LAGUNA BEACH CITY COUNCIL WRAP-UP

The following is from the Laguna Beach City Council meeting of Aug. 5.

? City Hall generator replacement

The council approved the reallocation of $400,000 of Capitol Improvement Fund money in the Oriole-Meadowlark Street Rehabilitation Project to the City Hall Generator Replacement Project, purchase of a generator for a price not to exceed $250,000, and replacement of electrical and disconnect equipment that distribute power throughout City Hall.

? WHAT IT MEANS

The new equipment will replace the 20-year-old generator that has failed three times in the past two years when needed, and will distribute power to all of City Hall, rather than the 50% now serviced.

? Bond tax rate

The council approved a resolution setting the fiscal year 2008-09 general obligation bond tax rate at .01522 per $100 of assessed value.

? WHAT IT MEANS

The tax will pay off the $20 million bond approved by the voters for the purchase of a portion of then-proposed Laguna Laurel development in Laguna Canyon, which started the city’s acquisition of property that became Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.

? Restaurant inspections

The council approved a contract with Environmental Compliance Inspection Services for inspection and training to support the city’s grease control ordinances and polystyrene ban, at a cost not to exceed $12,000 in the fiscal year, renewable in future years at an amount adjusted for inflation and within the appropriated budget.

? WHAT IT MEANS

Food-serving establishments will be inspected for compliance with the city’s ban on dumping grease down drains and polystyrene containers, both of which are intended to improve the city’s water quality.

? Hard-to-service streets

The council approved an amendment to the city’s contract with Waste Management requiring the company to notify the city manager of city streets designated as hard to service, on which recyclables, green waste and trash are not collected separately, but put into the trash for disposal. About 280 residences, roughly 3% of the 10,200 residential customers, are affected, some of whom have complained about the practice.

? WHAT IT MEANS

The city will have a list of streets that do not have recycling service.

Heights 5-0

Amendments to the zoning ordinance and Local Coastal Program related to heights of buildings in the commercial, light industrial and institutional zones and parking garage regulations were approved on the second reading with one minor council addition about access and safety to parking garages.

? WHAT IT MEANS

Heights will remain the same.

Underground garages will be allowed to extend to property lines if the subterranean levels are designed to accommodate the growth of street trees and a landscape plan is provided and approved by the Design Review Board.

The amended program was to be forwarded to the California Coastal Commission for certification.

? Odor Order 5-0

Councilwoman Toni Iseman sponsored a proposal to expedite efforts to reduce odors from the sewer system.

“I object to a town you can smell,” Iseman said.

? WHAT IT MEANS

The city manager will report at the first meeting in September describing the odor control system in the sewer pump stations and ways that a reduction of obnoxious fumes could be expedited.

? Funding for foundation 5-0

The Laguna Canyon Foundation requested financial assistance from the council to help defray some of the costs incurred in the acquisition of open space on behalf of the city.

“They underestimated the costs,” said Mayor Jane Egly, who sponsored the reimbursement of all or part of the foundation’s $44,000 request.

? WHAT IT MEANS

The council voted to allocate $22,000 from the Open Space Fund to the foundation.

Compiled by Barbara Diamond