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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcc min 1996/09/24 (2)MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA Tuesday, September 24, 1996 6:55 p.m. Council Chambers Public Services Building ROLL CALL: PRESENT: ALSO PRESENT: Councilmembers Scoff D. Alevy, John S. Moot, Stephen C. Padilia, Jerry R. Rindone, and Mayor Shi~ey A. Horton. John D. Goss, City Manager; Ann Moore, Acting City Attorney; Beverly A. Authelet, City Clerk; and Patficia Schwenke, Deputy City Clerk. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG. S1LENTPRAYER 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: July 9, 1996 and August 6, 1996. MSC (Padilla/Rindone) to approve the minutes of July 9, 1996 and August 6, 1996 us presented, approved 4-0-0-1, with Moot abstaining. 4. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY: a. Proclamation commending the Chula Vista Garden Club upon the occasion of their 50th Anniversary. Councilmember Padilia presented the proclamation to Barbara Felber, President of the Chula Vista Garden Club. CONSENT CALENDAR (Item pulled: 7) BALANCE OF THE CONSENT CALENDAR OFI~'ERED BY MAYOR HORTON, reading of the text was waived, passed and approved unanimously. 5. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS: a. Letter from the Acting City Attorney stating that there were no reportable actions taken in Closed Session on 9/17/96. It is recommended that the letter be received and filed. b. Letter of resignation from the Library Board - Peggy P. Donovan. It is recommended that the letter of resignation be accepted with regret and the City Clerk be directed to post immediately according to the Muddy Act in the Clerk's Office and the Public Library. 6. RESOLUTION 18438 AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN A FIVE-YEAR LEASE PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH KONICA BUSlNESS MACHINES FOR TWO KONICA 6190 COPIERS AND DISPOSE OF THE TWO EXISTING KODAK COPIERS THROUGH TRADE-IN AS PART OF THE LEASE-PURCHASE AGREEMENT - On 2/13/96, the five-year agreement on the City's existing two Kodak copiers expired. Ownership of the machines transferred to the City at that time. The existing machines are long Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 2 past their useful life expectancy, break down frequently, are not energy efficient, and require an expensive maintenance agreement to continue operating. Staff recommends approval of the resolution. (City Clerk and Director of Finance) Councilmember Alevy asked if the amount of $180,000 was for the total cost of the copiers over a 60-month period. Robert Pewell, Director of Finance, answered that was correct. Councilmember Alevy commented that generally when the City expended over a certain amount of money for an item, it required a 4/5ths vote and tins resolution did not specify that. He asked if this was necessary in this case. Mr. Pewell replied it was not a requirement because it was an annual appropriation item and lease purchase, and it would be included in the budget each year. Councilmember Alevy asked if an amount of money had already been allocat~t for this. Mr. Pewell answered that the annual payments for this year would be covered by the current budget. 7. RESOLUTION 18439 WAIVING IMMATERIAL DEFECTS, ACCEPTING BIDS AND AWARDING CONTRACT FOR "PARKING LOT IMPROVEMENTS FOR EUCALYPTUS PARK (PR-211)" - On 9/4/96, bids were received. The general scope of the project includes improving the parking lot adjacent to the American Legion's building at Eucalyptus Park. The work includes, traffic control, removal of alligatored pavement areas and replacement with asphalt concrete pavement, AC leveling courses, P.C.C. pad for trash receptacle, P.C.C. drainage swale, asphalt concrete berm, drainage ditch, splash wall, crashed aggregate base, and other miscellaneous items of work as shown on the plans. Staff recommends approval of the resolution awarding the contract to MJC Construction - Chula Vista. (Director of Public Works) Councilmember Rindone asked why were staff costs so high, more than 35 percent of the construction cost. John Lippitt, Director of Public Works, stated there was a full cost recovery factor added to this of about 2.7 percent on top of the staff costs, and it did not take much for a project to get up to $10,000. Councilmember Rindone said he was concerned when staff costs exceeded 35 percent of the total cost of a project just to process it. He wantad to review a fiscal impact statement to know the costs of the project and what the impact would be for the City. Mr. Lippitt said that normally in a construction project the financial statement gave detailed cost information, and the fiscal impact many times just stated there would be normal maintenance. Councilmember Rindone requested this item be continued to get a better understanding of it and to have a viable fiscal impact statement. MSC (Rindone/Padilla) to continue this item until 10/1/96, with Moot opposed, so staff could return (1) with a financial statement and cost analysis and (2) answer questions from Council. * * * END OF CONSENT CALENDAR * * * Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 3 PUBLIC HEARINGS AND RELATED RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES 8. PUBLIC HEARING CONSIDERING THE OTAY RANCH REORGANIZATION NUMBER 1 CONSISTING OF ANNEXING PORTIONS OF THE OTAY RANCH TO THE CITY, DETACHING THE OTAY LANDFILL FROM THE CITY AND DETACHING TERRITORY FROM THE RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT - In August 1995, Council authorized the filing of a reorganization application with LAFCO for the Otay Ranch Reorganization Number 1. The proposed reorganization would annex the majority of the Otay Valley Parcel, the Mary Patrick Birch Estate Ranch House and the Inverted "L" area to the City. The reorganization was filed with LAFCO on 4/8/96. On 7/1/96, LAFCO approved the reorganization, designated the City as the conducting authority and authorized Council to conduct the proceeding to complete the reorganization process. Staff recommends this item be continued indefinitdv; will be re-noticed. (Special planning Projects Manager, Otay Ranch) Continued from the meeting of 9110/96, Councilmember Rindone asked if staff anticipated completing the proceedings by December 1 in order to receive estimated 1997 property taxes of $87,000. John Goss, City Manager, was unable to answer the question at this time because there was still a major legal issue that needed to be resolved in order to perfect the steps we have to take for annexation. There was further discussion needed with the County to see if we could overcome that particular issue, and although there was no assurance at this time, he would certainly attempt to meet that deadline. Councilmember Rindone requested staff provide Council with a memo describing the legal issue Mr. Goss referred to. Councilmember Moot concurred and asked staff to provide Council with an update of developments in any of the related bankruptcies. He understood there were some bankruptcy court rulings and decisions that did not directly affect our action but could have an overall effect on Baldwin's status. Mr. Goss agreed and clarified that any bankruptcy that occurred was not the legal issue we were concerned with. Councilmember Moot read in a newspaper article that there may have been a bankruptcy court ruling that allowed Baldwin Builders first rights of refusal on any property that Village Developments sold. He asked Mr. Goss to report to Council the status of any recent developments. MSUC 0lorton/Padilla) to continue this item indefinitely. 9. PUBLIC HEARING ADOPTING OTAY RANCH PRE-ANNEXATION DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT BALDVVIN BUILDERS - The purpose of this item is to present a development agreement with Baldwin Builders. On 6/25/96, the Planning Commission and Council considered a series of development agreements with Village Properties, United Enterprises, Greg Smith, and the Foundation. (The Foundation agreement was subsequently split into three separate agreements.) The remaining party who is a property owner of a portion of the Otay Ranch property is BaldwIn Builders, which is the trustee for the bankruptcy. Staff recommends this item be continued to 10/1/96. (Deputy City Manager) Continued from the meeting of 9/17/96. MSUC CHorton/Alevy) to continue this item to 10/1/96. 10. PUBLIC HEARING APPEAL OF GINGER COWARDIN, YIN YANG ACCUPRESSURE, OF THE REVOCATION OF HER LICENSE - Appellant, Ginger Cowardin, operates Yin Yang Accupressure at 616 Third Avenue. Police officers conducting a routine inspection discovered that the massage technician employed by appellant was engaged in prostitution with the customers. Appellant's license to operate was therefore revoked. Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 4 Cowardin now appeals the revocation. Staff recommends approval of the resolution. (Assistant City Attorney Fritsch) RESOLUTION 18440 DENYING APPEAL OF REVOCATION OF LICENSE FOR GINGER COWARDIN, YIN YANG ACCUPRESSURE (Acting City Attorney Ann Moore abstained from participation because she provided advice to the Police Department regarding this matter. Deputy City Attorney Glen Coogins participated in place of Ann Moore.) Deputy City Attorney Glen Googins stated that the report was clear that the Police Department conducted an investigation. The Police Department recommended, through the Police Chief and under the authority of the City's Municipal Code, that the license be revoked. He explained that the license could be revoked under the Municipal Code without a hearing if there was a threat to public health, welfare or safety, and that action was taken. That action was now being appealed. He explained that the issue before Council was a revocation of a business license and while this was an appeal and the action having been taken at a staff level, Council would be considering the matter "de novo" which meant Council would judge whether or not the revocation was justified or desirable under the Code. Both City staff and the applicant would be given the opportunity to speak on the matter, and each party could present their own evidence and witnesses, or cross-examine the other party's witnesses. Although this was a quasi-judicial matter, normal rules of evidence did not apply, but Mayor Hotton had the authority to rule on admissibility of evidence if an objection was raised. Ruth Fritsch, Assistant City Attorney, asked Council to consider the documents and evidence as presented. The evidence was overwhelming and the police, in conducting a routine inspection, discovered prostitution activity and the revocation under those circumstances was essentially mandatory as a public health and safety threat. Councilmember Moot asked if Ms. Fritsch meant for Council to rely on the August 9, 1996 memorandum from Agent L. Mendoza. Ms. Fritsch responded that was correct, and added that if the appellant was not present, she effectively withdrew the appeal and it shonld be denied on those grounds alone. This being the time and place as advertised, the public hearing was declared open. There being no public testimony, the public heating was declared closed. Councilmember Padilia stated that in reviewing the staff report for this item and looking at the pleadings submitted by counsel representing the appellant, as well as the written communication directed at City staff and the City Attorney's Office, it was extremely unprofessional and highly inappropriate for an officer of the court. Councilmember Padilia urged the Council, along with the City Attorney's Office, to evaluate the possibility of a complaint with the State Bar Association of this attorney. Councilmember Moot concurred that the communication to the Assistant City Attorney was not only unprofessional but completely inappropriate. He commended staff and the police officers of immediately ridding this public safety hazard for the City. He further added that Chula Vista did not tolerate prostitution and this was a clear message to the public when our police officers, Police Chief and City staff were able to act quickly to take the action we did. Councilmember Rindone asked if the applicant occupied a business in the City of La Mesa before. Police Chief Richard Emerson responded the applicant did not run a business in La Mesa; however, the applicant's attorney was involved in some red light abatement defense work that had occurred in La Mesa when they were trying to deal with the street prostitution problem there. Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 5 Mayor Horton said that she had an earlier conversation with La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid who concurred with Chief Emerson's response. RESOLUTION 18440 was approved unanimously to deny the appeal of revocation of license for Ginger Cowardin, Yin Yang Accupressure. It was also approved unanimously for staff to notify the State Bar Association regarding Appellant Attorney's unprofessionalis~n. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS · Rod Davis, 233 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA, representing the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce, gave a wrap-up of Harbor Days which was held on September 21, with approximately 53,000 people attending. Next year the Chamber will try to move Harbor Days to mid-August to possibly do a Bayside Fair, ending the event with a Pops performance. Mayor Horton thanked the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce for putting together a wonderful activity and mentioned it was fun. · Bill Ayers, 44 East Mankato Street, Chula Vista, CA, representing the San Diego County Veterans Committee, stated that eight or nine weeks ago, he asked Council to review the Ordinance of 1968 of Veterans preference and the hiring practices in Chula Vista but had not heard a response. He stated his constituents wanted to know if the City of Chula Vista had reinstated the Veterans preference and asked Council to look into this matter. Mayor Hotton said she would have staff look into the matter. None submitted. BOARD AND COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS ACTION ITEMS i1. RESOLUTION 18441 APPROVING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AGREEMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996/97 WITH VARIOUS COMMUNITY GROUPS AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE SAID AGREEMENTS - On 6/4/96, Council approved Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds in the amount of $315,450 for 17 public service programs, $260,350 for six community development program, and $87,500 for five additional non-profit organizations to provide eligible planning/coordination type activities. The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) requires a written agreement between the City and each subrecipient of CDBG and HOME funds. Staff recommends approval of the resolution. (Director of Community Development) 4/5th's vote required. returned to this later. RESOLUTION 18441 OFFERED BY COUNCILMEMBER ALEVY, reading of the text was waived, passed and approved {4-0-0-1), with Rindone abstaining. 12. REPORT BONITA GOLF RESORT HOTEL AS IT RELATES TO THE PROPOSED DISPOSITION OF THE CITY-OWNED PROPERTY AND TO ONGOING NEGOTIATIONS PER THE EXISTING EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATION AGREEMENT (ENA) - On 9/10/96, staff presented Council a progress report on the ENA with Joelen Enterprises for a proposed golf resort hotel, and with a request by Joelen Enterprises for site control to meat prospective financing requirements. At that time, Council requested staff return with a report Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 6 outlining the feasibility of selling versus leasing the City-owned property, and an action plan to establish a conditioned escrow should Council elect to do so. Staff recommends Council consider the options and provide direction to staff regarding proceeding to arrange a conditional escrow. (Director of Community Development) Chris Salomone, Director of Community Development, stated that staff came back with a status report on a number of key items. Council also directed staff to develop some standards for making a decision of a sale vs. lease decision and an action plan to move in a more definitive way toward a conditioned sale of the property, as was requested by the applicant and their lender. He stated the applicant and their attorney were present to speak on that issue. Basically, the applicant and the City were in agreement, should the Council decide that the conditional escrow is something they want to consider the merits of. · Mark Blakey, 1605 Country Vista Lane, Chula Vista, CA, representing the Chula Vista Men's Golf Club, asked Council to consider proceeding cautiously in this matter. There were some condominiums the developer may have had liquidated due to some problems. It also came to his attention that the Broadway project had certain time lines that were not met and money was owed to the City. The reason the developer wanted to have this expedited was for their benefit and not the City's and all of those things should be considered by Council. He was concerned about the contingency sale as to how binding that would be to Council. If the developer met certain requirements as things proceeded, it could be more binding on Council instead of the developer. He recommended that Council retain possession of the property access and that .7 acres include some parking; that should be expanded so that the City maintains control. Once the developer acquires possession ofthat land, it puts him in amuch stronger position to control certain things with regard to the golf course and the recreational ares. Some consideration should be made if some putting greens have to be rebuilt, that the developer