded, stating that this was an obvious ploy to avoid loss of redevelopment funds that Governor Brown wants to use for other purposes. Pulskamp offered no apologies. He called the plans “defensive measures so we can keep our money.” Of course, “keeping our money” entails diverting funds from education and other services that people still collect, but it’s more convenient to frame it as an us vs. them.

Also on the agenda was an item to expand parking at the Newhall Metrolink Station. Some projects less mundane than parking lots were also funded. Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender worked with Councilmember Laurene Weste to divide $80,000 in grants for community service. “This is desperation time for a lot of our non-profits,” she said. Funded projects include outreach for the Domestic Violence Center, stall mats for therapy horses, a community garden at the COC campus in Canyon Country, and a skip loader for maintenance of the Gibbon Conservation Center. Most of the other funding went to groups looking to improve or update their websites, which led Ender to propose the worthwhile idea of a “non-profit technological assistance group” that would pair local students with organizations requiring help with their Internet presence.

Another batch of grants--$40,000—went to support the arts including local ballet, theater, and a summer music camp. TimBen Boydston thanked the City for their support.

There was less enthusiasm for artistic expression in the form of campaign signs. The second reading and adoption of an ordinance to regulate temporary, non-commercial signs occurred, though not before Alan Ferdman weighed in. He asked the question he posed two weeks ago regarding the discrepancies in the legal opinions of former City Attorney Carl Newton and current City Attorney Joe Montes. Newton said that signs oughtn’t be regulated as doing so would infringe upon free speech, whereas Montes opined that regulation wasn’t a problem. “What changed? What is the new opinion?” wondered Ferdman. Montes explained that campaign signs weren’t being singled out but simply regulated as any other non-commercial sign. That was the extent of his opinion, one I found rather unsatisfying. Then again, I’m no legal scholar; if I was, I might have found his opinion immensely unsatisfying.

Councilmember Bob Kellar asked if large signs—e.g., billboards—could be rented for campaigns or whether that would violate the ordinance. Montes was taken aback for a small moment but decided that, in the case mentioned by Kellar, political signs would be regulated like any other commercial sign. So political signs will be regulated as non-commercial signs except when they are commercial signs. Indeed.

In sum, the Consent Calendar passed with the recommended actions.

Under New Business, the City received results of an independent audit that found all was well within Santa Clarita's financial statements.

The City Council also voted to preserve 90 acres of land in Wildwood Canyon, near Elsmere Canyon, the Santa Clarita Woodlands, and smaller open space parcels. It was apparently appraised at $1.8M, but the City is getting it for a total cost of around $500,000. Grand, meaningful purchases in the western reaches of the valley are still lacking.

Finally, it was time for Public Participation. A handful of members of the Democratic Club of SCV (or maybe that handful comprises all their members—I don’t really know) spoke about various matters. Maybe it was a field trip. Their desires included more time to review OVOV, investigating the Whitaker-Bermite clean-up, and publicly adopting a pro-peace statement.

The City has been stopping outdoor sign twirlers, which prompted comments by those who work in outdoor advertising. A college kid said that it had been a great way to earn money he needed in his present financial difficulties. The woman who owned the company—I didn’t catch her name—said in the same vein that “We just want a chance to bring jobs here.” She said her “human directionals” (the people who hold arrows pointing to new homes, etc.) should be allowed since Little Caesar’s and We Buy Gold are still out twirling signs. Pulskamp would have none of it, citing concerns over “safety”, that most-fetishized and abused of ideals.

Luis Lovato and Carmelita McClaine claim to have been abused, assaulted, demeaned, etc. at the SCV Senior Center. He hinted at taking his grievances to infamous Attorney-Harpy Gloria Allred if the matter couldn't be resolved in-house. (I think he thinks they'd think he was serious.) She, on the other hand, is looking to have a volunteer arrested.

