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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996 - MINUTES - 4/30/19960069 CITY OF PALM SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 30, 1996 An Adjourned Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Springs, California, was called to order by Mayor Kleindienst, in the Council Chamber, 3200 Talrquitz Canyon Way, on Wednesday, April 30, 1996 at 4:00 p.m. ' ROLL CALL: Present Councilmembers Barnes, Spurgin, and Mayor Kleindienst Absent Councilmembers Hodges and Oden entered during the meeting. The meeting was opened with the Salute to the Flag, and a moment of silence. REPORT OF POSTING OF AGENDA: City Clerk reported that the agenda was posted in accordance with Council procedures on April 26, 1996. PUBLIC HEARINGS: SECTION 20 - MID -VALLEY PARKWAY RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION Recommendation: That lire Council conduct public hearing to determine public interest and necessity regarding acquisition of property for the Mid -Valley Parkway in Section 20; and other matters related thereto. (Note: This item was held after the remainder of the agenda was concluded. to await attendance by Councilmembers (lodges and Oden, who entered as noted. A fidl transcript of the proceedings is on file with the City Clerk.) Transportation/A.D. Grants Manager reviewed various meetings since 1991 with tire (123- Engineering Consultant, representatives of the Tribal Council, its Planning Commission, 020 ) others, and the public advisory committee; that the project is primarily a Measure AA funded project, and that CVAG is the lead agency, with the City of Palm Springs as lead agency on its behalf for the construction of the west end of the project; that funding was ' approved in June, 1995, and design contract let in July, as well as contract for appraisal services Lipton, Stevens, Marshall and Thene, who were selected based on Tribal preference for Tom Marshall of the firm, who worked with the tribe on prior project, and who was recognized by them as a good appraiser; and that requests for title reports were made in August, 1995, for which only the fee land was received in September, 1995, and the appraisals completed in January, 1996. He explained that the title reports on the Indian -owned land were not received until February, 1996, and the appraisal completed in raid -March, 1996, followed by the City's first offer on March 25; that bids were advertised for construction on April 15, and award of contract is scheduled for June 5, with an effort to beat the June 30 deadline imposed by the State, after which time the SB300 funds associated with part of the project costs will no longer be available. In answer to question by City Attorney, he slated that the Stale funding represents about 25% of the $15 million project costs; that there is no possibility of extended State funding; and that it was his understanding that neither Palm Springs nor Cathedral City have the funds needed to supplement such a lost amount of funding, and the project would not be able to go forward. He also read in full Section 3 of the proposed resolution, describing the purpose of the project, and making findings that the public interest and necessity require the project; that the environmental documents looked at different routes, and after several years of research, this route was the preferred route by all entities; that if Ramon Road were used, it would require widening to 8-10 lanes to accommodate the added traffic; that Mesquite was selected, which [lie precise alignment might vary to one side or the other, but the Tribal comments were favorable in that Mesquite is shown on the General Plan, and its relationship was maintained; that the General Plan and the traffic ' volume seem to coincide; that no right-of-way beyond the 88-ft (also shown on the General Plan) is being requested, except where roadway elevation requires a slope, and a slope easement is needed, which after future development, may no longer be required. 0070 Council Minutes 4-30-96, Page 2 1. SECTION 20 - MID -VALLEY PARKWAY R1GH'T-017-WAY ACQUISITION (Cont'd) City Attorney reported that the resolution contained information necessary for the Council to make its decision; additionally, that the Planning Commission is required to determine that the project is consistent with the General Plan, it did make that finding. He stated that importance of protecting Indian rights and the Indian sovereignty of the land, is recognized, and there is a reluctance to recommend condemnation of allotted land; and a means of coordinating all of dris and figuring out a way to advert condemnation has been on -going, and there has been some success in that regard, but everything is not yet in place, so it is necessary to recommend going forward with condemnation, but with the understanding that if these other things come together over the next month, it would be a very simple matter to dismiss the condemnation action. He stated that the intent of going through the condemnation action is to get an order of prejudgment possession, which will meet the State requirements in order to acquire the funding; that there have been a number of conversations exploring ideas to prevent condemnation, and the one which seems to have the most viability at the moment is that a Development Agreement with the Allottees, which is authorized under the California Government Code and allows the City to commit to certain land uses on die property, and certain time periods for processing projects, and other matters, and is binding upon future Councils; and he was prepared to continue negotiating with the Allottees, through their counsel, to try to work out a development agreement so that whatever action the Council stook at this point, it will not prevent proceeding with