bear the cost. If the City is going to benefit from the tax, those taxes should not be charged back to the golfers. Another concern is the liability with regard to the trail which comes too close to the 18th green, that would put people on the trail in a hazardous position. He asked who is going to pay for netting to protect the people and if this project has problems financially, would the City wind up taking it over. · Tris Hubbard, 313 Windjammer, Chula Vista, CA, commented specific concerns with traffic in regard to the proposed intersection of Otay and Bonita Road where a new entry way is to be built. He explained that there are up to 150 golfers entering that intersection at the same period of time. He asked how many left turn lanes would them be because the majority of the golfers come from Downtown Chula Vista. He gave a scenario of 150 golfers staying for a luncheon and another 150 golfers arriving to play golf, where would they park. From the proposal, it called for 453 parking spaces which would be for the hotel employees, hotel guests and golfers. He encouraged Council to take a trip to the golf course and walk through the area near the banquet area and pro shop, which was whemth~se~nthe jogging traila ndthe golfers w~u~dcr~sspathsc~nstant~ythr~ugh~uttheday. He also suggested the City conduct a traffic study prior to making a decision. · Brian Seltzer, 750 B Street, San Diego, CA, attorney representing Joelen Enterprises, raised some fundamental points for Council to consider. The first point related to whether this was a purchase transaction or lease transaction. Mr. and Mrs. Citron were interested in acquiring fee title to the property and were not interested in pursuing a transaction that involves a ground lease. Ground lease transactions are difficult, if not near impossible, to finance and many lenders avoid these types of transactions. Mr. Seltzer wanted to strncture this deal as a straight purchase transaction. The Citrons ask that this issue not be delayed but rather they receive a clear statement from Council that this is the approach they are willing to follow. The second issue he raised was time. The Citrons have been involved with this since 1990, and they have expended substantial time, effort and funds in this process. They now see a window of opportunity through this lender, and they see a strong need to act now. He stated the opportunity was here, the lender was interested, and nothing can be taken for granted, including their interest. The Citrons' first concern is they would like Council to validate the pumhase concept. The second concern is they would like to finaiize the agreement and present it to Council in two weeks. The third concern is stated in the staff report of the risk to the City of a pro--commitment. Mr. Seltzer understands the governmental approval process and the City reserving discretion and them were a number of discretionary approvals that needed to be given with respect to this project. He was not asking for those approvals. He requested a clear showing of support, the type Minut~ September 24, 1996 Page 7 of support and positive feeling the Citrons received in 1991 for this project. There were some approvals to do, lots of issues to work out about jogging trails, parking and the 18th hole, but this will be an outstanding facility for the City not only in terms of tax revenues but also the opportunity to have a first-class project. Mr. Seltzer requested a positive re--enforcement he could communicate to their lender. Finally, in dealing with the details, Mr. Seltzer asked staff to be cognizant of the tendency to add consultants to a deal that only add cost. The added costs, fees, public improvements all burden the project and in the end, people will only pay a certain price for the hotel. He asked staff when they are dealing with the details, to deal constrnctively, positively and creatively with the EIR process. · Josef Citron, 750 B Street, San Diego, CA, of Joelen Enterprises, responded to an earlier speaker and explained that he never had a project fail nor lost or given back a single thing that he built to any lender. The condomjnium project on Briarwood Road was finished five years early and the loan was paid off. He stated there were traffic studies done, and he is providing provisions for all of the parking. As far as the homes were concerned, the Citrons received a full commitment from their lender and they plan to build more units. The local bank here has had a problem with their attorney and in trying to deal with the City Attorney, but the bank is still being picky and difficult and they do not like what the City did. Councilmember Rindone asked what did the bank not like. Mr. Citron responded that the bank interpreted they would be in second position behind the City, but this was something he felt could be worked out with this particular institution. · Rod Davis, 233 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA, representing the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce, suggested Council ask staff to open a conditional escrow, with every possible question and concern contained in that escrow. There were deal killess such as traffic, golf course, tee times but the number one issue was not being able to get financing to finish the project, and the Citrons already had financing. If the City enabled the Citrons to hold onto it by opening a conditional escrow, all of those other issues would be addressed in the CUP process. John Goss, City Manager, indicated there was a proposal with a number of issues to be addressed such as the CEQA requirements and jogging trails, and there was a major problem with the flooding. At this point the lender was clear of what some of the time lines were. The basic point is you can do an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement process or address the same issues through a different context. As he understood, what was being requested was that they do it in the context of a sale. It is important to acknowledge the fact that there are all of these issues, any one of which can kill the project. He does not recommend that the City start with a conditional escrow but give staff direction to proceed within the framework of a sale. Staff would like to have four weeks to come back with information outlined in the report; that is not necessarily to say that all of the information would be complete at that point because there are a number of issues, but staff would be in a better position to discuss the legal context of it more intelligently. Our consultant, Steve Delaney, pointed out in his letter that we really need to talk to the developer and the lender to get a better perspective from their point of view in terms of the timing. One thing that has bothered people in the community, as well as staff, has been the desire to try to accomplish certain guidelines or time lines before certain basic discretionary actions can be accomplished under the law, and he feels there should be further dialogue on that point. But as the attorney for the developer and applicant has pointed out, they understand that the City has certain discretionary actions they have to take. They understand there is a risk of pre- commitment and obviously from their perspective, there are certain risks because if things are not accomplished in a proper manner legally, then the project will fail. Mayor Horton asked who had the actual conversations with the lender. Mr. Goss said he spoke with the lender about two weeks ago, but Mr. Delaney had more recent conversations with the lender. Mayor Hotton asked Mr. Goss if Council did not move forward tonight with the recommendation to open the escrow wouldn't make or break the deal. Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 8 Mr. Goss replied that the testimony asked Council to identify the approach of discussing the framework of a sale vs. a lease. Mr. Salemone stated the lender considered a conditioned escrow as an appropriate vehicle perhaps to satisfy their site control issues. What staff requests is that Council move forward and have staff come back with a document Council could consider. That document would be reviewed by the lender in the interim period and if they had any free points or issues, staff would be able to address them. The lender indicated through the developer and to the City directly that they think it would be an acceptable measure to obtain site control. He also referred to the timing of this, because at the last meeting staff indicated there was a strong desire by the lender to close by the end of the year. Mr. Salemone pointed out that staff did not think that was reality. He believed the lender was aware of that and mentioned it was a difficult thing to do because of CEQA. He would make every effort to use all of our resources to expedite this process but did not want to give the unrealistic expectation that the City could close by the end of the year, He thinks that the document will cover those issues and satisfy the lender. Mr. Goss said it should be clear that if it took 5-1/2 months to complete the EIR, most of the time involved was the notice and review process, rather than the writing up of the document. Staff recommends that Council give direction regarding the finalization of a DDA and the opening of an escrow, but that would be coming back in a report. What the applicant was asking the City was to look at the framework of the sale, and they wanted some positive support from the City. In terms of finishing everything by the end of the calendar year, this was not really being driven by the applicant but more by the lender, but there needed to be further dialogue with the lender to find out what their constraints were and so they could fully understand the legal constraints the City has in operafrog within its discretionary action as required by law. Steve Delaney, of TopMark, Inc., explained that he submitted a report to Council and from what he understood from the request, he did not have any problems with the structure being a contingent purchase agreement. His understanding was the way it would be drafted would follow very closely to the exclusive negotiation agreement. His belief was that within a reasonable amount of time, it could be worked out and submitted to the lender and approvals could be obtained. He was concerned with the developer talking about closing by year end. He concurred with Mr. Salomone and is opposed to trying to close prior to the CEQA completion of those actions and closing prior to year end. Mayor Hotton commented that Kaiser Marston had been contracted to do the appraisal and she asked how far along were they and when it would be completed. Cheryl Dye, Economic Development Manager, answered that the City, in order to get some information to Council this evening, had a restrictive appraisal conducted. The results of that were in Council's agenda packet to give them some framework for the land value, Kaiser Marston Associates had indicated KMA was under contract also to do a full re-use valuation and they needed some additional information to conduct that; that was more of an income approach type of apprsisel. Upon receipt of that from the developer, it could be completed in about two or three weeks. Mayor Horton asked Ms, Dye if she was making the recommendation that Council make a decision on whether or not they wanted to go forward with the purchase agreement based on the information from that appraisal. Mr. Salemone answered that if Council agreed that a conditional purchase agreement is something they wanted staff to bring back, that would be the recommendation. It would be contingent on appraisals, CEQA review, discretionary approvals and public review, but it would be a contract that would tie up the land to the satisfaction of the lender. Trying to bring that document back for their consideration was really the only decision staff was asking Council to agree with. He believed we could enter into a purchase agreement that was contingent to many of the questions Council and the public had. Councilmember Padilia echoed some of the concerns about the timing and the discretionary appwvals being kind of concurrent with tentative agreements. He was sensitive of the some of the potential challenges that could be Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 9 mounted to the review and was not convinced it was surmountable. He did not oppose to moving forward with the concept, but wanted to give staff direction to stop looking at a ground lease situation and moving towards sale of the land. There were a lot of questions recently being asked of the applicant and of the potential lender that had to do with the lease option and had nothing to do with the sale option. That kind of duplication of effort could be eliminated if there was a policy decision that said we go in one direction or another. There were sotno basic questions about a further appraisal and whether or not the offer that was discussed was in the ballpark. He wanted to make sure we had some kind of a contingent agreement that was going to have a bottom-line minimum purchase price to be based on assessments by independent appraisers, that is something subject to CEQA review. Councilmember Moot asked Mr. Delaney if it were true that the lender wanted the City to provide 50 percent seller financing. Mr. Delaney replied he had a long discussion with Patricia Levoy. Her desire was to close prior to year end and in order to facilitate the early close, there would be a 50 percent down payment which would be funded from the loan and a 50 percent carryback by the City. They believed the 50 percent carryback would give them a more comfortable position in case the discretionary approvals were not obtained, and it would give them a better comfort level that they had site control. Councilmember Moot stated he did not want to carryback 50 percent of this project for any period of time. Mr. Delaney concurred and stated it would put the City in some jeopardy and he did not recommend the City carryback the loan. Mr. Seltzer said this was not a request for financing and certainly no one was asking the City to carry financing for half the project or for the duration of the project. What the lender suggested was simply a scenario by which the property could be acquired earlier and by doing so, they would fund half of the purchase price with the other half being paid to the City when the entitlements were in place, which is something far different than carrying financing. Jerry Foncerrada, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation, stated that was their initial position but believed there was still room to negotiate on that. From their standpoint, administering a three-tier system would create a lot of administrative work for their staff and they were trying to avoid that. Councilmember Moot said he did not have a problem with a purchase contract. However, there can be some very important contingencies that will have to be in this agreement and if those details were not worked out, he would not sign the agreement just because we were at a deadline. He will support the agreement when the appropriate contingencies were there to protect the City's interest. Lastly, his positive re-enfurcement will come when the issues involving the golf course and jogging trail have been resolved to the satisfaction of the citizens of Chula Vista. Those remain to be the most significant issues to be worked out and if they are not worked out, he would not support it. Councilmember Rindone has been in support of this project from day one; however, he has two concerns in the report regarding the three months and the 50 percent seller f'maneing carryback. When the City was approached with this proposal, this was a highly desirable project but it was with the thought it would be a conditioned escrow. He would not support a project that threatened the clear, unfettered discretion with the CEQA time line. He concurs to validate the purchase concept. One thing Council has not mentioned was the concern of flooding. That is very high on the list and we need to proceed as judiciously as possible but the talks need to include the lender. He is not sure if we can have real success in doing anything if the lender is not included in those discussions and understands the legal issues and CEQA guidelines. He is willing to support the direction of staff to pursue the purchase agreement but within the CEQA guidelines, time lines and with the legal parameters that are necessary. Lastly, he added that the jogging trail crossing the path with the golfers had been mentioned numerous times and needs to be re-looked at. He believes the applicant is sincere in following what they believe is staff's direction to put it north of the project but equally of importance is that it might create a barrier to defeat the project. An Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 10 alternative must be found, because that is not going to work having golfers and joggers crossing over constantly. Councilmember Alevy asked staff what efforts were made to issue any kind of proper notice to concerned citizens that this was going to be heard this evening. Mr. Salomone said he believed some notice was made by the Parks and Recreation Department at the prior hearing on the 241h. The constimencies were notified that previously had an interest in this. Councilmember Alevy thinks that it would be incumbent upon the City to try something a little bit different the next time this is going to come before the Council to put a sign or two up where people might be affected by this (such as the pro shop, jogging trails, etc.). For CEQA and other requirements of our process, we need a full hearing process. This could be the greatest project in the world and if appreved, it will be the greatest project, but reality is that we have a few people from