Belmont Shore Residents Association
MINUTES
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
July 14, 2016
The meeting was called to order by President Terence Endersen at 6:00 pm. Executive Board Members Aileen Colon and Julie Dean as well as Treasurer Robert O'Connor were present. 24 additional BSRA members and visitors were present. Vice President Max Alavi and Executive Board member Ray Bradford were absent.
The Executive Board was unable to vote for the agenda for this meeting and the minutes of the June 09 meeting due to lack of a quorum.
Bay Shore Librarian Debi Vilander gave the library moment announcing:
The Summer Reading program has 70 adults, 180 kids and 25 teens signed up and reading. Last Friday alone, they had 150 participants. The library has been happily busy; one day last month they had 900 people walk through their door.
They thanked the BSRA for the annual “thank you for hosting the BSRA” donation and will be buying a button maker with those funds.
Please keep an eye on their schedule online at: http://www.lbpl.org/events/special_events_calendar.asp, as they have many programs, including discussions with local authors.
Also, a reminder that the first Saturday of each month is Craft & Movie day at 3pm at the library, free of charge AND they are open on Sundays from 12:00-4:00pm.
LBPD East Division Sgt Tim Olson provided the following update:
Third District Councilwoman Suzie Price discussed Measure A & B Funding and provided 3rd District updates:
Measure A Funds:
Treasurer’s Report:
All comments must be submitted in writing (by email or mail) to Craig Chalfant and must be provided to the City by Monday, September 19, 2016. Please provide email comments to [email protected]. Please submit mailed comments to:
Craig Chalfant, Senior Planner
City of Long Beach
333 West Ocean Boulevard, 5th Floor
Long Beach, CA 90802
More information is available at this website: http://www.lbds.info/seadip_update/
Hard copies of the Hearing Draft Specific Plan and DEIR and supporting documents are also available at the following locations:
New Business
Public Comment:
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm
Submitted by:
Julie Dean, Executive Board
MINUTES
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
July 14, 2016
The meeting was called to order by President Terence Endersen at 6:00 pm. Executive Board Members Aileen Colon and Julie Dean as well as Treasurer Robert O'Connor were present. 24 additional BSRA members and visitors were present. Vice President Max Alavi and Executive Board member Ray Bradford were absent.
The Executive Board was unable to vote for the agenda for this meeting and the minutes of the June 09 meeting due to lack of a quorum.
Bay Shore Librarian Debi Vilander gave the library moment announcing:
The Summer Reading program has 70 adults, 180 kids and 25 teens signed up and reading. Last Friday alone, they had 150 participants. The library has been happily busy; one day last month they had 900 people walk through their door.
They thanked the BSRA for the annual “thank you for hosting the BSRA” donation and will be buying a button maker with those funds.
Please keep an eye on their schedule online at: http://www.lbpl.org/events/special_events_calendar.asp, as they have many programs, including discussions with local authors.
Also, a reminder that the first Saturday of each month is Craft & Movie day at 3pm at the library, free of charge AND they are open on Sundays from 12:00-4:00pm.
LBPD East Division Sgt Tim Olson provided the following update:
- Sexual battery charge at Panama Joes where suspect put his hands on a woman he was dancing with. There might have been drugging involved.
- Use of force by ranting male, who was chased and locked himself into public bathroom where he lit something on fire and was then arrested for arson.
- Battery occurred where transient/suspect attacked victim by ramming them with his cart and then fled.
- In 100 block of Bennett, a pizza guy was robbed at gunpoint; all four suspects were arrested.
- A Burglary happened where suspect cut an L shape in a window screen, so it’s hard to tell the screen has been cut. This has been a trend, so do not leave windows or screen doors open or unlocked. In addition, do not leave garage doors or back doors open.
- Apartment building burglary occurred when laundry room door was pried open, washing machine coin box was broken into and all coins were stolen.
- An attached garage was left open and a bike was stolen.