The most interesting comments of the night came from two individuals who claim to have been abused and/or assaulted at the SCV Senior Center[3]. Luis Lovato came forward as a victim of individuals who wouldn’t let him just get a meal and take a seat, which is all he wanted to do. He admitted no wrongdoing whatsoever, giving no reason as to why people would behave so rudely towards him. This made his story difficult to swallow. Carmelita McClaine said that a woman at the center was pushing her around both physically and verbally. “I’m not taking it anymore, I want you to know that,” she said, continuing, “It is a mess. Believe me, it is.” She encouraged undercover investigations to reveal what really goes on at the Senior Center. I have no reason to believe nor disbelieve her, but at least relative to Lovato, she was more sympathetic.

The meeting ended just after 8:00.

[1]For those who'd like to verify what I'm writing, here is the agenda--or an elaborately constructed hoax of an agenda designed as the means to devious ends. Who can tell?
[2]Here's the open space stuff
[3]The Signal introduces Luis and Carmelita.

Happenings: Smaller Signs, Empty Awards, NAFF Called Out

2011-02-08T23:10:00.000-08:00

Tonight, the image broadcast from SCVTV seemed larger and sharper than usual[1]. It was more than sufficient inspiration for taking unflattering screenshots of the council, but I can’t come up with even one flimsy excuse for posting them. Sigh.

After Laurene Weste recited Gene Autry’s "Cowboy Code" for the invocation, it was time for some awards. “Our city staff is often recognized for the hard work they do,” explained Mayor Marsha McLean.

Take the “Achievement of Excellence in Procurement” award. It came with a handsome mini-obelisk trophy, widely regarded as the monument most befitting the procuring professional. And how exactly does a procurer obtain such recognition and such a mini-obelisk? A visit to the National Purchasing Institute’s website suggests it isn’t too difficult. Santa Clarita was one of over 150 cities, states, and counties to win the exact same distinction—excellence in procurement[2]. There was a questionnaire that asked cities to “self-score” their use of best practices followed by a $400 application fee followed by review from two members of an evaluation committee followed by congratulations awarded to the dozens and dozens of winners. The City’s department is no doubt great, but is such an award…meaningful?

Comments from the City Council followed. Councilmember Frank Ferry offered a reminder of the upcoming open house with Lewis and Shapell Operating Corporations. These are the fellas the City would like to partner with for development of the Whitaker-Bermite property. Councilmember Bob Kellar restricted his comments to football: “What a great Super Bowl Sunday!” Councilmember Laurene Weste, meanwhile, remarked on a very successful Charlie Chaplin Festival.

Mayor McLean had the most to say, as usual, and her comments included some advice about dishwashing. She said that many concerned residents have told her about a white film that has started to appear on their dishes. McLean reassured Claritans that there hasn’t been a change in the water supply; it’s a change in dishwashing detergent formulations that is at fault. Phosphate-free detergent is here to stay in California—it’s good for the environment but bad for a crystal-clear finish. McLean advised people to use vinegar to help fight film on their plates and glasses. She said that for households like hers, where doing dishes is a common chore, gallon-size jugs make an economical choice. With luck, these household tips may become a regular feature at CC meetings.

McLean also gave updates about high-speed rail and the special election for the State Senate, 17th District. This is the one where Darren Parker is scheduled to lose to Sharon Runner amidst protestations of irrationally optimistic dems.

On the Consent Calendar were a number of familiar items. The massage ordinance was officially adopted after its second reading. Santa Clarita’s prostitutes will not have to obtain certification from the California Massage Therapy Council before servicing men in seedy establishments. (The same certification will also be required for legitimate masseuses.) There are more restrictions on where auto dealers can set up shop, and there will be a change in the retirement system for newly hired employees.

It was Item 6, however, that drew the most concerned comment. “Randy the Pond Guy” (last name Runyon, I think) was worried about the City’s plan to install LEDs in more traffic signals. He held up a little LED flashlight and said that the brilliant light may not only blind people temporarily but also permanently. (This made his shining of an LED flashlight at the City Council seem a little reckless.) “I think it’s blinding our community” he announced, encouraging further research before LEDs are unleashed on Claritan retinas. “LEDs are brighter…and that brightness can blind you.”