the public each time this has come before Council to speak against it. He has heard from a number of people who planned on being here but did not because in their mind the decision had already been made by staff and this Council. There is a perception out there that a decision has already been made before a public hearing process takes place. This property was purchased in 1965 on a 1911 Bond Act purchase, and voted on by the people of the City. If you look at the ballot statement, you will find that it states it is going to be a public facility purchase with public funds and although he was told by legal experts that it is legal to go ahead and sell it, what is legal may not be ethical. He did not want to see this come back to Council without some sort of a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Commission. We look at the parking elements and it is clear from this report that this project has about half the parking spaces of our City standards and that needs to be addressed. He also thinks we need a traffic study. We are told that there will not be any problem with parking because most of the people are going to come on buses and taxies; however, we are now saying that it is necessary to create a new intersection as an entrance to the golf course; that information is not consistent. The idea of complimentary rounds for American Golf to coordinate with the hotel impacts the City's income from the golf course. Who is going to decide who gets to play free and who does not. What American Golf is recommending as resident fees is about 28 percent higher than what residents are now paying; that needs to be addressed. A lot of people who play that golf course are on fixed incomes and will not be able to play our golf course if they have to pay that much. The flood control issue has been mentioned and defmitely needs to be resolved. We need to have a permanent solution to the arundo cane that is in the channel west of Willow Bridge, and he thinks that the developer would certainly want that taken care of or else they are going to have some flooded rooms on the flint floor. We must have a CEQA review, and we must have a full public hearing before we go forward. He is concerned about the impacts of the project and agrees that we do need what this hotel offers. Councilmember Moot stated he did not want to negotiate this agreement between the Council, the applicant, and their lawyer at council meetings. Also, he does not want to receive faxes directly to his office that should go to staff first. He thinks this project should be negotiated between the applicant, Mr. Delaney and staff. He does not want this item on the agenda every two weeks when every little or big issue comes up. He wants to try to get this back on a normal procedure. Only in extraordinary situations did he want to be in the position of receiving direct communication. Councilmember Rindone indicated that the purpose of the agenda item tonight was to focus on the singular issue of the validation of the purchase concept and he made the motion for Council to reaffirm the desire for a conditional escrow which includes validating the purchase concept and proceeding towards a purchase agreement with an understanding that this is an acceptable approach as long as all of the conditions and negotiations in the ENA process have been resolved to the full satisfaction of the majority members of this Council. MSC (Rindone/Padilla) for Council to validate the purchase concept and direct staff to continue proceeding towards a conditional escrow with the understanding that if all the conditions are met and the project is approved, the option of a purchase agreement will he considered when all of the other items, as normally set forth in an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement, have been satisfied and to continue this item for five weeks or less. Motion approved 4-1, with A!evy voting no. Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 11 13. REPORT STATUS OF TELEGRAPH CANYON ESTATES (ST. CLAIRE SUBDIVISION) - At a r~c~nt Council meeting several problems with Baldwin's St. Claire development were brought to the attention of Council. Those problems include a decline in the condition of the landscaping within Open Space District Number 31, lack of completion of some public improvements, and problems associated with abandonment of houses under construction. Staff recommends Council accept the report and authorize staff to: (1) initiate action to repair, re- vegetate and re-landscape the landscaped slopes, medians and parkways through foreclosure on the bonds for Subdivision Map Numbers 13068, 13069, and 13070 on 10/19/96 when the Subdivision Agreement expires and the developer is in default; and (2) initiate action to abate a potential fire hazard by removing three uncompleted structures adjacent to existing, occupied dwelling units. (Director of Parks and Recreation, Director of Building and Housing, and Director of Public Works) Continued from the meeting of 9/17/96. John Goss, City Manager, mentioned that Baldwin Builders has a different group of people involved with the post- bankruptcy vs. the pre-bankruptcy. As he understood it, those involved with post-bankruptcy need to be dealt with through the bankruptcy court. In so doing, they have been filing plans with the bankruptcy court in order to proceed with completing the buildings or houses that were already under construction. It was his understanding that the issue would go before the bankruptcy court on Friday, September 27. It is our expectation they will be pursuing the authority to continue with the project and bring it to completion. It was indicated in the report there was an analysis done of three of the homes that were closest to the occupied homes and there is hope that the report by the engineers will be available on Wednesday, September 25. It was his understanding that some effort has been made to clear out some of the growth that has occurred between those homes and the existing occupied homes. One modification to the report was for Council to direct staff to have the option to foreclose on the bonds in order to have the funding available to complete the landscaping. He thinks that instead of an absolute requirement that we foreclose on the bond, there are ways we can do it in a more speedy manner. The second recommendation is that staff foreclose on the bonds in order to make a speedy accomplishment of the work that those bonds supported. Mayor Horton stated that in the report it talked about a repair that was necessary on the median and we had to reactivate the irrigation system servicing the Otay Road medians in order to prevent additional plant loss. She asked why we did not do something like this sooner when we knew the status of the situation and the deterioration of the neighborhoods that this would cause. Jerry Foncerrada, Deputy Director of Parks, answered that as soon as we became aware of the dying condition of the plant material, we tried to take immediate action. One of the problems with the medians' landscaping and the irrigation system was that they suffered a tremendous amount of breakage with the construction project that had been there two years prior. Baldwin did have somebody under contract to make those repairs, but he ran out of money. Consequently, when the City got involved, we hired the contractor to finish fixing the irrigation system and once we got that fixed, we were able to get the water back on the medians and the parkways. The City was not maintaining the area. The maintenance was still under the responsibility of Baldwin to repair and replace the lost landscape. Councilmember Alevy asked if the City had sufficient funds to maintain the landscaping. Jess Valenzuela, Director of Parks and Recreation, answered that there were funds available in the reserve to maintain the medians. We have been advised by our legal staff that it is good at this point in time and not to really install a whole lot of improvements for fear of not being able to be re;tmbursed by the bonding company. He further explained that this was a road improvement project and when we found out they destroyed our landscaping and irrigations systems, letters went out. We had Baldwin sign a letter of understanding once we found out the damage was occurring, that they would mitigate or repair anything they had damaged. Mayor Hotton said a few months prior she drove by the area and called staff because she noticed there were weeds all over the place. We were having special events at the Arco Olympic Center, the Tour de' Elegance, as well as several different activities were going on during July. Within a week, the area was cleaned up, but it wasn't by our staff. Eastlake actually didn't like the image it was creating for them and they actually went and did some maintenance. Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 12 Mr. Valenzuela believed that the City should keep the area maintained to the bast of our ability. He mentioned the possible legal constraints due to making any significant improvements. We could look at some minor improvements to make it look acceptable, but it was not going to be the level it was prior to it be demolished by the contractor. He agreed with Mayor Horton that we needed to keep very close books on what kind of money we were spending on those medians. Mayor Horton was not suggesfmg any improvements but only suggasted maintaining what was them so we did not destroy the plants, because it was unattractive. Councilmember Alevy asked if the ~mding for the maintenance came from the normal general departmental funds or if it came from the reservas from the maintenance district established by the St. Claire development. Mr. Valenzuela replied that Open Space District 31 is the area within the intemal neighborhoods which was lacking water right now, and the City has not accepted that open space area. The next area Councilmember Alevy referred to is the landscape medians and parkways along Telegraph Canyon. That is a shared maintenance with open space monies betwean the rasidents of Eastlake and Telegraph Canyon Estates. Mr. Valenzuela said them was money in a ruserye account from the open space maintenance district that had been collected over time. This money could be used for that purpose. Councilmember Alevy asked if the Otay Water District had any kind of programs with gray water or non-potable water that could be lass expensive for us, perhaps ranked in or otherwise, that we could take advantage of. Since it did not have to be petable, it could be a secondary use water. Mr. Valenzuela replied that the Otay Water District had a very ambitious program but did not have the source at this point in time. They did have dual plumbing in place at our park systems, medians and open space areas. Ann Moore, Acting City Attorney, clarified that the open space is in the St. Claire area had not been formally accepted by the City, so the City cannot use the roserye funds collected under the assessment district for improvements that the public agency does not own or have an interast in. So with respect to the areas that have not been formally accepted by the City, that would be the problem we would run into with respect to using the mserves for the assessment district. Councilmember Alevy asked specifically about the median area along Telegraph Canyon if it had bean accepted and actively supported by the City. He encouraged the City to do something since this was an increasingly traveled main thoroughfare in the City. It was not going to be the optimal appearance because the landscaping had been destroyed but something needed to be done. MSUC (Moot/Alevy) to spend the money and authorize staff to perform the necessary maintenance for upkeep of that area. · Bill Brasher, 17550 Gillette Avenue, Irvine, CA, representing Baldwin Builders as Trustee, explained there were two entities in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding in Santa Barbara: Baldwin Builders and Baldwin Building Contractors, Ltd. Them were a number of other entities that were still maintained, operated and run by the previous management of the two entities indicated; we refer to those as Village Developments, et al. In this case, they include Otay Ranch O.P., which is directly applicable to the Otay Ranch amongst many others. In May 1996, a trustee was appointed to take over operation of the two entities in bankruptcy. In the latter part of May, Jim Johnson, chief executive officer of the Lusk Company, was also appointed chief executive officer of Baldwin Builders. One of the first things we found out was we did not have a title company. The title company that previouslyissuedtitleinsuraneeonbehalfofthetwodebtorentitieshadceased. We wem confronted with (1) trying to figure out exactly what we had and (2) not having a title company in regard to certain escrows where homes had been completed and people wanted to close. When Baldwin filed their petition, they started the Crossing inventory units and the Classic inventory units. They continued work on it for a continuous basis through October of 1995 until they stopped. In November 1995, they started and stoppad within a two-week period on one of them and then Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 13 in February, they did the same thing on the other one. Since February 1996, nothing has transpired. That was another problem Baldwin had with the bankruptcy court. The judge had seen activity going on during the bankruptcy, money spent, subcontractors not always getting paid, and was very leery about approving any other conduct on bchalf of the bankrupt entities. The primary and initial focus that required immediate attention for Baldwin was making sure they could continue to fund payroll. The other thing that received immediate attention was how Baldwin could convince the bankruptcy court they could do what they said they were going to do. He indicated that the project they initially went to was the Estates in Anaheim, which is Portollo Hills, an uhincorporated area of Orange County. The reason Baldwin used that project was because it was nearly complete and had a number of people who had be~n in escrow for upwards of 10 months. Baldwin worked out an arrangement with a new title company, Chicago Title Company, and part of that arrangement was that proceeds would bc withheld and each escrow closing would make sure that any subcontractor who camu on to finish the work in order for Baldwin to dose houses got paid out of the proceeds of that escrow. In Baldwin's letter to the City, they indicated they went to the court about 1-1/2 months ago seeking permission to complete the inventory at all of the remaining projects where there was standing uncompleted inventory and that included St. Claire Crossing. One of the creditors protested and because of that, they stoppe~:l us. That creditor is the bonding company, Fireman's Fund. He encouraged anyone who had any feelings on whether or not that was an appropriate action to express that to the court. He indicated that the matter could have been withdrawn at any time but had not. R would be heard in Santa Barbara on Monday, September 30. Baldwin is looking forward to the court granting their request so they could complete the inventory units in St. Claire Crossing. Additionally, in meeting with staff, Baldwin was getting the weeds removed from those inventory units to eliminate the fire hazard. Baldwin asked their structural engineer, Govis Engineering, t~ do a structural report on the thre~ homes that were immediately sided upon some of the existing homes. Govis Engineering actually completed the report on six homes, and the report would be available on Wednesday, September 25. He was told verbally that structurally the homes were very sound. The two things indicated that needed to be done was that some of the plywood would have to be replaced once construction began, and those units that have second stories framed but no roof that are contiguous with the Classics needed to be braced. That will be done right away on the premise that everything goes well on Monday. About five or six weeks prior, Baldwin became aware that there was a problem in that the water for fire was not hooked up, and the fire road was not in place. Baldwin has made arrangements to get the work done and that is currently underway. Councilmember Rindone asked Mr. Brasher what he meant by moving right away and what month, if assuming that the court acts and gives Baldwin permission to utilize funds, would the construction of the houses that were partially framed be finished. Mr. Brasher asked for a bid from the structural engineer because they would need to look at each of the standing inventory houses in St. Claire. Baldwin would also have a lumber expert come out behind the structure and confirm what they couid and could not use and go through the process of reletting contracts and commence the reconstruction of those inventory units. He could not give a definite time frame but stated things would start immediately. Councilmember Alevy stated what really needed to be made clear is that citizens of Chula Vista are affected by this whole thing and they do not understand the complexity of bankruptcy law. The people in St. Claire have a life investment in their homes, and they are here to find out what they can expect and when. Councilmember Moot asked Mr. Brasher what he meant when he referred to "they" when talking about certain actions that were occurring, which construction was taking place, and then switching from one site to a different site. Mr. Brasher answered that prior to the trustee being appointed in May 1996, Jim Baldwin and Al Baldwin were debtors in possession and operated Baldwin Builders. As of May 1996, they no longer operated Baldwin Builders. Councilmember Moot suggested that people direct their support to Attorney Louis Landau, Bankruptcy Trustee Attorney, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 3400, Los Angelas, CA 90067-3208. The law firm is McDermick, Will & Emory and the Trustee is David Gould. He suggested to the St. Claire homeowners to get in touch with Mr. Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 14 Landau or the trustee in time for them to bring that to the attention of the bankruptcy court because it was the bending company who has protested this action. · Marilyn Szwiec, 2025 Marquette, Chula Vista, CA, was disappointed that no one kept the St. Claire residents informed and last week was when she had any knowledge of what was going on. She wanted to know what responsibility Baldwin had to the residents to let them know. The residents had only six days to write lettern when they could have had more time to do so. Mr. Brasher understood the frustration but as a result of a protest a few months ago, that stopped them from completing the inventory. Some of the members of St. Claire had gotten in touch with Jim Johnson but the reason he did not get hack to them was that he had nothing to report. There were no funds available to build the inventory. He explained that when Baldwin was notified by the Fire Department there was an immediate danger, Baldwin made a decision that was within daily operating procedures and they took care of it. In terms of having funds to take cam of this, Baldwin had to go to the court and get permission to be able to continue doing the operations that they wanted to do. There was a water hook-up for the Fire Department and a road for them to get back in. However, about four or five weeks ago, BaldwIn was made aware that the water was not hooked up. He stated there was money on deposit with the City for subsequent phase processing, and the City had permission from BaldwIn to use that money. Councilmember Moot agreed that the level of communication with Baldwin to the St. Claire homeowners needed to be improved. His suggestion was that Mr. Johnson consider providing a hot line staffed by a paralegal who could answer questions of the homeowners and that the phone number be available to all the residents. He agreed that the frustration is the bankruptcy system, it is not good when it comes to resolving problems. · Jose M. Caballer, 943 St. Gemin Road, Chula Vista, CA, is a resident in the St. Claire development, was ceneerued with the fire hazard, because the vegetation had died behind and adjacent to the homes. Just recently the residents began watering the area, and he understood that Baldwin was responsible for the common areas. He mentioned the increased amount of crime (vandalism and burglaries) and illegal aliens present and requested Baldwin to provide some type of security In the area to deter this problem. Mayor Horton said she would tall to Police Chief Richard Emerson about providing extra patrol in the area. · Michael Peissner, 951 St. Germnine, Chula Vista, CA, indicated he spoke to Council the previous week and provided photographs at that time. He read a letter stating his feelings on the state of the community In St. Claire which reflected the unfinished homes, safety and fire hazards, abandoned vehicles, crime, and illegal alien problem. Another problem he mentioned was the tumbleweeds. Since the project stopped, some tumbleweeds were growing up to 5 feet and within the next months, the tumbleweeds would dry and be a fire hazard. The area's limited access would also cause a problem if there were a fire. While fire hydrants were in the area, they were not charged and could not be used by fire fighters. · Dennis Ferons, 1902 Marquis Court, Chula Vista, CA, lives next to 13 of the unfinished homes and his biggest concern was the crime. His neighbor's home was recently burglarized, and it was believed to be caused by illegal immigrants. He requested that Baldwin provide some type of roving patrol just to keep the vandalism, theft and crime down. Recently, a border patrol agent removed 60 immigrants from one of the homes In just one day. He said that some of the illegal aliens use the homes, trailers, etc. for housing and to hide from the border patrol. This is a problem that was going to get worse if nothing is done. Another issue was the landscaping because the sidewalks were overgrown with ice plants. · Ronald Szwiec, 2025 Marquette, Chula Vista, CA, said he videotaped the area on Saturday and suggested the City send the video tape along with their letter. He appreciated what the City Council could do for them and mentioned the area was visible to people who pass by. He would like his neighborhood completed to the standard that the City Council wanted that area to be. Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 15 · Carol Paciorek, 2008 Marquette, Chula Vista, CA, raised the issue of the playground. She lives directly across from the playground and stated that it was not a nice place to look at now because the garbage at the playground was not emptied. The weeds had overtaken many parts of the landscaping and she called the City and Baldwin, but no one claimed responsibility. Everyone was passing the responsibility but no one was telling her when they were going to take responsibility for it. She also has a problem when it rains in that mud comes down the hill into her driveway and bulldozers were required to remove the mud. She mentioned Mello Roos and asked if the residents should get some benefit of at least the playground area. She also asked who to contact regarding these problems. Councilmember Moot advised Ms. Paciorek to call the attorney David Landau or trustee David Gould at (310) 2774110. · Randy Bennett, 956 St. Getmain Road, Chula Vista, CA, appreciated the Council's interest in the development and re-emphasized that it was incumbent upon Council to help expedite this situation and to make St. Claire a priority with Baldwin. He asked if someone from Chula Vista was going to the bankruptcy hearing or if anyone notified the bankruptcy judge that this was a priority. He stated that because the value of property has already deteriorated (mortgage vs, property value). He request~l that th~ City tell th~ d~voloper h~ had to build and develop the types of homes currently in existence and could not build lesser-valued homes that would deteriorate and diminish the property value of his home. He urged Council to come up with a contingency plan in case the bankruptcy judge's decision on Monday was not favorable. Councilmember Moot wanted to know if, through the City Attorney's office, we could become a party to the bankruptcy so we would have the opportunity to send a representative of the City and have input in the bankruptcy court proceedings. He would be willing, and felt the Council would be willing, to authorize some money to represent our interest and the homeowners' interest in the bankruptcy court. Councilmember Rindone said that in Mr. Goss' presentation of this item, it was described a little differently than in the written report. The recommendation was to foreclose on the bonds of Subdivision Maps 13068, 13069 and 13070 on October 19 when the subdivision agreement expired and the developer was in default, that might not be the best alternative. He asked Mr. Goss if there were other alternatives he wished to consider. Mr. Goss wanted to modify the recommendation just slightly and that was to give the option to staff to foreclose on the bonds, that we would have the option to proceed in that direction. Ann Moore, Acting City Attorney, commented that the City Attorney's office was in the process of negotiating with the bonding company to try to get them to perform. She believed this was the same bonding company that filed the objection with proceeding to construction. Councilmember Rindone asked Mr. Goss if there were specific options that he wanted Council to consider other than working directly with the developers and how that could be accomplished. Mr. Goss answered that is basically to work directly with the developer because sometimes that is more expeditious than working with the bonding company. It was just designed to give us a little bit more flexibility to either work through the bonding company as the Acting City Attorney has indicated or perhaps work directly with Baldwin at this point as it is currently constituted in order to get this work done as quickly as possible. Councilmember Rindone indicated his support and suggested a modification because foreclosing on the bond which was recommended was an option but was time consuming, controversial and may end up in further litigation. One thing that is very crucial to Baldwin Builders is how this City will process tentative maps and secure those. He thought that in the report, it would be much more productive in ensuring a timely response than the efforts of foreclosing on the bonds should the court not be successful. It was important for the residents to know that this City did have options