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Politics & Government

City Faces Quandary Regarding Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map

The city may have a potential problem complying with state law regarding adoption of CAL FIRE's fire hazard severity zone map.

CAL FIRE, which is responsible for updating its fire hazard severity zone maps every few years, has designated much of the western portion of Laguna Niguel in its newly updated high-risk zone. This area includes about 3,300 property owners in the city. 

The map, which is required by state law to be adopted in an ordinance within 120 days of being sent to the city, proved to be a sticky problem at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

Once it is adopted, the new map will impose new fire safety building codes on property owners in the area that the city will be required to enforce.

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Because three of the five council members have homes in the newly designated high fire hazard area--Linda Lindholm, Gary Capata and Joe Brown-- there was concern at the meeting that there might be a potential conflict of interest regarding the vote.

The city’s attorney, Terry Dixon, suggested that the council act on the safe side and assume this conflict of interest was valid for the evening's purposes.

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“Unfortunately, this left only two council members, Robert Ming and Paul Glaab, to vote and killed the quorum that was needed to pass it,” City Manager Tim Casey said.

The council attempted to resolve the lack of a quorum by randomly selecting one of the names of the three affected members to participate in the vote while requiring that the other two members abstain. Joe Brown was selected to participate in the vote.

But Ming said that he did not feel it was fair to impose new regulations on land owners that were not in place when they bought their property, and voted no on introduction of the ordinance. Ming felt that imposition of these new regulations had potential to diminish the value of property without just compensation.

While the vote of 2-1 in favor of introducing the ordinance allowed it to be placed Feb. 21 agenda for final consideration, the real trouble begins when the ordinance must be approved.    

“Ordinances require three affirmative votes to be approved, so there may be no way to approve it if the same three members are voting. This could be a real problem because we are required by state law to adopt this map. Also, if we don’t adopt the ordinances, then it is questionable that the city could enforce these standards,” Casey said.

The city’s attorney is currently investigating possible solutions for the conundrum.

The council also:

  • Gave City Attorney Terry Dixon a pay-raise from $165 an hour to $185 an hour. Dixon averages 130 to 140 of work for the city a month as an independent contractor and has been the city’s attorney since its inception.
  • Allocated program funds for the City Community Services and Cultural Arts Grant. Casey says that the city generally makes about $20,000 available for these funds each year. This year the grants will amount to roughly $18,000.
  • Adopted a resolution by the City Council to support the transfer of Ontario International Airport to local control. The resolution was introduced by Mayor Paul Glaab.
  • Approved the GFRI request for a one-time exclusive use permit for the portion of Salt Creek Regional Trail extending north from Camino Del Avion to Chapparosa Park for its Salt Creek Half-Marathon event. The marathon will be held on April 22, between the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The approval is pending receipt of a valid insurance certificate that meets all city requirements.
  • Adopted the resolution of the City Council to fix the compensation packages for executive and management employees.
  • Adopted an amendment to the contract between the city and the California Public Employees Retirement System. The new contract will be in force 30 days from Tuesday's meeting and will put new employees hired by the city on a lower tier pension formula that what is being used for current employees. According to Casey, this move by the city is part of the growing trend to pull back on pension benefits for future hires.nThe new contract will apply to executive management, middle management and non management new hires.
  • Reclassified executive secretary Pauline Colvin’s job title to the new title of council liaison/communications officer.

The council also adopted the facility rental policy for City Hall community room.

According to Casey, the new policy will limit use of the room to local non-profit organizations. Use will be free on weekdays during normal city hall business hours. Evenings and weekends will incur an hourly rate similar to Unlike the senior center, alcohol use will be prohibited. Groups will be limited to four hours a month for daytime users. Evening and weekend users will only be able to make reservations for three months at a time.

“The plan is to maximize availability while providing as much free access as possible during the weekdays,” Casey said. “We’ll test drive the policy for six months and then bring it in for a check-up.”

The City Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the  at City Hall, 30111 Crown Valley Pkwy.

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