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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes_03-22-23CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH GENERAL PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES COMMUNITY ROOM – 100 CIVIC CENTER DRIVE MARCH 22, 2023 REGULAR MEETING – 6 P.M. I. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. II. WELCOME AND ROLL CALL Present: Chair Arlene Greer and Chair Jeremy Evans Absent: None Staff: Deputy Community Development Director Jim Campbell and Principal Planner Ben Zdeba ROLL CALL FOR THE GENERAL PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE (GPAC) Present: Dennis Baker, Curtis Black, James Carlson, Jeff Cefalia, Annie Clougherty, Jeremy Evans, Alene Greer, David Guder, Laird Hayes, Charles Klobe, Ruth Kobayashi, Denis LaBonge, Katie Love, Anthony Maniscalchi, Thomas Meng, Jim Mosher, Maxwell Pearson, Robert Rader, Nancy Scarbrough, Amber Snider, Debbie Stevens, Graham Wahlberg, Paul Watkins, Lori Williams, and Christy Walker Absent: Lynn Hackman Excused: None III. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS An unidentified member of the public encouraged discussion on a climate action plan and Deputy Community Development Director Campbell suggested the Committee make a recommendation to be taken up to the General Plan Update Steering Committee (GPUSC) and the Council for direction and guidance. Dennis Baker requested a printed copy of the General Plan and Deputy Community Development Director Campbell indicated the cost to print the document, noted its availability on the City website, and agreed to try to get a copy. IV. CURRENT BUSINESS a. Joint Meeting Minutes of February 1, 2023 GPAC reviewed and approved the minutes of February 1, 2023. This matter was also placed on the GPUSC’s agenda for consideration. General Plan Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes March 22, 2023 Page 2 of 5 Motion made by Committee Member Baker and seconded by Committee Member Scarbrough to approve the minutes of February 1, 2023, with Committee Member Mosher’s edits. The motion carried unanimously. b. Review of the Responses Received to the General Plan Update Consulting Services RFP Principal Planner Zdeba reported receiving one response from Dudek. He noted a limited consultant pool based on availability and reminded the Committee that it is the function of the GPUSC to make a formal recommendation to the Council. However, he encouraged comments and feedback. Deputy Community Development Director Campbell touched on the proposal review process, believed that the response covers the current scope and can be expanded as needed, and noted that a cost proposal will come after the consultant team is deemed qualified and is expected to be around $2 million. Committee Member Baker indicated not being impressed with the outreach provided by Kearns & West in 2019 and had no qualms about Dudek. Committee Member Scarbrough inquired about who determined the hours for the tasks, what would happen if it were exceeded, and who is tracking the time. She noted Kearns & West’s disorganization and outdated website from the previous effort and asked if Dudek can provide an alternate subcontractor. GPUSC Chair Gardner suggested that the consultant can be provided with more concrete suggestions to guide their work efforts. Committee Member LaBonge inquired if the Newport Beach Fire Department (NBFD) reviewed the credentials of the two urban foresters included in Dudek’s resume and if the Fire Safe Council could review the credentials to determine if they are a fit for Newport Coast and Newport Beach generally. Committee Member Stevens supported Kearns & West for their work on the Housing Element, and in response to her inquiry, Deputy Community Director Campbell stated that no more proposals will be considered unless it is deemed that Dudek is not qualified. He added that the NBFD can review credentials of the foresters in Dudek’s proposal, noted the community outreach and engagement plan component and follow-through for implementation, and predicted costs will likely go over “not to exceed” amounts and are tracked by reviewing the invoices. General Plan Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes March 22, 2023 Page 3 of 5 In response to Chair Greer’s question, Deputy Community Director Campbell stated that the consultant should approach City staff when additional time is needed for a task. In response to Committee Member Mosher’s inquiry, Principal Planner Zdeba indicated that staff did not actively encourage all prospective bidders to submit a proposal, but staff did send the proposal directly to prominent planning firms in addition to listing it on PlanetBids. He also reported that there were four firms in attendance at a virtual meeting for proposers to request clarification on the RFP. In response to Committee Member Mosher’s inquiry, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell noted that the consultant will provide support for the Noise Element, vote of the electorate is now targeted for November 2024, and the proposal can be refined to incorporate more community outreach. He indicated that Kimley-Horn & Associates is preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Housing Element implementation and future EIR needs have not yet been determined beyond the Housing