ON THE AGENDA: 29 Palms City Council, July 23, 2024
The City's storm report, clean-up continues, development code amendments addressed and potential opioid settlement funds discussed
They say you shouldn’t make a mountain out of a mole hill, but you can certainly make one out of a monsoon. CalTrans, Public Works crews, and Twentynine Palms Water District technicians continued storm clean up well into the weekend as workers approach their seventh consecutive day of debris clearing from a monsoonal flash flood that inundated a portion of Twentynine Palms, including homes and businesses, last Sunday, July 14, 2024. This Tuesday at 6 pm, the Twentynine Palms City Council will meet at 6136 Adobe Road for their regularly scheduled meeting where Council and City staff will formally address the flood event.
After taking a hiatus earlier this month, Council is set to tackle a packed agenda. As usual, we cover agenda highlights. The full agenda packet can be found here.
Prior to the meeting, Council will hold a closed session to discuss entering into an existing multi-jurisdictional litigation against Kroger Co, which involves obtaining a portion of a billion dollar settlement to combat the opioid crisis.
1. ANNOUNCEMENTS - July 14-15, 2024 Storm Situation Summary Report
At the beginning of Tuesday’s City Council meeting, residents will hear a “Storm Situation Summary Report” from City staff. Later in the meeting, City Council will also address the monsoonal flooding event as formal agenda item 11. During this time, residents will have the opportunity to speak on the storm during public comment. If you wish to speak about the storm and the City’s response, fill out one of the forms in the foyer, give it to the Clerk at the front desk, and list the topic as Agenda Item 11.
The vast and final agenda item states that, “The City Council review any item relating to the storm that occurred on July 14-15, 2024, and provide direction on how to proceed if needed.”
PUBLIC COMMENT
You have an opportunity to comment on agenda items and issues important to you at every City Council meeting. Comments on agenda items take place during discussion of that item, whereas comments on non-agenda items take place near the end of the meeting. Comments are limited to three minutes. The Brown Act prevents Council from commenting on non-agenda items. To comment, pick up a green (or occasionally gold) form at the entry desk, fill it out, and hand it to the Clerk.
Note the Council has stopped reading letters from the public into the record at Council meetings. Here's the list of Council email addresses to write if you can't get to the meeting — be sure to email them prior to 2 pm on the date of the meeting so they have time to read your email prior to discussion. You can also copy the clerk at cvillescas@29palms.org and ask that your letter be made part of the public record.
CONSENT CALENDAR
The Consent Calendar consists of routine items usually approved with a single vote. The public is given a chance to make public comment on these items prior to the Council motion. Fill out a comment form if you wish to address any the items from this meeting’s Consent Calendar.
Items on the Consent Calendar for this meeting include approving the minutes from the June 25 City Council meeting, approving the warrant register of City expenditures; the Treasurer’s report, and adoption of Measure I Five-Year Plan for Fiscal Years 2024-2025 through 2028-2029.1
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Item 7- Twentynine Palms Lighting and Landscaping Assessment District #1, Confirming Assessment and Levying Assessment for FY 2024-2025
At their May 28th meeting, Twentynine Palms City Council approved in their Consent Calendar a resolution to levy assessments in the Twentynine Palms Lighting District for Fiscal Year ‘24-’25. This agenda item appears to address a technical correction based on an engineer’s report. Because it involves the levying of fees, this technicality must be addressed publicly.
According to the staff report, the purpose of the Twentynine Palms Lighting and Landscaping Assessment District #1 is to address landscaping, irrigation, street furniture, public art, retention walls, lighting, and other improvements along the public right-of-way. This applies to two tracts of land between Highway 62 and Two Mile, one of them being the Historic Plaza and the second tract north of El Paseo Road, West of Encelia Avenue, south of Sunnyslope and east of Panorama Avenue. Per the staff report:
“It has come to the City's attention that the parkway… along Mimosa Avenue, between Florida Avenue and Sunnyslope Avenues, was not included in the original maintenance areas of the assessment district when the boundaries were established….Staff recommends that the area be included as part of the maintenance district.”
“The improvements consist of landscaping generally of native shrubs, vines, low perennials, other decorative bushes, decorative rock, and a perimeter wall. Improvements include streetlights.”
Item 8 - Development Code Amendment: Home Occupation Permits
Suggested changes to the City Development Code will be addressed at Tuesday’s meeting. Council will consider adopting amendments proposed by the Community Development Director and the Planning Commission back in October 2023. These changes include language clarification and regulations that apply to residents with home occupancy permits, such as those who operate businesses out of their homes or those with cottage food operations.
Residents with home occupancy operations will be required to maintain business licenses with the City of Twentynine Palms and be compliant with State and County business regulations for their respective industries. Proposed development code changes include regulation of business goods stored on residential properties. Individuals who operate businesses out of their primary residence may be affected by this. Regulations for deliveries at home occupancy operations will also be implemented, notably that “Commercial delivery of items shall be prohibited between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.”