that negotiation. He stated that there has also been discussion concerting entering into an arbitration agreement that would basically provide that submittal to an arbitrator, the issue of what the value of the property is, which would be a binding arbitration, and if that can be worked out, the City would be prepared to dismiss the condemnation action, and go forward with the arbitration agreement. He also stated that the Council authorized sending the appraisals to Sacramento BIA, in an effort to see if something could be worked out before this date; that the ;Sacramento BIA official who looked at the appraisals on the past Friday found some Brings he was dissatisfied with, but neither he nor Mr. Urland are certain what the reasons are, however, whatever the reason, the appraisal was not approved, so at this point in time, there is not an agreement, and although he was prepared to move forward on both agreements, because of the condemnation procedures, and the need for the order for possession, and importance of the project and the potential for loss of funding, he recommended going forward with condemnation, with the clear understanding as noted. In answer to question by Council, City Attorney slated that the understanding was that if the BIA approved the appraisals, (hen it would negotiate two agreements - the arbitration agreement, and the development agreement; that the appraisals have not been approved, but once that is accomplished the arbitration agreement should not be that difficult; that there are substantive differences regarding the development agreement, principally how to approve land uses in Section 20, and the Allottees' position being that it does not wish to use the current process and prefers to go direct to the Tribal Council; if agreement is not reached to prevent the condemnation, then it would proceed - the first issue being possession of the property, and the second being the price - both issues are separated in the litigation; that if the allottee challenged the right of possession, and won in court, the effect would be to lose die project; that if the possession is obtained, and the price is litigated, it would be determined by the court, but the project could still proceed. Councilmember Spurgin stated that the public should be aware that the City has made every effort to do this right; that an appraiser was selected who was on the Tribal list, in an attempt to be able to expedite things, by getting am appraiser that the Tribe agreed upon; that she was surprised to hear that the Sacramento BIA did not accept it, because it was the City's intent to try to get it so that would happen. Karl Urland, attorney representing the eight affected allotments, concurred that counsel on both sides of the issue have attempted to reach an agreement, and he urged) that the council authorize the City Attorney to provide whatever it is that the Sacramento appraiser needs, so the report meets Federal standards; that he agreed arbitration is an excellent idea, but it cannot be agreed to unless or until there is an appraisal accepted by the BIA which would serve as the "floor" for the arbitration; that all Allottees are ready to do so, and are prepared to not be difficult on the situation; that arbitration will save both the City and the Allottees a considerable sum of litigation costs and achieve the final solution (12-3- 020) 00 71. Council Minutes 4-30-96, Page 3 SECTION 20 - MID -VALLEY PARKWAY RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION (Cont'd) much quicker; that the basic disagreement rests with the development agreement; that the Allottees' position on that was confirmed in a meeting the past week with the City Attorney, and while negotiations are for such purpose, the issue of architectural review is a "hot button" for the Allottees, and he wished to call that to the Council's attention. Charles Duke, attorney for Darlene Diaz -Ruiz (sp7) Sanchez, noted the following: 1) There is a basic question as to what the appraiser utilized to determine the value of the property as it relates to Ms. Diaz, and thus far he has never seen the appraisal, and thinks it would be helpful, so he can determine if he believes it is fair and reasonable, or if he thinks another appraiser is needed, or some other action. 2) There is a mistake in the offer submitted to Arthur Diaz, although he is not his attorney, but the City may want to have its property office re-examine the offer for $500 as part of Parcel No. 680-180-005, because he has reason to believe that there must have been some type of arithmetic mistake when compared to the other offers; and 3) The land use issues that Mr. Urland spoke about, fits in very closely with his own previous appearance before the City Council, in as much as his client's property would be included in any land use agreements, specifically the Knutson Tract, and the City would derive great benefit to put the Knutson Tract into the proposed land use agreement because it would make it a lot easier when the subleases are under control; and his client is taking active legal action with regard to the subleases on the Knutson Tract at the present time. Bud Robbins, Economic Development Officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Palm Springs, 555 S. Palm Canyon Drive, representing the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Allottees that are not otherwise represented at the hearing, expressed concurrence with Mr. Urland's continents, and added that one of the land owners has already accepted in its entirety, and formally provided the City with the properly executed documents, the offer on their property; that none of the Indian landowners are adverse to the Mid -Valley Parkway concept as Mr. Urland stated, but they have other issues with the City regarding their individually -owned