- A locked garage was broken into; sunglasses, quarters and garage door opener were stolen from unlocked vehicle. Owners should immediately change garage opener code to avoid additional theft.
- People are desperate. A soft top Mercedes was cut into and $8 in coins were stolen. Sometimes if suspects see a phone charger, they make the assumption the phone might also be in the car. Remove from sight, anything of potential value or that will lure suspects to break into vehicle (bags, headphones, coins, phone charger).
- Suspect accessed attached garage and stole vehicle with keys and wallet; suspect then got into an accident and the vehicle was recovered.
- Resident Question: Bike thefts seem to be up. Police Answer: Residents ride up to business or bar, leave bike, take eyes off of it and bike is stolen. Suggest using Crypto lock to secure bike because Sgt has not seen a Crypto lock ever broken off.
- RQ: Suspicious behavior where bikes are left along Ocean Blvd and later picked up by a truck. How do the police know if they’re stolen? PA: Don’t always know right away, but call police if any odd or suspicious behavior is seen. Instincts are usually right.
- RQ: Where are the stolen bikes then sold? PA: Some are sold on Craigslist, to desperate college students, within their own group, on the street. Sometimes bikes are sold as is, sometimes they are chopped so that previous owners don’t recognize them.
- RQ: Crime rate going up or down? PA: There is a slight increase.
- RQ: Have observed group of transients on Ocean Blvd, during movie night or weekend events, charging people for parking. Called police.
- RQ: Owners in 200 block of Corona were hit with auto burglary 2 weeks in a row. Resident advised they were told by dispatch to not file report unless they were going to file with their insurance. Residents believe that “prisoner release” has caused increase in crime. It seems like prisoners talk a lot amongst themselves, especially about how easy it is to commit crime in Belmont Shore and maybe if we residents got creative they would be talking about Belmont Shore being too hard to steal from. PA: CA Prop 47 let many out of prison early. It also changed CA law to where some “non-serious, nonviolent crimes” are no longer considered a felony, but are now a misdemeanor. Yes, the criminal element does network. If merchandise stolen is valued under $950, crime is a misdemeanor. Criminals will still break windows, break down doors, etc. but a big step for residents is to look out for neighbors. Locking (house, car, garage) doors and windows helps. Talk with your neighbors, get to know the people on your street and be able to recognize their cars and houses and keep an eye out for lurkers.
- RQ: A few days ago at 9pm at night, the streetlights on the street of Corona from 2nd St to The Toledo were off (but other streetlights were on). Lights were off for 2 nights but are back on now. PA: Call 562-435-6711 or report on Long Beach GO app. Even calling 911 is ok because they’ll ask you if your call is an emergency.
- No further information regarding Argonne mother/daughter stolen laptop.
Third District Councilwoman Suzie Price discussed Measure A & B Funding and provided 3rd District updates:
Measure A Funds:
- Measure A passed in April; it will increase the local sales tax by 1% for the first 6 years and by .5% the last 4 years and then it’ll will end (10 years total). Funds will only go to public safety and infrastructure. Mayor and former mayors were very much pro-Measure A. This money will be very beneficial but especially to the 3rd District.
- Mayor Garcia will put together citizen advisory commission to ensure the Measure A money is spent appropriately. The funds will be tracked separately from other funds by two 3rd District commission members (two women who are conservative with spending).
- We currently have 3 police substations, but we’ll go back to 4, which will ease the East Division. We will possibly get 6-7 new officers plus some pulled from other Divisions. We will keep the police academy.
- Engine 8 will come back to the Fire Station in the Shore. The Mayor will announce his budget plan at Station 8 on Aug 1st. Currently response time to some areas of the city are double the national average; this will be alleviated once the funds are put into action.
- Just about every street in the Shore will be paved. Repaving streets includes curbs and gutters. As an example, Nieto from Colorado to Broadway costs $800,000 to repave. With Measure A city will put some money away for alley repaving. Will also see some money for sidewalks (especially due to tree damage). Belmont Shore will get the most infrastructure treatment. Bellflower Blvd and a portion of Studebaker also have a great repaving need. There is a rating procedure: Pavement Management Index, which rates and creates an order to pave the streets based on scientific analysis, identified severity and extent of cracks, documented condition, traffic density, pavement thickness, structural validity of street, etc.