Element. The full scope of the General Plan Update is unknown, so modifying the scope of the consultant’s work could provide flexibility. Committee Member Watkins supported using Kearns & West and providing specific suggestions through a refined scope of work. c. Consideration of Formally Requesting Council’s Support for a Sustainability and Resiliency Element At the February 28, 2023 City Council meeting, the bi-monthly report from the GPUSC was pulled from the consent calendar for discussion. Some members of the City Council did not express support for adding additional elements. The Committee discussed and considered reaffirming the recommendation of including the new element to the GPUSC. Deputy Community Development Director Campbell expressed his opinion that the Council was not provided with details of the proposed element and suggested the GPAC create an outline with the help of the consultant so the Council can gain clarity of what they are endorsing. Committee Member Baker agreed with moving forward slowly and thought the Committee has the charge to add elements as it sees fit. Committee Member Black concurred with Committee Member Baker and suggested considering a more broad and futuristic perspective of the General Plan, noted available funding to agencies who have a sustainability and resiliency vision General Plan Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes March 22, 2023 Page 4 of 5 and are most prepared, thought the GPAC should have the jurisdiction to add elements, and supported bringing an argument to the Council and defining a framework with consultant support. Chair Greer encouraged the Committee to consider where the City has come from, where it is now, and where it is going relative to the current elements. Committee Member Mosher agreed with Committee Member Black and suggested requesting from the Council a modification of the GPAC’s scope. Committee Member Stevens agreed with Committee Member Mosher and thought Committee Member Black should present the argument to the Council and include the funding and financing opportunities. Committee Member Watkins thought sustainability and resiliency are game changers and headline elements and supported Committee Member Black presenting the argument to the Council. In response to Committee Member Rader’s question, Deputy Community Development Director Campbell thought that sustainability and resiliency are present in many elements and that having it all work together would require a reorganization of the General Plan. He recommended a slower pace to prepare an outline, discussion framework, and presentation with help from a consultant, that would then be presented to the City Council by a recommendation of the GPUSC in order to get buy in from them before spending time and effort on the element. GPUSC Chair Gardner suggested rethinking and renaming the Safety Element to include sustainability and resilience. Committee Member Kobayashi thought the Committee should be deliberate and well-informed while moving forward. Committee Member Walker indicated that an Environmental Element and Sustainability and Resilience Element are two different approaches. In response to Committee Member Guder’s question, Committee Member Black noted sustainability and resiliency templates from other cities. Deputy Community Development Director Campbell noted that the Dudek proposal includes a climate resiliency and sustainability staff member and how that member can help support the City. General Plan Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes March 22, 2023 Page 5 of 5 Chair Evans gathered collective support to continue this topic at the next GPAC meeting, for subcommittees to research the issue and return with ideas and suggestions, gain direction and clarification of the GPAC’s authority from the GPUSC, Council, and staff. Motion made by Committee Member Baker and seconded by Committee Member Carlson to table this item for a future agenda item. The motion carried unanimously. d. Subcommittee Coordination Breakouts At the February 1, 2023, meeting the GPUSC/GPAC identified subcommittees and subcommittee members for each element. It was reported that the Land Use Element Subcommittee met on February 15, 2023, with other subcommittee meetings pending scheduling. Principal Planner Zdeba noted the March 30 meeting date for the Safety Element Subcommittee. He suggested the liaison for each subcommittee poll its respective group for date and time of day preferences using City email addresses, asked Committee Members to contact staff if their City email address is not set up, and noted the meeting dates will be posted on the City website. GPUSC Chair Gardner reminded the Committee that members must excuse themselves from a subcommittee meeting if their attendance exceeds the allowable attendance count for non-Brown Act meetings. In response to a request from Committee Member Klobe, Chair Evans agreed to poll the Committee for GPAC meeting time availability. V. COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) Committee Member Mosher announced the review of the 2022 General Plan Progress Report at the next City Council meeting and asked for the Deputy Community Development Department to add the technical background from the General Plan to the City website. VI. ADJOURNMENT The next GPAC meeting is scheduled for May 3, 2023.