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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/20/2006 B A K E R S F I E L D Zack Scrivner, Chair Staff: Alan Christensen Sue Benham For: Alan Tandy, City Manager David Couch AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, June 20, 2006 - 1:00 p.m. City Manager's Conference Room, Suite 201 Second Floor- City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 1. ROLL CALL Called to Order at 1:03 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Zack Scrivner, Chair; Sue Benham; and David Couch 2. ADOPT MAY 16, 2006 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Review and Committee recommendation on 2006 Legislative Platform Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen provided an overview of the information in the Committee packet. The Legislative Platform is a policy document the Council updates and adopts annually. It provides guidelines for legislation the Council would like to support. The Committee reviewed the draft update provided by staff in the Committee packet and recommended the following changes to the Legislative Platform: Under GENERAL POLICY STATEMENTS add the following: SUPPORT LEGISLATION .WHICH ENSURES A GOOD, CLEAN, HIGH-QUALITY WATER SUPPLY. LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE Page 2 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Tuesday, June 20, 2006 Under QUALITY OF LIFE add the following: SUPPORT LEGISLATION WHICH ENSURES THAT KERN RIVER WATER REMAINS IN THE AREA, AND OPPOSE EFFORTS TO EXPORT IT OUT OF THE COUNTY OF KERN. Committee Member Sue'Benham made a motion to recommend the above changes and to forward the 2006 Legislative Platform to the City Council. The Committee unanimously approved the motion. 5. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. Review and Committee recommendation on City Annexation Policy Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen provided an update. Last year staff brought to the Committee a recommendation to modify and streamline the current annexation policy. This request was based upon the length of time it took for the City's most recent inhabited annexations where the residents wanted to come into the City. Changes to State Law have placed the legal responsibility for the annexation process and hearings with the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). LAFCO has now put their policies in place, which also add to the timeline. The draft documents prepared by Barbara Fields, Barbara Fowler and Becky Kaiser were also included in the Committee packet. Staff expressed the changes they are proposing will add processes requiring additional staff time and lengthening the timelines for the pre-annexation process. City Attorney Ginny Gennaro gave an opinion from a legal prospective, which did not agree with staff's request to streamline the process. The recommendation of the City Attorney's Office was that Resolution 092-02 be repealed in its entirety and not considered for modification. Any policy the City Council adopts that extends beyond the requirements of State law affords the potential for litigation should any of the steps be missed--regardless of intent. The City Attorney stated to her knowledge other cities in California simply follow State law. State law no longer requires cities to have responsibility in the pre.- annexation process. LAFCO is now responsible and all of the public hearings and noticing requirements originate with LAFCO. The City Council would still have State law to guide the City, as well as the Annexation Mission Statement and Council Goals and Policies. Having a written resolution (policy) other than State law leaves the City open for a disgruntled person to perceive the City did not follow its policy and file a lawsuit. Barbara Fields, Barbara Fowler, and Becky Kaiser spoke in support of their proposed policy and related documents, and in opposition to the City's policy. LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE Page 3 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Tuesday, June 20, 2006 Committee Member Sue Benham spoke in support of community involvement. However, as the City Attorney gives excellent advice, Committee Member Benham made a motion to support the recommendation of the City Attorney and expressed the City should not overlay State law with a local policy, and the City's policy should be to follow State law. City Manager Alan Tandy explained following State law does not preclude the Councilmember for the area from requesting staff to set up public meetings and provide information for the residents in the proposed annexation area. Committee Member David Couch expressed he would not want to go forward with any policy until the Chief Officer of LAFCO provided his opinion on the City having a pre-annexation policy. He would like staff to provide the Committee with LAFCO's policy for a comparison with the City's policy. Committee Member Sue Benham withdrew her motion and requested staff to check with LAFCO and requested the City Attorney to confirm that Bakersfield is unique with its policy and also that it does overlay State law even if the time frames are different. Committee Member Sue Benham expressed perhaps the advocacy from the County residents should be directed toward State law and LAFCO if current law does not protect residents in the annexation process. Committee Member David Couch asked for a change in the Annexation Mission Statement. On bullet four, change "will be in the most honorable" to "will be in an honorable." Committee Chair Zack Scrivner asked staff to research the requested information and bring it back to the Committee. 6. COMITTEE COMMENTS 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:10 p.m. Staff: City Manager Alan Tandy; Assistant City Manager Alan Christensen; City Attorney Ginny Gennaro; Police Captain Tim Taylor; City Clerk Pam McCarthy; and Assistant City Clerk Roberta Gafford Others present: Fred Hupp; Barbara J. Fields; Barbara Fowler; Becky Kaiser; Erin Kaiser; George Martin, Attorney at Law; and David Burger, reporter, The Bakersfield Californian cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council S:~AC\06 Legislative&Litigation\LL 06 jun 20 summary.doc