- If any residents have a curb issues now, they should either add their info into the Long Beach GO app (very simple process) or call Suzie’s office.
- Resident Question: Is flood control in place? Councilwoman’s Answer: Citywide we’re investing a lot of money in flood control and water damage.
- Public Works Engineers work on potholes in alleys. If safety is an issue and it’s severe, it can be more easily fixed with special funds, while in some cases the residents have paid a portion of the costs. FYI, County Measure R funds Public Works.
- There are going to be an awful lot of measures on the November ballot. Measure R2 would be a tax that goes to the county but the city would get a portion of that money.
- Councilwoman Price believes that California Prop 47 has caused a rise in drug addiction because there’s no additional money for rehab. If someone is caught with heroin or meth, they’re arrested and charged with a misdemeanor and get 5 days in jail (which they usually only serve half of) or a 6 month rehab and probation program. Most folks take the jail time, so people are not being treated and the city is seeing petty thefts going up.
- According to the Councilwoman, for every legal marijuana dispensary there are 1-7 illegal dispensaries. As this occurs, the police will take longer to respond to residents and their issues if they’re wasting time on these illegal dispensaries. The city is being told that we cannot tax recreational marijuana.
- RQ: Will Measure A negatively impact the general fund? CA: No, we’ll get the same percentage of the general fund; Measure A is a supplement. Everyone across the board will see less of any funds because the city has a deficit.
- The city traffic engineering team completed a traffic study of Ocean Blvd. Ocean Blvd was designed for 25,000 cars per day, however less than 7000 cars per day (7000 is at the height of traffic) go down Ocean. The city has received hundreds of complaints about the speed of cars on Ocean Blvd. People travel faster on Ocean Blvd because it has wide travel lanes. The Traffic Engineer has concluded that a Road Diet should address the issues. The proposed plan will bring the eastbound side of Ocean (on the ocean/south side of the street) between Livingston and 54th Place from 2 lanes down to 1 lane; the full plan is one 11foot driving lane, one 6foot bike lane, a 2foot buffer zone and a 7foot area for diagonal parking spaces. This will increase parking spaces, widen the bike lane and create a buffer between them. The plan would yield 68% more parking or 158 new parking spots. During special events, the diagonal parking would be turned into a second driving lane. Diagonal parking will also be added on the south side of Ocean Blvd between 39th and 54th. The Ocean Blvd median will not be moved in any way as it is hardscaped.
- The Road Diet work will probably begin in the fall. The diagonal parking still needs to be approved. The north side of Ocean Blvd will be discussed after they see south side results.
- RQ: There was a 5 block back up last weekend during the special event. We suggest the city does a stress test in the summer. CA: Suzie will talk with the traffic engineer about the suggestions from the BSRA meeting.
- RQ: Can we get a flashing beacon at the Granada and Ocean crosswalk? CA: Paul Van Dyke is considering the Granada intersection.
- RQ: The traffic on Granada between 2nd St and The Toledo seems to have doubled. There is now a huge amount of traffic on Granada, often speeding, and many delivery trucks which cause the houses to vibrate. There are no speed limits signs and no weight limit signs, but there must be weight limitations, right? CA: The city requires that delivery trucks take a commercial route, not a residential route. The city has been trying to include parking provisions and route delivery provisions in regulations/contracts. Many of the businesses already follow these provisions. Please write Suzie with details of these misbehaviors (example: I saw a Budweiser truck at 10:42am Tuesday, June 14th). Suzie doesn’t know if there are weight limitations, but will look into it and the possibility of speed limit signs or painting speed limit on the street.
- RQ: What about making the south side of Ocean Blvd a beach parking lot thoroughfare? CA: Please talk to Paul Van Dyke to see if he thinks that idea would work.