and if they had to look at foreclosing on bonds, we would do that but that may not be the most prudent and expeditious effort. In looking at the conditions to guarantee satisfactory completion of the St. Claire project for future tentative maps, it was going to be a strong incentive for Baldwin Builders to address and if the Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 16 monetary support from the court is not authorized, that this alternative be seriously examined because we need to be very protective and proactive for the residents. Councilmember Moot stated that if our City Attorney is in negotiations with the bond holder right now and that happens to be the same party that is the only party objecting to construction going forward, maybe our City Attorney could hold off foreclosing if they withdraw their objection so to guarantee the result that we want on Monday. If they did not seem inclined to withdraw their objection, then maybe we should initiate foreclosure. That would give them an incentive to withdraw their objection and to ensure the result that we are all hoping to achieve on Monday. Councilmember Padilia agreed that we were moving in the fight direction as far as what type of discussion should be occurring with this particular creditor because the flip side of that concern was that we want to deal with this particular entity as it was currently structured and not get into the habit if we were unable to complete this, we would end up having the bonds getting foreclosed. He believes we ought to try other mechanisms before we move in that direction because there were some other problems associated with that. What are intervention options that the City would apply to the bankruptcy court to be able to execute, what would that cost be, would we be able to get that money back, and how long could we allow this to continue. These are some things staff needs to bear in mind because he does not want to discuss this eight months from now. With regard to some of the landscaping remediation, the open space district reserves that the City currently has already spent, he inquired if that expenditure is something the City could recover because the District had not been accepted and taken over by the City. Mr. Valenzuela, Director of Parks and Recreation, answered that was correct. We have not expended any reserve monies within the neighborhoods but have expended money on the medians and parkways. Councilmember Padilia said the time line again comes into play here as to when we make a decision and the foreclosure option is not something we want to ntsh into. He was interested if staff could look at the fund as it stands, the breakdown of the open space district assessments that have been levied so far, what the breakdown in terms of what percentage had been funded by the individual homeowners and what was still left that was assessed on the builders based on the lots they still held open and controlled. With regard to this district, one of the reasons we do not have the guarantee that we could get it refunded is because it had not been accepted. The reason why it had not been accepted was because that district, in terms of the maintenance of it, had not been kept to a satisfactory condition where we could accept it. Another thing the Council shonld join in the communication with the Trustee and the residents is the staff perspectives on some of the things we identify on the staff report as lessons learned and some of the policy changes we might look to make when we frame some of our development agreements and the time allowed for public improvements to be completed. The citizens need to know how the City can do better next time and what can we change from a policy standpoint to allow us to do it better in the future. Mayor Herton commented the City Attorney was already looking into many of the suggestions and would be coming forward with some of the other development issues where we have strengthened some of the language in the development agreement and in the subdivision agreement. * * * Council recessed at 8:50 p.m. and reconvened at 9:15 p.m. * * * Councilmember Rindone requested to modify the recommendation to provide authorization of staff with the option to foreclose, but to pursue development agreement tentative map options prior to consideration of foreclosing on the bonds. Councilmember Moot added that we may want the City Attorney to communicate with them the wisdom of withdrawing their objection. Councilman Rindone believes both points should be included in the direction and he offered that as an amendment to those two points. Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 17 VOTE ON MOTION: Approved unanimously (5-0), as modified by Coundlmember Rindone. Council directed staff to create a database of St. Claire residents and to send them monthly status reports starting after next week's hearing in Santa Barbara. fiEMS PULLED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR Items pulled: 7. The minutes will reflect the published agenda order. OTHER BUSINESS 14. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT(S) a. Scheduling of meetings. Boards of Education. A tentative date for a joint meeting with the City Council and both Boards of Education for the City of Chula Vista was set for Tuesday, October 29. City Attorney. A tentative date of Monday, October 21 at 11:00 am. was scheduled for Council to interview the candidates for City Attorney. He indicated the recommended procedure was a modified assessment center where we could have at least one group exercise for all of the candidates, interviews by the City Council, and some review of people from the legal profession giving Council their legal perspective. He stated it was important for Council to make a commitment to review the candidates. To the extent any of the candidates were from out of the area, he further recommended to actually go into the community to get a better feel and understanding of that person's reputation within that community to help assess whether you wanted them to be the next City Attorney. Those were the general elements in terms of procedure that personnel staff recommended. Councilmember Moot said this was a much more drawn out timetable than he ever imagined it to be. He stated we closed applications on July 31 and now we were talking about doing a first round of interviews on October 21. He indicated his disappointment that it had taken this length of time to fill this important position, considering how tmderstaffedwewereandthetype~fth~ngsthatweren~tgettingtimeandattenti~nbecause~fthis~ He commented that we would lose candidates if we kept dragging this thing on, and people were going to rapidly lose interest in wanting to be our City Attorney. Councilmember Rindone asked Mr. Goss of his estimate of the number Council would be selecting from. Mr. Goss said there were 47 applicants and from what staff narrowed down and screened reference checks, them were at least 5, but maybe more, to consider. 15. MAYOR'S REPORT(S) a. Setting Council priorities. Continued to 10/1/96 meeting. b. Setting a future Council workshop on permit streamlining/business responsiveness/standards of service. Continued to 10/1/96 meeting. Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 18 16. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Alevv Councilmember Alevy asked Mr. Salomone to report at the next meeting on the new minor league baseball team coming to Chula Vista. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:55 p.m. to a closed session. CLOSED SESSION 17. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL REGARDING: 1. Existing litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9 ® Christopher vs. the City of Chula Vista. · SNMB, L.P. vs. the City of Chula Vista and MCA. 2. Anticipated litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9 · Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to subdivision Co) Section 54956.9: 1. ® Metro sewer issues. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE - Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957 PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RELEASE - Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957 CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATOR - Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6 Agency negotiator: John Goss or desiguee for CVEA, WCE, POA, IAFF, Executive Management, Mid-Management, and Unrepresented. Employee organization: Chula Vista Employees Association (CVEA) and Western Council of Engineers (WCE), Police Officers Association (POA) and International Association of Fire Fighters (1AFF). Unrepresented employee: Executive Management, Mid-Management, and Unrepresented. Minutes September 24, 1996 Page 19 18. REPORT OF ACTIONS TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION: None. Respectfully submitted, BEVERLY A. AUTHELET, CMC/AAE, City Clerk by: Patricia Schwenke, Deputy City Clerk