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12-08-1966 - Regular Meeting - Minutes• MINUTES OF THE ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF WEST COVINA9 CALIFORNIA December 89 1966 The adjourned regular meeting of the City Council was called to order by Mayor Krieger at 7:35 o'clock P,M, in the West Covina City Hall, Councilman Gillum led the Pledge of Allegiance, ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Krieger, Councilmen Gillum, Nichols, Snyder (from 8:10 P,M,), gleckman Others Present: Mr,, George Aiassa, City Manager Mr, George Zimmerman, Assistant City Engineer Mr, Wallace Austin, Planning Associate Planning Commissioners Mayfield and Jackson Mr, Sidney Williams of Williams, Cook 6 Mocine GENERAL PLAN CONTRACT Mayor Krieger: We are pleased to have with us Mr. Williams of the firm of Williams, Cook & Mocine, city regional planners from San Francisco, the ad hoc committee of the Planning Commission, Commissioners Mayfield and Jackson, The purpose of the meeting was to continue the Council's discussion and deliberation and consideration of a proposed planning service agreement between the City of West Covina and the firm of Williams, Cook and Mocine, referred to in this agreement as "consultants", The record should also reflect that we have a memorandum dated December 8, 1966 addressed tothe City of West Covina from Williams, Cook 6 Mocine, subject West Covina General Plan Contract, Estimating and Billing Procedures and Changes in Language of Contract, Before going into any questions the Council may have in regard to this general matter, Mr. Williams, are there any comments that you would care to make to the Council pertaining either to the memorandum that we received today or the preliminary draft of the contract? Mr., Sidney Williams: I thought it might be appropriate if time permitted for me to review the purpose and organization of the program so we have a common base to discuss it from, Mayor Krieger: This is the only item on the agenda, so please do, -1- Co C, 1.2/8/66 GENERAL PLAN CONTRACT - Continued Page Two Mr, Sidney Williams-. T have a brochure which tells a little bit about us that I could pass around, I think the key thing is that as far as myself and my partners are concerned we have been devoted to planning for a number of years, (Gave summary of background and of proposed contract,) (Councilman Snyder entered the chambers at 8;10 o'clock P.M.) Mayor Krieger-. Mr, Mayfield or Mr,, Jackson, are there any comments either of you would care to make before we open this up before the Council? Commissioner Mayfield- I think one of the things that the Planning Commission considered most important when we were selecting a consultant was the approach to the planning process, We believe, and I would say from my brief experience on the Commission, that this type of a plan like this that is going to be used by many segments of our public for many different purposes all the way from a sense of personal security about their own home to an opportunity for a profitable investment, that if these guidelines are to be real and meaningful enough to be accepted without too much continued heated controversy that we have to have a very broad base of public participation in the plan and we have to have an enthusiasm for it after it is a product of the effort of everyone on the community as well as the members of the Council and the Planning Commission, I was interested in the idea of the early citizen group action, I think this is the successful way, drawing from the experience of the Division of Highways in which we are involved in controversial route locations, We have found that when you go into a community to plan a route or a change in the plan of the community that if you go in silently and do your technical studies and analyses and come up with what you think is a logical conclusion without first approaching the public and offering them an opportunity to speak and express their thoughts and ideas, that you imni.ediately generate a lot of hostility and create a barrier to any possible acceptance of whatever plan is developed. It will be strenuous anyhow, even here, but I think it is important to start out with that approach he has suggested, When we think of the reason we are trying to accomplish this, we have a plan which calls for a continuing review in itself when it was first presented, we have had all those zone changes, we have a compulsion to go ahead now, we think of quite a few studies that we have had, but with all this I think we generally accept that there is a need to pull all these things together, Some of the data that has been used in the different studies on land use previously I am hopeful that what we use this time and what we develop in our surveys will have quite a bit more refinement to it, I hope it will lead to a more realistic prediction, Commissioner Jackson-. I don't think there is any doubt in anyone's mind that the City does not • grow and progress along_, the channels you wish to see it and develop into a growing city with all the benefits, I think the General Plan establishes the best essential way of actually providing a long-range look and yet not tying down the specifics, not really commiting yourself to zoning in areas, I think right now we are entering into an area through the computers and that data collection systems that you are able to assimilate a great mass of information and bring it out where it is easily read and digested and I think the fact we decided to go with a data bank which will get a lot of information out of this study, -2- C, Co 12/8/66 Page Three GENERAL PLAN CONTRACT ® Continued I think it is the only wav that a city can adequately keep up to date and keep the information as to the various locations, zones, all these minute details that need to be studied from time to time, The General Plan itself utilizes these and becomes then more .realistic, We believe with the help of the Planning Department the proposal is within reason as to,what you get for the money you spend, If we have to go cheaper, we are going to have to take something out, I think a consultant is necessary in these cases, When you throw a great work load on the Planning Department you need outside help, Mayor Krieger- I think this certainly supplements the written information we received and I am sure studied, so we will open it up for general discussion, Councilman Gleckman- I notice that the Huntington Beach Freeway design and alignment