- RQ: Why not bring both sides of Ocean down to one lane? Although, on the north side the city has to ensure car lights from diagonal parking wouldn’t shine into residences. CA: Preference is to proceed with caution. Wait until we have some data points. Make sure it works. We may not need more parking spots.
- RQ: Have lived on Santa Ana for 38 years. Road Diet is a fantastic idea because the traffic has increased over time. Alfredo’s Fred Khammar expects 1000’s of attendees some weekends for special events, which often causes residents to pay for parking because there was no street parking. CA: We have a lot of parking in the beach parking lots. The beach is a public asset for all to enjoy. Special Events have to be approved and conditions can be placed on them. Suzie will ask Tasha Day to meet with BSRA members to explain criteria. Suzie is doing everything in her power to improve parking and will hopefully create 158 new spaces with Ocean Blvd diagonal parking. Suzie is also working hard on a shuttle parking service from Alamitos Bay Marina Blvd parking lots to the Shore from employees and during special events. Additionally, there is a Parking Study being conducted and the results will be presented to the community in August probably at Bay Shore Church.
- Belmont Shore is the best performing business district in the city. The Pedestrian path brings more people to the beach than ever before.
- RQ: What about taking away meters in the parking lots? Make parking free? CA: Coastal commission has to weigh in on this because the meters are being enforced.
- City is working to create a special events hotline which would put you in contact with whoever is in charge of that event.
- The Belmont Veteran’s Pier is being painted; the entrance sign is white. They will put flags/banners honoring veterans at entrance to the pier. It will have a fresh look.
- Residents can pick up free mulch at Fire House 14, next to 3rd District local office.
- The drought is still severe but watering is now allowed 3 days a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Note: the city is still not allowed to water the medians. The city uses reclaimed water to water Long Beach parks.
- The SEASP EIR will release beginning of August (update: EIR has released and is ready for public comment, which must be emailed or mailed by beginning of September). The Planning Commission will conduct the next public meeting on the Draft Hearing EIR which is scheduled for 5 p.m. Aug. 18 in council chambers at City Hall, and public testimony will be accepted there. The plan includes maximum possible density; this does not mean every developer will implement the max density, but they could. The city planning department has had many meetings, created plan, looked at alternatives and accepted public comment throughout. The Draft EIR is now available for public comment; it will then move to city council who will vote on it. Suzie must remain neutral as she is a member of the Appealing Body. Suzie is sensitive to the residents’ concern with density and building heights. Residents must make their concerns known by commenting on the EIR. They have less than 45 days to respond at this point.
- City Homelessness Resource Session will be held at the 3rd District community meeting at Seaport Marina Hotel at 530pm on July 27th. Officer Dodson will discuss his role and city solutions.
Treasurer’s Report:
- Balance: $3356
- Renew PO Box at $100/6 months; voted on and approved by Executive Board.
- Board member Julie Dean attended the 3rd District community meeting regarding SEASP, including 2nd & PCH and how it will impact residents. Will discuss at August meeting.
The Hearing Draft of the EIR is now available for residents to review & provide feedback on.
Please go to the following link for the SEASP Hearing DEIR:
http://www.lbds.info/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=5945
All comments must be submitted in writing (by email or mail) to Craig Chalfant and must be provided to the City by Monday, September 19, 2016. Please provide email comments to [email protected]. Please submit mailed comments to:
Craig Chalfant, Senior Planner
City of Long Beach
333 West Ocean Boulevard, 5th Floor
Long Beach, CA 90802
More information is available at this website: http://www.lbds.info/seadip_update/
Hard copies of the Hearing Draft Specific Plan and DEIR and supporting documents are also available at the following locations:
- City of Long Beach, Development Services Department, 5th Floor, 333 West Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90802
- Main Library, 101 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90822
- Bay Shore Neighborhood Library, 195 Bay Shore Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90803
New Business
- None
Public Comment:
- None
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm
Submitted by:
Julie Dean, Executive Board