Belmont Shore Residents Association
MINUTES EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
March 12, 2015
The meeting was called to order by President Terence Endersen at 6:00 pm. The other members of the Executive Board present were: Aileen Colon, Julie Dean, Dick Gaylord, David "Coach" Newell, Sara Schumacher, Vice President Max Alavi and Treasurer Robert O'Connor. Secretary Jeff Miller was absent. 43 additional BSRA members and visitors were present.
Bay Shore Librarian Debi Gurley-Vilander announced that over 500 people attended the initial Sunday Opening and each Sunday since has also been busy. People are very happy about the Sunday hours.
The agenda for this meeting was approved and the minutes of the February 12th meeting were approved.
Our new LBPD East Division Commander Liz Griffin, a 22 year veteran, introduced herself and expressed her interest in working closely with the community and continuing the level of service provided by prior Commander Paul LeBaron. LBPD East Division Lieutenant Jeff Liberman who works the 3pm-1am shift, provided details of some recent crime incidents and noted the continuing problem of unlocked doors and windows as a primary factor in the case of many residential burglaries. One residential cat burglary (while the victim was home) occurred during the daytime of February 22nd on Nieto. The cat burglar entered through an unlocked rear door and took the victim’s wallet and car key and went on a buying spree. The suspect went to establishments with good CCTV systems (video surveillance), so these incidents will likely result in arrest. In early March, on a Monday at 3am, a young lady on Quincy was detained in her bed with a blanket held over head while the criminal took some property. The criminal entered through an open window. The victim was not otherwise physically assaulted. Detectives are working on the case. 3 vehicles were stolen last month and all were recovered within the area; they were probably used for joyrides. Devices exist that are able to determine car lock codes and unlock car doors; which might be a method of entry of some of these vehicles. One LBPD division will be initiating a police officer body camera pilot program within a year. There are some potential issues with body cameras on police officers: some civilians don’t want body cameras because they don’t want to be taped; it needs to be determined when cameras will be turned on; etc. There are bills regarding this topic moving through the legislature.
The guest speakers were John McKeown from Synergy Oil & Gas and Thienan Pfeiffer from Glenn Lukos Associates who gave an interesting presentation about the Consolidated Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project. Mr. McKeown was initially hired to run the Bixby A Lease which was formerly run by LCW whose principal owners/operators were killed in a plane crash. The LCW field had been run by 3rd parties and neglected for years. Drilling of oil in the area of the Los Cerritos Wetlands has been going on since the 20’s and yet, only 7-8% has been depleted. There are 200 million barrels of additional oil at that location. Mr. McKeown sees this property as a precious resource and envisions a quiet wetlands. His goals are to preserve the open area/wetlands, allow access/use by the public and to remove oil operations from the wetlands area north of 2nd Street and to see the Wetlands restored. It is an expensive plan. One objective is to create a mitigation bank where Synergy Oil & Gas can sell mitigation credits to fund the Wetland restoration. He is working with Glenn Lukos Associates who specialize in Wetlands delineation, Fed vs State and employ restoration ecologists. They are well on the way to a mitigation/restoration project which would create trails and allow for visitors.
The $6M restoration plan’s goal is to enhance and restore all wetlands, including Steamshovel Slough, and provide a visitor’s center and parking lot with public access to designated pedestrian trails. The proposed plan is to consolidate oil activities, relocate oil operations (office and maintenance storage) offsite and consolidate oil production from 152 acres to approximately 10 acres at two sites. Two pumping sites are required because the Newport-Inglewood fault, runs right through the property. There is oil on both sides of fault and oil operations cannot run through the fault. There are currently 58 operating wells. 97% of the pipeline is inactive. The 1st proposed new oil operation site is at the 5 acre parcel owned by Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority at the NE corner of 2nd & Studebaker. This would be to gather oil NE of the fault. The 2nd site is the current Pumpkin Patch parcel located east of PCH near the Seal Beach border. This would be to gather oil SW of the fault. The Pumpkin Patch is only non-Wetlands parcel connected to the property and is owned by Lyon Communities. It’s also proposed that a state of the art oil facility (oil storage/well cellars) and a new corporate office and parking would be built at this location.
There were a number of steps/timelines proposed:
Step#1 (10/2014-2/2018) Remove non-native vegetation: Some invasive, non-native trees (fan palms) have already been removed. They worked with the Audubon Society and every tree was checked for nests. Some trees were left for potential nests, but eventually all trees will be removed.
Step#2: (3/2018-9/2019) Remove 95% of the above ground pipelines & tanks: As wells are removed, that area will be free for restoration. Target of 2019-2020 to create a storage facility @ The Pumpkin Patch parcel.