Randy distrusts LED lighting.

In response, Mayor McLean asked City Manager Ken Pulskamp about the availability of studies on the safety of LED traffic lights, which are used throughout the country. “Do you think there’s information out there?” she queried. Pulskamp was “not sure” but promised that staff would investigate.

Ultimately, all items on the Consent Calendar were approved with the recommended action.

There was a public hearing about temporary non-commercial signs. Campaign signs are a notable member of this category, and they’ll be appearing once City Council campaigning begins in earnest all too soon. City Attorney Joe Montes detailed limitations to the size and placement of signs: maximum 32 square-feet sign size with mandatory removal within ten days of the event being advertised. Signs cannot be placed in the public right-of-way, as usual. To encourage compliance, he said that staff will remove any improperly sized or placed signs and charge $50 to get all of the signs back. If the owner of the signs sets them out illegally again, there is a $100 fine to get back each sign. A third violation means paying $200 to get back each sign.

The City Council liked the plan. Alan Ferdman did not. He recalled that former City Attorney Carl Newton had advised that campaign signs are free speech and ought not be regulated. Ferdman asked, saucily, “Do campaign signs no longer represent free speech?” This was a troubling point. Just as we Catholics accept the Pope's infallibility, so too has the City Council accepted the infallibility of Newton’s opinions. Were they willfully ignoring Newton tonight, or did their actions imply that Newton can make mistakes? Yikes.

TimBen Boydston was also distressed by the limitations placed on signage. He described how Laurene Weste and Marsha McLean had displayed very large signs during a campaign when staff told him he could not display signs of the same size. He worried that signs were being regulated as a means of squashing opponents and called it an “anti-democratic ordinance.”

Frank Ferry brought up some worthwhile points about the sign fines. “Who’s gonna collect your signs at $100 a pop?” he asked, “You’re not reclaiming anything for $100.” Ferry explained that the fines were too high relative to the cost of printing new signs, so he expects no one will actually pay to get seized signs back. Marsha McLean talked about accidentally displaying a sign that strayed a couple of inches into the public right-of-way. She asked for a little bit of leniency before signs are seized, essentially suggesting addition of a leeway-for-one-sign-that’s-maybe-a-little-bit-within-the-public-right-of-way clause. Seriously. “They’ll get the message” promised Kellar, who trusted staff to use their good judgment.

Finally, the City Council voted to hold some “high interest topic” study sessions in the Council Chambers so that they can be televised and recorded. This is cheaper than installing cameras in the Century Room, which Pulskamp said would run $180,000. The LED man came back up during the comment period and argued that one can produce decent video with less than $180,000 in equipment.

There was some discussion about how taping all study sessions might help prevent the spread of misleading information. Frank Ferry brought up NotaFerryFan (he makes YouTube videos that show the City Council in a skeptical, less than favorable light) and called him a “unanimous” (he meant “anonymous”) video editor whose critical work kept Ferry on his best behavior. McLean felt that having videos of all meetings would allow the truth to prevail, but Mayor Pro-tem Laurie Ender said “Mr. Reynolds doesn’t need the truth to do his videos.” This made NotaFerryFan not so “unanimous” anymore (though his identity was revealed on SCVTalk long ago[3]). Ender, who is generally portrayed as a puppet of Ferry by NAFF, doesn’t seem to be a fan of the videos.

In the end it was decided that the important meetings will take place before cameras in the Council Chambers, thought what constitutes an important/high interest session remains to be seen.

During Public Participation, a man from Newhall complained that he cannot add on a bathroom to his Newhall home because codes demand the whole home be raised and redone or kept entirely the same. Weste explained this is to comply with FEMA, and seemed sympathetic to the man. The meeting ended around 7:30.

[1]Agenda
[2]Many excellent procurers out there
[3]If you read this you obviously read SCVTalk and probably know about NickelDime’s whole “outing” of NotaFerryFan.