properties, which have been brought to the attention of the City a number of limes to date, which the City Attorney has referred to. He stated that he did not believe their appraiser was given an adequate amount of time to study the appraisal report, which consisted of about two hundred pages, and did not receive it until late the afternoon of April 25, with request that it be reviewed in its entirely by April 26; that the BIA has formal processes which it goes through, and the local office does not have any authority to review the appraisal, nor authorized people to do so, therefore, it was sent to Sacramento, and that's the starting point where the property values are concerned; that once that issue is resolved, that portion can move forward; that one concern of Sacramento was whether the report complied with Federal statutes and not just State statutes; that the appraiser who did the appraisal knows what is needed, but it was the City who hired him, and the appraisal was done for the benefit of the City; also the review appraiser does not review an appraisal unless it is provided in its entirety to him, which was not the case; that he was certain these matters can be worked out, but thought a little more time is needed for review. In answer to question by Council, City Attorney stated that the local BIA office used its influence, and advised him that if the Sacramento office could receive it by March 25, that it could be reviewed by March 26; however, he felt there just was not enough time to accomplish the review; that he received a copy of the Allottee who has evidently signed the acquisition agreement, which he only just received, and if it is adequate in form, then the City will be able to execute it, and move forward and drop the parcel from the ' condemnation process. Mayor slated that points raised indicate there is no argument whether there should be a Mid -Valley Parkway, nor its alignment, rather there are issues outside of the condemnation issue —issues based on development agreements, architectural review, and a series of other concerns that are not really a part of the condemnation action, but are concerns which can be negotiated outside of that action; that a long and lengthy process was developed for an on -going line of communication between all parties, and in particular, having Ray Patencio involved was of great assistance; that there has been discussion on -going at the City Council level and Tribal Council level as well, with a (123- 020) 0072 Council Minutes 4-30-96, Page 4 SECTION 20 - MID -VALLEY PARKWAY RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION (Com'd) number of joint meetings on this issue; that there has been due diligence and the homework has been done, unfortunately the point in time has come, based on a very short remaining timeline, where action needs to be taken; that the proposed action does not determine the price of the land, rather it will be determined by the court, and the City's action is to authorize the condemnation proceedings. Councilmember Barnes stated that it is important that the community in general, as well as the Tribe and the Allottees, understand how hard the Council has been working at trying to make this work for everyone; that everybody wants the Mid -Valley Parkway and the Council is just as anxious as anyone to make sure it is fain' to everybody; that he would not favor condemnation if it were not for the timing issue of losing the funding and the project, which will be a good project, and will benefit the entire valley, the Allottees who have land in the area; that it is a shame that it had to come to where a condemnation action is necessary, but it is time to move forward with it; that he, personally, will do everything he can to continue to work for the Allottees and the Tribe to work out the agreements needed to make it right for everyone. Resolution 18820, as recon mended, was presented; after which, it was moved by Spurgin, seconded by Barnes, and unanimously carried, that R18820 be adopted. PUBLIC COMMENTS: a) The following persons spoke in support of Item 3: Frank Purcell, representing Palm Springs Now Economic Development Corp, (051- 090 Jim Jones, Desert Homeowners Association. LEGISLATIVE ACTION: 2. TAXI REGULATORY IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENT On April 17, 1996, the Council continued review and recommendations concerning the implementation agreement with the Sutiline Services Group for taxi regulatory activities, pending further committee action and City Attorney analysis, A3660. City Manager reported that the subcommittee of the Council has been meeting, and held an open meeting with the taxicab drivers to review with them taxi activities and the taxi (143- and bus regulations of Sardine; that lie recommended the Council participate in the 005 ) proposed implementation agreement, with clarification that the City would be in a position to regulate alternate transportation activities. Conncilrnernber Oden entered during City Attorney comments. Director of Transportation reported receipt of letter from Sunline, copy provided to Council, giving an administrative interpretation which provides the clarification referred to by the City Manager. City Attorney reported that this matter had been deferred in order to look at shuttle and short haul services; that in meeting with Sutiline, an amendment was requested; that the existing agreement discusses alternative transportation, which Smrline has the right to regulate, and also that the City repeal the ordinance was not consistent with Sunline's regulatory power; that the question was what that exactly meant, and if Sardine could regulate alternate transportation, could that interfere with the City's ability to regulate short haul and shuttle service; that it was not the intent of Sardine to interfere with that and therefore an amendment was suggested; that staff concluded that since the proposed agreement has been in process for the past year, it should be processed, and an amendment would mean that every member would have to approve it, which lead to the administrative determination referred to. He stated that Smiline staff could claange the administrative interpretation, therefore, it is not as effective as an actual amendment. 