Step#3: (2020-2023) Complete Wetlands Restoration in the upper 76 acres and continue Wetlands Restoration in the southern 72 acres: In Steamshovel Slough an earthen material was used to create a berm which shut off the tides which has degraded the area. The plan is to bring back the habitat that was there before, not to introduce anything new. Propose to deed the property to Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority (LCWA).
Answers to questions from audience members:
They do not frack and do not intend to frack.
No plans for a marina.
Suggestion made to keep a few old wells for nostalgic reasons, possibly at Visitor’s Center.
Suggestion for security.
Regarding the issue with SEADIP, the Coastal Commission and City of Long Beach are in communications. The Coastal Commission has the ultimate decision-making authority for the Wetlands.
33 acres south of 2nd Street and East of The Marketplace shopping center will not be addressed as they are owned by City of Long Beach.
BSRA President Terry Endersen attended the last BSBA meeting and gave an update based on information he gathered there. The BSBA is putting up signs asking people to remove their dog waste. “Roar in the Shore” will be Wednesday, April 15, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm on 2nd Street between Corona & Covina. There will be Grand Prix drivers giving autographs, race car simulators and motorcycle stunts. Angelo’s Italian Deli will be expanding to 2nd Street, taking over the former Phuket Thai location.
Julie Maleki from 3rd District Councilwoman Suzie Price’s office covered the following items:
* The repave of Ocean Blvd. from Bay Shore to Livingston is scheduled to begin March 16. They will be putting in a bike lane and narrow travel lanes. Although once considered, there will not be diagonal parking on the street. UPDATE from Suzie Price March 27th: The Ocean Boulevard repave project has been postponed. Based on Biologists’ recommendations, construction activities have the probability of creating disturbance or disruptions during nesting season in trees that are located along Ocean Boulevard therefore this project will resume at a later date and not earlier than the fall. Based on this information, the permits that have been issued are not valid. Please do not use them in the Beach lots as citations will be issued. Regular parking on Ocean Boulevard will resume later this afternoon once all signs have been removed and the regular street sweeping schedule will resume next week.
* Councilwoman Suzie Price will be holding an informational meeting on Monday, March 30th at 5:30 PM at the Third District Field Office (340 Nieto Avenue) to discuss the process involved with the City possibly acquiring the Roe property (5374 East 2nd Street) to develop a public parking lot and/or structure. This proposal is very preliminary and has not been publicly vetted. The only thing that has been determined by the City's Development Services Department is that the Roe property is zoned for this type of use (public parking lot and/or structure).
* Kristina Duggan is working on setting up additional dog waste bag dispensers.
* Dog Beach delineators should be put in at Rosie’s Dog Beach in the very near future, as the city has received the okay from Coastal Commission.
* Councilwoman Price wants to hear feedback from residents before May regarding Medical Marijuana dispensaries, allowing for two per District. Councilwoman Price is hosting if you plan to attend. Please visit the following link for details.a Small Business Workshop with guest speaker, renowned author Olga Mizrahi, on Tuesday March 31st from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The workshop is completely free and open for everyone to attend and will be held at the Gaslamp located at 6251 E. PCH. Be sure to RSVP to [email protected]
http://www.chunkofchange.com/wp-content/uploads/March31_OlgaMizrahi_LR.pdf
* The new bike path is scheduled to complete Memorial Day weekend.
Eric Forsberg provided the Parking Commission Report, advising that a request was brought to the Parking Commission, for a restroom to be installed at the Livingston Tot Lot. The concept has moved to the Parks and Recreation department. There is currently no water line but Parks & Rec is looking at the possibilities. There are currently approximately 12 Big Belly solar trash compactors on 2nd Street and the Parking Commission is considering purchasing more. They have been working out really well: solar-powered, signal occurs when they’re full, can hold a lot of waste. There are offsets on costs through conservation. Regarding new parking meters, it has been determined that “pucks” no longer need to be built into the ground because technology now allows the “puck” to exist on the meter pole or in the head, which is much less expensive to maintain. The new parking meters will be installed downtown first beginning in early April; installations will continue moving eastward. The installations will affect 2nd Street meters and meters just off of 2nd Street; it will not affect parking lots. The meter prices will go up. The lot where Roe restaurant was at the corner of 2nd Street and Claremont is being considered for a parking lot and/or 1 or 2 story parking structure. It is recommended that residents attend Councilwoman’s meeting to voice their opinions on Monday, March 30th at 5:30 pm at the Third District Field Office located at 340 Nieto Avenue
Treasurer O'Connor reported the bank account balance is now $3767.00.
Terry Endersen gave the President’s Report, advising that the BSRA Survey results were sent via email and loaded onto the BSRA website. He also explained that the April BSRA meeting will include a guest speaker from the city to talk about parking meters.
The meeting was adjourned at 8 pm.