California Assembly Bill 1616, otherwise known as the California Homemade Food Act, was passed in 2013 and sets the legal definitions for Cottage Food Operations (CFOs) taking place within residences. According to the California Department of Public Health, individuals with cottage food operations will need to be trained and permitted to “prepare and package certain non-potentially hazardous foods in a private home-kitchen.”2 Changes proposed to Chapter 19.32.070 will make City regulation of these home-based food operations compliant with State standards.
Item 9 - Article 4, Chapter 1 of the Development Code
Once approved by Council, changes to Article 4 Chapter 1 will establish and make enforceable limitations on fence heights, boat storage, storage of cargo shipping containers on residential zoned properties, establish regulations for guest houses constructed on residential properties, and other “site development regulations”(per the staff report). These changes were voted on by the Planning Commission on May 21, 2024.
The staff report’s listed ordinance adoption date of August 13, 2024, leaves room for Council to kick back the ordinance for language clean-up before a final policy adoption vote next month.
DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS
Item 10- New National Opioid Settlement with Kroger Co
A closed session discussion and a 500-plus page report on litigation regarding a National Opioid Settlement with Kroger Company strongly suggests the City’s intent to enter litigation with dozens of other municipalities against Kroger Grocery Corp. Municipalities listed in the lawsuit range from Abbeville City, Alabama, and ending with Weston County, Wyoming. This legal pursuit is against Kroger Co. and its subsidiaries, which includes Fred Meyer and Food 4 Less grocery store chains, to receive payment brought about from a Kroger Settlement that was determined March 22, 2024. This move will be a formal adoption of a “state subdivision agreement” as the lawsuit money will be paid out to multiple California entities over an eleven-year payment schedule.3
The City of Twentynine Palms will join twenty-one other San Bernardino County-based government entities in this litigation payout, including the incorporated cities of Yucca Valley, Chino, Fontana, San Bernardino, Yucaipa, and Redlands. Monies awarded from the settlement are intended to be distributed to municipalities throughout the United States to combat the opioid crisis.
Item 11 - July 14-15, 2024, Monsoonal Storm
At 5:30 pm on July 19, the City of Twentynine Palms issued a press release, a portion of that which states, “While the City does not have the authority nor financial resources to fund the repair of private property or cover costs associated with natural disasters, the City remains committed to identifying and connecting residents to available resources.”
The report states the City has secured four 40-yard trash bins for residents to dispose of storm-related debris. They are located at:
Southeast corner of Split Rock and El Paseo
East side of Chia Ave north of Gorgonio Drive
Behind City Hall, which is located at 6136 Adobe Road
Encelia Avenue immediately south of Samarkand Drive in front of the cemetery.
According to the press release, City Staff conducted a walkthrough with Burrtec’s Coachella Valley division leadership to assess where cleanup measures could be implemented. Also as of 5:30pm Friday, the City announced receiving personal hygiene kits from the San Bernardino County Office of Emergency Services (OES): “These kits contain one 8 oz bottle of shampoo/body wash, one small stick deodorant, one 4 oz bottle of mouth rinse, two small toothbrushes, one small 1.2W monocrystalline solar charger, and one Life Straw personal water filter” and are available during regular business hours at City Hall.
Four press releases issued by the City since Tuesday have included versions of the following statement regarding County, State and Federal Assistance, “The City is also working to determine if the amount of flood damage exceeds the required financial thresholds for County, State, and/or Federal intervention." The Desert Trumpet has been working to ascertain what the threshold is, and what resources might be available if the threshold is met.4
FUTURE COUNCIL INITIATED ITEMS
For future consideration: Revisiting funds that were allocated to the portable showers and navigation center.
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Measure I is a voter-approved San Bernardino County half-cent sales tax intended to fund road improvements through 2040
This Associated Press report gives background on the settlement.
Questions have been sent to the City, to San Bernardino County Office of Emergency Services and to Cal OES. Cal OES responded and forwarded the questions to their communications team late Friday afternoon. Here’s what we asked:
1. What is the usual process for an incorporated city to apply for State level assistance - do requests come from the County? Or from the City?
2. What is the threshold that needs to be met to qualify for assistance and how is the threshold calculated?
3. It would also be helpful to know whether these thresholds are determined by damages to public infrastructure or calculated based on a combination of public infrastructure and private damage?
4. If there is a state highway involved in some of the damage, is there a separate assessment that involves CalTrans?
5. Are there special emergency resources available to disadvantaged communities, where individuals and small businesses are likely to be underinsured?
Has the city requested California Disaster Assistance from the state? With millions of dollars in damage, and the overwhelmed flood channel which goes East from Highway 62 and Encelia, this seems like a wise/necessary move.