00'7.3 Council Minutes 4-30-96, Page 5 2. TAXI REGULATORY IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENT (Cont'd) In answer to question by Council, City Attorney stated that the agreements provide that each member is responsible for its share of any debt of the authority; that he did not expect any liability to be incurred right now; that a 4/5 vote is required to approve its budget; and there is the same Su li ne staff commitment that it covers itself, but that is not clear in the agreement. Mayor staled that there is a $190,000 Surdine surplus, and this transfer to the SSG is a bookkeeping transfer; and that there is a 30-day cancellation period. Comtcilmember Spiugin slated the she has been leery about the transfer since the beginning, and after the subcommittee meeting with the drivers,she felt it best to approve the implementation agreement, however, after hearing the City Attorney's comments, she did not want just a staff interpretation on anything; that her interest is in the short hauls and that is not specifically presented in the document, and she would not vote for its approval. City Attorney staled that he felt the administrative language works and deals with the alternate transportation situation the Council wishes to address, but does not specifically (143- address the issue of "administrative interpretation." 005) In answer to question by Council, City Manager stated that the taxicab drivers' reactions were mixed, some felt Sunline regulation was acceptable, and other did not; that more felt they did not want to duplicate regulations at both ends of the Valley; that short hauls are an issue, mainly from the Airport to hotels Airport; and that there was a desire to look at this topic separately, which is what caused the administrative interpretation. Councilmember Spurgin stated that the drivers felt there were too many taxicabs, and the short haul often was after waiting in line at the Airport, only to get a short fare, and then have to re-enter the waiting line at the Airport. Mayor stated that if the implementation agreement is not approved, there will be no regulatory document in place. Minute Order 5730, approving the agreement, as recommended, was presented; after which, it was moved by Barnes, seconded by Kleindienst, and carried by the following vote, that MO5730 be adopted: AYES: Barnes, Oden & Kleiudienst NO: Spurgin ABSENT: Hodges 3. CUSTOMS & OFFICE OF PROTOCOL Recommendation: That the Council approve a Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Palm Springs and United States Customs Service authorizing the City Manager to execute all documents on behalf of the City to effectuate the establishment of user fee (051- airport status and the submittal of a user fee customs application to the Commissioner of 090 ) Customs and Ports Director for U.S. Customs Services at Palm Springs Regional Airport. Office of Protocol: City Manager reported that the staff was not prepared to make a specific recommendation, however, if the Council wished to look into it more, lie requested that direction be provided; and noted that such an office would provide a means by which counsul generals would have an office to provide data about visiting dignitaries, and the appropriate meetings which would stem therefrom. Mayor stated that such an office is an opportunity to have dialogue and set up business meetings, and is more sophisticated than an international chamber of commerce; and that it also affords exchanges in cultures and traditions. 00'74 Council Minutes 4-30-96, Page 6 3. CUSTOMS & OFFICE OF PROTOCOL (Continued) Consensus: Staff to proceed with the concept. Customs Officer: Mayor slated he would abstain on this matter, and turned the meeting over to the Mayor pro tem. Asst. Director of Transportation/Aiiport Manager noted that this matter was reviewed in detail at recent study session, and a memorandum of agreement is recommended with the U.S. Government, which will result in utilization of die existing mobile writ for a customs officer, at $100,000 the first year, and approximately $75,000 the second; that there have been no changes since the last meeting, and staff has been working closely with the U.S. Department of Customs and the remaining elements for submittal of the application are at the completion stage. She noted a minor correction to the map exhibit, to reflect the fence line around die Air Museum. Councilmember Hodges entered during the above comments. Minute Order 5731 as recommended, was presented; after which, it was moved by Barnes, seconded by Hodges, and unanimously carried, Kleindienst abstaining, that MO5731 be adopted. RATIFICATION OF EMERGENCY WORK AUTHORIZATION Recommendation: That the Council ratify an emergency work authorization to Southern Pacific Railroad for undetgrounding of signal lines in an amount not to exceed $40,000. City Manager reviewed details of the memorandum of the Director of Transportation. Minute Order 5732 as recommended, was presented; after which, it was moved by Hodges, seconded by Spurgin, and unanimously carried, that MO5732 be adopted. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business at 5:20 p.m., Mayor declared the meeting adjourned to a Closed Session (Personnel Evaluation of City Manager aid City Attorney); and upon reconvening, declared the meeting adjourned, followed by a workshop. i 7 JUDlTH SUMICH City Clerk (143•- 006)