was discussed with the ad hoc committee, I have two questions which may be unfair but I have to ask them at this time, Are you familiar with the Huntington Beach Freeway that is being proposed through the City of West Covina? Mr, Sidney Williams- Well, we know that there is a corridor, In some way we are familiar with it as planners, The only proper answer would be, "No, we are not," Councilman Gleckman- I have been an opponent of the Huntington Beach Freeway through the City in its entirety so it is hard for me to understand us spending $7,000 to prepare for something that I personally hope to fight, I was curious in my own mind the figure as it was laid out to what extent this General Plan is going to take into consideration the Huntington Beach Freeway design in order to put that kind of price tag on it, Even if it was $2,000 or $109000 I would still ask the same question, It isn't the amount so much as why, Mr, Sidney Williams; It is my evaluation that this is probably one of the most critical problems West Covina faces, Maybe the first issue is whether it should be here at all, It might be expensive to determine that, If it is going to be, wherever it is going to be suggested certainly the people who live along it or under it, so to speak, will be in and have something to say and ask why isn't it over here where these people live, Whatever you decide, you are going to have to decide whether or not you are going to have it and if you are going to have it, where it is going to be, how will it be designed, what kinds of interchanges are you going to have and with what streets, and are the people living on the streets going to complain about having an interchange or complain that they don't have one, what effect on land uses would the people that would be living along it decide this is no longer the place to live and therefore I am going to petition to lave this area rezoned for multiple family housing, or at the inter® • change some people say this is the place for a motel, et cetera, I am scared to death about it, Councilman Gleckman- the R,E,R,C, report made, "No, we would that maybe we would than R,E,R,C, at the There must be some specific reason why the question was asked, but using on the Central Business District and the comment rather do our own", I am curious in my own mind. have been better off to have you do it rather price they charged us, -3- C,, Co 12/8/66 Page Four GENERAL PLAN CONTRACT ® Continued Mr,, Sidney Williams; I'll tell you why we prefer and we have worked with them and S,,R,,I, and a great many of these people and we have complete confidence in their work, but if we are doing a comprehensive general plan program and if our people get down into the dirty work of the numbers, we are going to know the community and know the work a lot better than if we are sort of handed the completed work by someone else,, I say that is probably the key reason,, Councilman Nichols: I would suspect that you have had the opportunity to look at the Minutes that were typed up and rushed out of the Council's meeting,, I am pleased to review your qualifications and -they certainly are adequate and ample,, I think your manner here this evening is commendable,, I am impressed with your explanation of your program which is totally adequate,, The communication that we have received from you is fine. The paragraph on estimating procedures stating that on the previous two contracts it was incorrect is fine,, I can understand after having heard this presentation the probable justification of spending $50,000 or more for this type of project,, May I only comment that I do think in defense of the criticisms that I did levy, I think it is very unfortunate that material of this sort would come before a Council without explanation or breakdown listing charges without explanation why they were estimated or how they were estimated -for work'and expect that Council to come into a public meeting and take a favorable vote on that contract based on the information just. -received for the first time,, I hope we proceed with caution in terms of any definitive work that comes out in the concrete sense on the Huntington Beach Freeway because we do have some strong political implications here and I hope we can do a lot of data gathering before we put anything down,, I am satisfied and I would like the record to show that the comments that I made at the Council meeting of December 6th of a critical nature were due to, in my opinion, a lack of information on my part which I have now obtained to my satism faction.and I am prepaved to approve this contract,, Councilman Snyder: Apparently these priced items are justified,, I don't see anything,. in the contract as to the limit to the number of hearings you will attend,, Mr,, Sidney Williams: We have indicated that the partners will attend the minimum of 18 meetings,, We have provided for, I think, 28 trips because sometimes there will be two partners or a senior planner and a partner or there will be a hurry -up call like there was a couple of days ago,, We are trying to provide a product we can all be proud of and a reputation in this Los Angeles basin that will lead to future work for us,, Councilman Snyder: Regarding the Huntington Beach Freeway, • I think there are two phases of that, to decide whether we want to oppose it altogether, but even should we do so, the powers that be may prevail and we ought to have alternates ready, I am for this study, but I am wondering if the study as outlined here, if this detailed a study is too early since they are not having hearings on it yet,, -4- • Ca C, 12/8/66 GENERAL PLAN CONTRACT m Continued Mr, Sidney Williams: I would think and given the enough as to whether you want it or don't want be or shouldn't be, the more you can get your in before the State comes in with their plans better off you are, Page Five everything being equal fact I don't know well it or whether it should input and your studies all worked out, the Commissioner Mayfield: If you want the opportunity to take the initiative, which I think is an advantage when you do pet into this thing as a Council, if you have some definite direction in mind, I think you are better off as far as succeeding in getting something that is the most acceptable of this with the Division of Highways, Councilman Snyder: If you are too soon with too much detail regarding the freeway, then it is going to cool by the time the problem really gets here, It would have to be