City Council Review - Feb 20

Tuesday night we went until 11 pm, largely due to the public comments. We had more than a dozen speakers in the Public Comments section, and another dozen during the Boys and Girls Club agenda item. In addition nearly a dozen people asked questions using Facebook Live. We exceeded the amount of time normally given for public comment, but it was my feeling that residents needed to be heard. With an already busy agenda, and nearly one-and-a-half hours of public comment, the meeting was a long one.

NO-KILL SHELTER

The Council voted 5-0 to explore

• Partnering with one of the existing shelters (e.g., Irvine, Mission Viejo, Laguna Beach).
• Establishing a joint venture with cities looking to establish a no-kill animal shelter (e.g., Costa Mesa, San Juan Capistrano).
• Establishing our own local shelter, using the County for some services (e.g., animal control).
• Establishing our own local shelter without using any County services.
• Communicating with the County Director of Community Services our desire to participate in the selection of the new Director.
  
• Communicate with the County Director of Community Services our desire to participate in an independent “Oversight” Committee

Bear in mind when Councilman Adam Nick and I proposed this same project it was defeated 3:2, but now it succeeds by a 5:0 margin. We've come a long way.

TRAFFIC COMMISSION

Another issue supported by Councilman Nick and I and defeated in past years was also passed 5:0 by this Council. We decided to

• Create a Traffic and Parking Commission.
• Replace the 2nd meeting of the Planning Commission with this new Commission
• Information and applications for being appointed to this Commission will go out no later than March 12 with a return date of March 30.
• In addition to other duties, job description will include attending at least one City event per month
• City Council will review any reports from the Planning Commission, the original traffic-related mission to the Planning Commission from the Council, and create a new mission statement that will accompany the job description. Mayor Gardner and Col. Tom Cagley to form a sub-committee to draft the mission statement and get to City Council by March 6.

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB

The Council voted to proceed with allowing the Boys and Girls Club to build a 2400 sf clubhouse and an adjacent parking lot on the grounds of El Toro Park, subject to conducting public hearings and performing due diligence. Request from the Boy Scouts to use this same space was rejected. Request from a Veterans group was also rejected.

PARKING

Nearly a dozen people from one of our neighborhoods came to the Council and complained about the parking problems which they believe are exacerbated by a nearby Apartment complex. They asked the Council to re-consider their request for permit parking since they achieved a 71% compliance which was nearly the 75% required. The Council voted to proceed with the re-consideration.

MAYOR'S COMMENTS

Because I knew we were going to have a long meeting I postponed, once again, my "Incoming Mayor Comments". I anticipate that the next few meetings will also be long, as we have a lot of catching up to do. Hence I will abandon my plans to speak and instead will put my comments on The Patch. Next week I will start a 5-part series talking about what we've done so far and what I plan for the future.

On April 11 the Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a "State of the City" address. For more information Click Here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His Twitter handle is @DrJimGardner. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a town hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be in June at the Lake 1 Clubhouse (Ridge Route).