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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/20/16 CC AGENDA HIGHLIGHTSAGENDA HIGHLIGHTS � JANUARY 20, 2016 COUNCIL MEETING I�',' -;a REGULAR MEETING - 3:30 p.m. NOTE: A separate meeting will be called to order at 3:30 p.m., followed by Public Statements that will encourage comments pertaining to Closed Session matter(s) only. The Council will then recess into Closed Session. Upon conclusion of the Closed Session, any Closed Session action will be announced prior to adjournment of the meeting. At 5:15 p.m., the Regular Meeting will be called to order to address the remainder of the agenda items. CLOSED SESSION There will be a conference with legal counsel regarding one item of potential litigation and a conference with the labor negotiator. REGULAR MEETING - 5:15 p.m. WORKSHOPS Item 6a. Mid -Year Budget Update. Staff from the City Manager's Office and Finance Department will provide the City Council with a mid - fiscal year update on the City's budget. Due mainly to the record low oil prices, the City's sales and use tax revenue has been trending downward for the past 12 months. Sales and use tax is the largest revenue source of the City's General Fund, which funds core City services, such as Police, Fire, Streets and Parks. Staff is proposing multiple actions be taken to address the reduction in revenues. Staff will provide a presentation outlining the revenue trend information, as well as discuss in detail the proposed adjustments. CONSENT CALENDAR Agreements Item 8d. Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Bakersfield and Kern Delta Water District. In 2014, Governor Brown signed legislation into law which is commonly referred to as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The purpose of SGMA is to create a broad management system in the State of California by creating structure to manage groundwater at the local level, while providing authority to the State to oversee and regulate, if necessary, the local groundwater management system. SGMA requires the formation of locally - controlled groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) by June 1, 2017. Any local agency or combination of local agencies within a groundwater basin may elect to be a GSA for that basin or sub - basin. In anticipation and expectation of working together to form said GSA, staff is requesting the City of Bakersfield and Kern Delta Water District enter into a MOU which will result in the end of current litigation between the parties and pledges support and commitment as the GSA process moves forward. CONSENT CALENDAR PUBLIC HEARINGS Items 9b and c. General Plan Amendments. These items have been continued from the December 9, 2015 and January 6, 2016 meetings to allow staff time to address comments received by the public just prior to the items being brought forth the City Council in December. Staff has provided the response to those comments in the supporting documents within the agenda packet. The City's General Plan is a comprehensive long -term plan for the physical development of the City, commonly referred to as a blueprint for growth. Periodically, elements of the plan need to be updated for a variety of different reasons. Item 9b is a larger comprehensive update of the Housing Element of the City's General Plan. As a requirement of state law, the City must update the housing element in conjunction with certain actions taken by the Kern Council of Governments. The update process included public outreach through workshops, surveys and public hearings. In addition, the California Department of Housing and Community Development reviewed the update. The Housing Element update contains all of the information required by State law. Item 9c is proposing to update three elements of the plan to include language required by recently enacted state legislation. Staff is recommending the City Council approve the related resolutions for these updates. HEARINGS Item 10a. Hosking Avenue and State Route 99 Commercial Center. This item has been continued from the December 9, 2015 and January 6, 2016 meetings to allow staff time to address comments received by the public just prior to the items being brought forth the City Council in December. Staff has provided the response to those comments in the supporting documents within the agenda packet. The City is currently in the process of constructing a full interchange at Hosking Avenue and State Route 99, just west of a proposed commercial center. The interchange will provide a main point for access to this property upon development. The plans for the 86 -acre property includes a proposed 800,000- square foot retail shopping center, 240 hotel rooms, surface parking spaces and various other improvements in and around the proposed project site. The first item is a resolution certifying the environmental impact report for the project. The remaining items are related to certain land use and zone changes proposed for the site to allow for the development of the commercial center. The Planning Commission considered and approved the project by a unanimous vote, with no written or public comments in opposition. Staff is requesting the Council approve the related items. Item 10b. Public Hearing to consider General Plan Amendment /Zone Change on 4.96 acres located at the northwest corner of Castro Lane and Kingsley Lane. An appeal to the Planning Commission's denial of the General Plan Amendment and Zone Change request. The initial request to change the land use and zoning on this property was considered by the Planning Commission on December 3, 2015, with the Commission voting unanimously to deny the request. The applicant submitted an appeal to the Planning Commission's decision, which now comes to the City Council for review and decision. The applicant's initial request, if approved, would have permitted multi - family units to be constructed on the property. At the time of the Planning Commission hearing, several area residents of the surrounding neighborhood spoke in opposition of the project. These individuals cited concerns that the Agenda Highlights - January 20, 2016 Council Meeting Page 2 in multi - family development does not fit the existing residential neighborhood, among other concerns. Since the time the appeal was filed, an effort has been made to identify an alternative development scenario that would allow for reasonable development of the property while addressing the concerns of neighborhood residents. Staff is requesting the City Council leave the public hearing open and continue the hearing to the Council meeting of February 10, 2016, in order to hold further discussion on a potential compromise. Item 10c. Public Hearing Regarding an Appeal of the Planning Commission's Decision to Approve Modification of a Wall and Master Concept Plan to Install a 29.5 -foot tall Clock Tower. In February 2015, the Planning Commission approved a Wall and Landscape Master Concept Plan for the Highgate Seven Oaks community in southwest Bakersfield. Among its features, the plan included a single -pole, 18 -foot tall clock in the middle of one of several "roundabouts" within the community. In late 2015, Castle & Cooke requested a change to the design of the clock feature by substantially increasing the size and prominence of it to a 29.5 -foot tall, four -sided clock tower. In approving the modification, the Planning Commission approved the request for the new tower with a requirement that a 7 -foot wide apron surrounding the island be maintained and owned by the homeowners association. The apron is intended to accommodate vehicles navigating the roundabout, however pedestrians may also use it, incorrectly, as a sidewalk to view the clock tower. The applicant objects to owning and maintaining the apron, which is the basis for the appeal. Due to increased risk concerns, City staff believes it is not prudent for the apron area to be within the public street right -of- way area or maintained by the City. Staff is recommending the City Council deny the appeal and uphold the Planning Commission's decision to require the condition that the apron is to be owned and maintained by the homeowners association. Approved: Alan Tandy, City Manager CHfor AT cc: Department Heads City Manager's File City Clerk's File News Media File Agenda Highlights - January 20, 2016 Council Meeting Page 3 �J