Submitted by: Julie Dean, Executive Board Member
MINUTES EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
March 12, 2015
The meeting was called to order by President Terence Endersen at 6:00 pm. The other members of the Executive Board present were: Aileen Colon, Julie Dean, Dick Gaylord, David "Coach" Newell, Sara Schumacher, Vice President Max Alavi and Treasurer Robert O'Connor. Secretary Jeff Miller was absent. 43 additional BSRA members and visitors were present.
Bay Shore Librarian Debi Gurley-Vilander announced that over 500 people attended the initial Sunday Opening and each Sunday since has also been busy. People are very happy about the Sunday hours.
The agenda for this meeting was approved and the minutes of the February 12th meeting were approved.
Our new LBPD East Division Commander Liz Griffin, a 22 year veteran, introduced herself and expressed her interest in working closely with the community and continuing the level of service provided by prior Commander Paul LeBaron. LBPD East Division Lieutenant Jeff Liberman who works the 3pm-1am shift, provided details of some recent crime incidents and noted the continuing problem of unlocked doors and windows as a primary factor in the case of many residential burglaries. One residential cat burglary (while the victim was home) occurred during the daytime of February 22nd on Nieto. The cat burglar entered through an unlocked rear door and took the victim’s wallet and car key and went on a buying spree. The suspect went to establishments with good CCTV systems (video surveillance), so these incidents will likely result in arrest. In early March, on a Monday at 3am, a young lady on Quincy was detained in her bed with a blanket held over head while the criminal took some property. The criminal entered through an open window. The victim was not otherwise physically assaulted. Detectives are working on the case. 3 vehicles were stolen last month and all were recovered within the area; they were probably used for joyrides. Devices exist that are able to determine car lock codes and unlock car doors; which might be a method of entry of some of these vehicles. One LBPD division will be initiating a police officer body camera pilot program within a year. There are some potential issues with body cameras on police officers: some civilians don’t want body cameras because they don’t want to be taped; it needs to be determined when cameras will be turned on; etc. There are bills regarding this topic moving through the legislature.
The guest speakers were John McKeown from Synergy Oil & Gas and Thienan Pfeiffer from Glenn Lukos Associates who gave an interesting presentation about the Consolidated Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project. Mr. McKeown was initially hired to run the Bixby A Lease which was formerly run by LCW whose principal owners/operators were killed in a plane crash. The LCW field had been run by 3rd parties and neglected for years. Drilling of oil in the area of the Los Cerritos Wetlands has been going on since the 20’s and yet, only 7-8% has been depleted. There are 200 million barrels of additional oil at that location. Mr. McKeown sees this property as a precious resource and envisions a quiet wetlands. His goals are to preserve the open area/wetlands, allow access/use by the public and to remove oil operations from the wetlands area north of 2nd Street and to see the Wetlands restored. It is an expensive plan. One objective is to create a mitigation bank where Synergy Oil & Gas can sell mitigation credits to fund the Wetland restoration. He is working with Glenn Lukos Associates who specialize in Wetlands delineation, Fed vs State and employ restoration ecologists. They are well on the way to a mitigation/restoration project which would create trails and allow for visitors.
The $6M restoration plan’s goal is to enhance and restore all wetlands, including Steamshovel Slough, and provide a visitor’s center and parking lot with public access to designated pedestrian trails. The proposed plan is to consolidate oil activities, relocate oil operations (office and maintenance storage) offsite and consolidate oil production from 152 acres to approximately 10 acres at two sites. Two pumping sites are required because the Newport-Inglewood fault, runs right through the property. There is oil on both sides of fault and oil operations cannot run through the fault. There are currently 58 operating wells. 97% of the pipeline is inactive. The 1st proposed new oil operation site is at the 5 acre parcel owned by Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority at the NE corner of 2nd & Studebaker. This would be to gather oil NE of the fault. The 2nd site is the current Pumpkin Patch parcel located east of PCH near the Seal Beach border. This would be to gather oil SW of the fault. The Pumpkin Patch is only non-Wetlands parcel connected to the property and is owned by Lyon Communities. It’s also proposed that a state of the art oil facility (oil storage/well cellars) and a new corporate office and parking would be built at this location.
There were a number of steps/timelines proposed:
Step#1 (10/2014-2/2018) Remove non-native vegetation: Some invasive, non-native trees (fan palms) have already been removed. They worked with the Audubon Society and every tree was checked for nests. Some trees were left for potential nests, but eventually all trees will be removed.
Step#2: (3/2018-9/2019) Remove 95% of the above ground pipelines & tanks: As wells are removed, that area will be free for restoration. Target of 2019-2020 to create a storage facility @ The Pumpkin Patch parcel.
