ON THE AGENDA: Twentynine Palms City Council, May 14, 2024
Road improvements, the annual General Plan status report, repairing and moving the 29! sculpture, the public building fee waiver policy—and so much more
This Tuesday, May 14, the Twentynine Palms City Council will hold their regularly scheduled meeting at 6 pm. Tuesday’s meeting is chockablock with awards, proclamations, recognitions, and agenda items—perhaps a rush to get things done before slowing down for the summer. As usual we’ll cover the highlights. The full agenda can be found here and can be viewed online on YouTube.
PUBLIC COMMENT
You have an opportunity to comment on agenda items and issues important to you at every City Council meeting, and we encourage you to question your City Council members on the issues affecting our City. Comments on agenda items take place during the discussion of that item. 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. Also note that City Council has stopped reading letters from the public into the record at Council meetings. Here's the list of Council addresses to write if you can't get to the meeting....be sure to get it them prior to 2pm on the date of the meeting so they have time to read your email prior discussion of the item. You can also cc the clerk 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. Fill out a comment form or email your City Council representative if you wish to address any of the items on this meeting’s Consent Calendar. Comment are made before the Council motion to approve the Consent Calendar.
Consent Calendar items are:
Agenda item 8: Waiving the reading of ordinances and approving them by reading only the title
Agenda item 9: Approving the minutes of the April 23 City Council meeting
Agenda item 10: Establishing an appropriation limit for fiscal year 2024-25
Agenda item 11: Approval of the warrant register totaling $2,001,856.95
Agenda item 12: Repealing chapter 15.10 of the Municipal Code, Wastewater Services
Agenda item 13: Approving the Public Arts Advisory Committee’s request to apply for the Creative Youth Development grant as administered by the California Arts Council for $25,000
PUBLIC HEARING
Agenda Item 14. Development Code Amendment, Chapter 19.90, Dedications and Improvements
On October 3, 2023, and April 16, 2024, the Planning Commission held public hearings about changes to Development Code Chapter 19.90, Dedications and Improvements. This chapter sets rules for when developers must dedicate streets, what infrastructure they must improve, how they can delay or defer these improvements, and what fees they must pay. At Tuesday’s meeting, the Council will discuss whether to approve, deny, or ask for more information about this development code amendment.
If you care whether our rural roads remain dirt or are paved or how legal access is granted to landlocked parcels you may want to read our earlier coverage of these topics here and here.
DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS
Agenda Item 15: General Plan Status Report
According to local laws and state regulations, the City must make a yearly report about its General Plan—which was adopted in 2012—to the State Office of Planning Research and the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
It’s useful to take a look at the summary of goals and implementation policies and ask how well the City is measuring up to the aspirations of its General Plan, especially the ten Land Use Elements. The summary is the item listed as “2023-03-29 General Plan Policies” on the staff report.
Does the City Council and Planning Commission:
Encourage orderly growth and development as envisioned by community residents? (Land Use Element 1)
Protect existing neighborhoods and the area’s natural surroundings by encouraging development that is compatible with the City’s small-town character? (Land Use Element 2)
Promote a high quality of life by encouraging attractive high-quality development that is compatible with existing uses and the City’s desert environment? (Land Use Element 3)
Adequately address the impacts of new development on the existing community and the City’s infrastructure? (Land Use Element 4)
Preserve Twentynine Palms’ natural resources and protect the public health, safety and general welfare of City residents in areas adjacent to potentially hazardous natural and manmade features and facilities? (Land Use Element 5)
Promote development of a well-balanced community that can adequately meet the needs of future residents and promotes economic development? (Land Use Element 6)
Protect and preserve Twentynine Palms’ natural resources, promote the existing quality of life and prepare for future residents and businesses by promoting superior sustainable development? (Land Use Element 7)
Maintain Twentynine Palms as a clean and healthy place to live, while protecting the City’s groundwater supply? (Land Use Element 8)
Protect the health and safety of residents living in the vicinity of airports? (Land Use Element 9)
Promote a high quality of life for Twentynine Palms residents by developing and sustaining a strong and diverse local economy? (Land Use Element 10)
The status report also looks at the Circulation Element, Housing Element, Safety Element, Conservation And Open Space Element, Recreation Element, Equity and Social Justice Element, and the Noise Element.
Agenda Item 16: 29! Sculpture Location
The Public Arts Advisory Committee (PAAC) has determined that the sculpture is in need of repair and is difficult to visit because of parking and accessibility. The Council can choose to 1) leave the 29! sculpture where it is, repair it, and install a public parking lot; 2) move the 29! sculpture to Freedom Plaza and repair it; 3) provide another alternative for the sculpture. We covered this most recently in the December 5, 2023, Planning Commission meeting February 24, 2024, City Council meeting.
The PAAC estimates that it will cost approximately $4,000 to repair the sculpture. If the sculpture is moved, it would cost approximately $10,000. If the sculpture remains where it is and a parking lot is installed, the cost could exceed $100,000.
Agenda Item 17: City Fee Waiver Policy
In the April 23 City Council meeting, the Fee Waiver policy for use of City facilities by nonprofit charities was tabled so the matter could be studied further. The City’s Parks & Recreation Department currently allows one free one-day rental to all qualified organizations per calendar year and has become a matter for review because of the three free days recently granted to a religious organization. The suggested changes to the policy can be found here; Parks and Recreation recommends that:
City Council place a maximum cap on the total amount of days within a calendar year that qualified organizations are able to rent City facilities without paying a rental fee.
If multiple rental days are approved, consecutive rental days should be allowed.
Not to offer annual dollar amount or “rental fee credit.” This would further complicate the approval process as each facility does not share the same rental fee.
Agenda Item 18: Public Arts Advisory Appointment
The City Council will discuss the appointment of Xárene Eskander as a standing member of the Public Arts Advisory Committee. Two applications were received for the position, but one was withdrawn. In her application, Eskander noted,
Art is the embodiment of a lived life—its emotional, psychological, and political layers—and in a healthy society, the artist’s existence is to present the deep questions, the difficult questions, and even the trivial questions of life and being to the other members of society….Public art is not only the record for the future of our current time, but a record of the practice of a healthy community.
Agenda Item 19: Preliminary 2024-25 Budget Revisions for the General Fund
The new City Manager and the Finance Director are sharing updates about the budget for FY 2024-25. This budget is part of a two-year plan for both the General Fund and Special Funds. They have proposed changes to the budget based on new information about how much money the City expects to get and spend, which is the start of a conversation that will continue at the City Council meeting on May 28 and June 11. The City Council needs to approve these changes before July 1, when the new Fiscal Year starts.
The biggest challenge with the budget is inflation, which does not align with the City's charges for services. Another challenge is the continued decline in Gas Tax funding. In the past, all the money for Public Works employee wages and benefits came from Gas Tax and Article 8 funding. Article 8 expired, and only 50% of the Public Works wages and benefits are covered by the Gas Tax.
In April 2023, California Air Resources Board required that government agencies like the City ensure that half of trucks purchased by the City be zero emission by the end of 2024 and all by 2027—meaning the City will need to acquire new trucks.
Other changes include:
Revisions in the amount spent for public works and community development
Incorporating carryover from the last fiscal year
Adjusting wages to the current cost of living
Overall, the city expects to have a surplus of $160,000.
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