City Council Meeting Wrap-Up

The following is from the July 12 meeting of the City Council. The council’s next regularly scheduled meeting will be Aug. 16.

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Telecommunications facility approved, 3-2

A telecommunications facility near the entrance to Upper Irvine Cove was narrowly approved by the City Council, with Mayor Toni Iseman and Councilwoman Verna Rollinger voting against it.

The approval upheld a Planning Commission approval appealed by a neighboring homeowners association, as well as the applicant’s appeal to locate the equipment above ground, screened by shrubbery.

An antenna will be attached to a light standard below the hood and pointed in a direction the least impactful to neighbors.

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Art added to Heisler project, 5-0

City officials approved the installation of a ceramic backsplash on a drinking fountain to complement two Art in Public Places pieces by Scott and Naomi Schoenherr in Heisler Park, approved in March.

The couple, who also created the mural on the front of the public restrooms in the parking lot behind Bushard’s Pharmacy, will create the backsplash. The addition adds $2,000 to the cost of the art project, available in the construction budget.

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Native plant protection, restoration, 5-0

A proposed ordinance amendment that regulates the unpermitted removal of native vegetation and the consequences will be reviewed by the new Disaster Preparedness Committee. It should not be confused with rules for fuel modification, Community Development Director John Montgomery said.

The ordinance sets the time allowed for restoration and penalties for non-compliance.

“We have been working on this on and off for five years,” Montgomery said.

The committee will bring its suggestions back to the council at the Oct. 4 meeting.

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Resident, tenant notification of development applications, 5-0

The City Council directed the Planning Commission to consider a requirement to notify tenants and residents within 300 feet of a property for which development applications have been submitted and require a review by the Planning Commission or Design Review Board.

Currently, only the property owners are notified about applications unless the project is in the Downtown Specific Plan area or requires a coastal development permit, in which case tenants and residents within 100 feet of the project are noticed.

—Compiled by Barbara Diamond