Step#3: (2020-2023) Complete Wetlands Restoration in the upper 76 acres and continue Wetlands Restoration in the southern 72 acres: In Steamshovel Slough an earthen material was used to create a berm which shut off the tides which has degraded the area. The plan is to bring back the habitat that was there before, not to introduce anything new. Propose to deed the property to Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority (LCWA).
Answers to questions from audience members:
They do not frack and do not intend to frack.
No plans for a marina.
Suggestion made to keep a few old wells for nostalgic reasons, possibly at Visitor’s Center.
Suggestion for security.
Regarding the issue with SEADIP, the Coastal Commission and City of Long Beach are in communications. The Coastal Commission has the ultimate decision-making authority for the Wetlands.
33 acres south of 2nd Street and East of The Marketplace shopping center will not be addressed as they are owned by City of Long Beach.
BSRA President Terry Endersen attended the last BSBA meeting and gave an update based on information he gathered there. The BSBA is putting up signs asking people to remove their dog waste. “Roar in the Shore” will be Wednesday, April 15, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm on 2nd Street between Corona & Covina. There will be Grand Prix drivers giving autographs, race car simulators and motorcycle stunts. Angelo’s Italian Deli will be expanding to 2nd Street, taking over the former Phuket Thai location.
Julie Maleki from 3rd District Councilwoman Suzie Price’s office covered the following items:
* The repave of Ocean Blvd. from Bay Shore to Livingston is scheduled to begin March 16. They will be putting in a bike lane and narrow travel lanes. Although once considered, there will not be diagonal parking on the street. UPDATE from Suzie Price March 27th: The Ocean Boulevard repave project has been postponed. Based on Biologists’ recommendations, construction activities have the probability of creating disturbance or disruptions during nesting season in trees that are located along Ocean Boulevard therefore this project will resume at a later date and not earlier than the fall. Based on this information, the permits that have been issued are not valid. Please do not use them in the Beach lots as citations will be issued. Regular parking on Ocean Boulevard will resume later this afternoon once all signs have been removed and the regular street sweeping schedule will resume next week.
* Councilwoman Suzie Price will be holding an informational meeting on Monday, March 30th at 5:30 PM at the Third District Field Office (340 Nieto Avenue) to discuss the process involved with the City possibly acquiring the Roe property (5374 East 2nd Street) to develop a public parking lot and/or structure. This proposal is very preliminary and has not been publicly vetted. The only thing that has been determined by the City's Development Services Department is that the Roe property is zoned for this type of use (public parking lot and/or structure).
* Kristina Duggan is working on setting up additional dog waste bag dispensers.
* Dog Beach delineators should be put in at Rosie’s Dog Beach in the very near future, as the city has received the okay from Coastal Commission.
* Councilwoman Price wants to hear feedback from residents before May regarding Medical Marijuana dispensaries, allowing for two per District. Councilwoman Price is hosting if you plan to attend. Please visit the following link for details.a Small Business Workshop with guest speaker, renowned author Olga Mizrahi, on Tuesday March 31st from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The workshop is completely free and open for everyone to attend and will be held at the Gaslamp located at 6251 E. PCH. Be sure to RSVP to [email protected]
http://www.chunkofchange.com/wp-content/uploads/March31_OlgaMizrahi_LR.pdf
* The new bike path is scheduled to complete Memorial Day weekend.
Eric Forsberg provided the Parking Commission Report, advising that a request was brought to the Parking Commission, for a restroom to be installed at the Livingston Tot Lot. The concept has moved to the Parks and Recreation department. There is currently no water line but Parks & Rec is looking at the possibilities. There are currently approximately 12 Big Belly solar trash compactors on 2nd Street and the Parking Commission is considering purchasing more. They have been working out really well: solar-powered, signal occurs when they’re full, can hold a lot of waste. There are offsets on costs through conservation. Regarding new parking meters, it has been determined that “pucks” no longer need to be built into the ground because technology now allows the “puck” to exist on the meter pole or in the head, which is much less expensive to maintain. The new parking meters will be installed downtown first beginning in early April; installations will continue moving eastward. The installations will affect 2nd Street meters and meters just off of 2nd Street; it will not affect parking lots. The meter prices will go up. The lot where Roe restaurant was at the corner of 2nd Street and Claremont is being considered for a parking lot and/or 1 or 2 story parking structure. It is recommended that residents attend Councilwoman’s meeting to voice their opinions on Monday, March 30th at 5:30 pm at the Third District Field Office located at 340 Nieto Avenue
Treasurer O'Connor reported the bank account balance is now $3767.00.
Terry Endersen gave the President’s Report, advising that the BSRA Survey results were sent via email and loaded onto the BSRA website. He also explained that the April BSRA meeting will include a guest speaker from the city to talk about parking meters.
The meeting was adjourned at 8 pm.
Submitted by: Julie Dean, Executive Board Member