redone, Councilman Gillum: I look at some of these figures and realize the time and personnel involved and I think that they may be a little shy in some areas, I am satisfied with it, I am happy we had this opportunity .for the complete Council to talk with you, I hope they have the impression now that I had with the meetings I spent with the Planning Commission, I am happy that you were able to convey this same information to them. I am ready to take action on the contract, if we can, Mayor Krieger: I would like to have some amnlifi- cation of this memo we received dated December 8th, Changes in Language of Contract. You state that the most recent draft of the contract, which is our Preliminary Draft No, 4, is acceptable with the exception of an addition to Item 2 on Page 9 which appears to suggest that any part of the General Plan Report would be done if desired by the City, Mr, Sidney Williams: It has been our experience when adequate exposure is given to the General Plan Map and the preliminary draft of the General Plan Report it is seldom that changes are made, Item C. Map Summary of, Revised General Plan, is intended to contain any changes that may be made in the General Plan Map or text during the period of public hearings, We would begin the drafting of the General Plan Report in terms of text as we also begin the preparation of what would be the General Plan Map in colored pencil form for review and we would have presentations and review meetings, What we normally do in this case, assuming we are. using the normal printing process, we do have a ditto draft of the General Plan Report which we send down to staff to read it through, Following that review and following the presentation and review of the map representing your new General Plan, we would go back and prepare it for publication with a black and white map like so so it could be distributed in a goodly number of copies to whoever is interested, 2000 500 copies, whatever the demand is, This would be the General Plan as it is going to be for the public hearings and any interested citizen and at the time the hearing begins, something of this sort should have been available in the community for maybe a month before the hearing so everybody had time to see the map and hold the text, so you are holding the hearing on a known document, -5- Co Co 12/8/66 Page Six GENERAL PLAN CONTRACT - Continued The hart of it that describes the plan is usually separated out in a wav so everyone knows what part of it is background research, what part is to be adopted, and what part is how to carry it out, After your hearings at these preliminary meetings, hopefully if there is a very strong feeling about some element of it, some land.use or public facility or circulation element of the plan, that this will come out in the preliminary meetings and would be incorporated in what is sent up and printed, If not, or if during the hearings you decide that part of it is to be changed, the appropriate thing to be done is to change it when you print your colored map which will carry your certificate of adoption and so on on it, The black and white map can be torn out and the colored one put in and that would constitute your General Plan Report, Mayor Krieger: How about the text inconsistencies, if any? Mr, Sidney Williams: If what we are talking about is half a dozen pages, we would retype that and your staff would rerun and rebind it. It is just that the language in here suggested that it sounded like somebody would say "I think they should restudy the Huntington Beach Freeway again", We would be perfectly happy to retype pages which conform to the change in a map, Mayor Krieger: Mr, Aiassa, I think it would be advisable if there was a reconciliation between our City Attorney and the consulting firm as to language that carries forth the intent of. the parties in regard and conceding to Mr, Williams that the word "amended" is quite broad and could be interpreted to impose an unnecessary additional burden or the expansion of responsibilities of the consultant beyond that which he might originally contemplate, Councilman Snyder: Being here when the first General Plan was being formulated and adopted, there were certain areas in the City that were sketchily touched upon because it was felt that the scope of the General Plan at that time, they didn't have time to go into the study of them and come up with an answer and were deferred until a later date, particularly Glendora Avenue, for a more specific study, We don't foresee or plan any such deletions this time, do we? I think this weakens your General Plan, Mr, Sidney Williams: Right, Councilman Snyder: When this plan was first adopted and for a while afterwards, it was a good argument on your side when you needed it but sooner or later both Planning Commission and City Council violated it to a certain extent and my question is: Is there any way of making it required by ordinance when you, in essence, violate the General Plan that this • requires a General Plan Amendment? Mr, Sidney Williams: Berkeley has an annual readoption of the City Plan by the City Council based on the recommendations of the Planning Commission, so C, C, 12/8/66 GENERAL PLAN CONTRACT ® Continued Page Seven Motion by Councilman Nichols, seconded by Councilman Gillum, that this Council vote to approve the General Plan Contract; to authorize the signature of the Mayor and City Clerk to said contract, that this motion is relative to Preliminary Draft No, 4 of the General Plan Contract, that Section 2, Page 9, the first paragraph shall reado "0 0 , and will be amended by consultants, if necessary, to conform to decisions of the Planning Commission and/or City Council, that this contract be reviewed, modified, if found necessary, and meet with the acceptance of the firm of Williams, Cook & Mocine and with the approval of the City Attorney of West Covina,, Motion passed on roll call as follows- ` Ayes; Councilmen Gillum, Nichols, Snyder, Gleckman, Mayor Krieger Noes; None Absents None Motion by Councilman Nichols, seconded by Councilman Gleckman, and carried, that the Council authorize the City Manager to recommend to the Council a budgetary transfer of funds sufficient to cover the total amount of the General Plan Contract being approved here this evening, There being no further business, Motion by Councilman Gillum, seconded by Councilman Gleckman, and carried, that this meeting adjourn at 9s05 o'clock PM, ATTESTS L1 CITY CLERK APPROVED e�7 MAYOR -7®