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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2022-05-11 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Cathedral City Study Session Wednesday, May 11, 2022 3:00 PM City Council Chambers 68-700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero Cathedral City, CA 92234 This meeting was held in person and via Zoom. • CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 3:00 PM by Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez. • ROLL CALL Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Ernesto Gutierrez Mayor Present 3:00 PM Rita Lamb Mayor Pro Tern Present 3:00 PM Mark Carnevale Councilmember Present 3:00 PM Nancy Ross Councilmember Present 3:00 PM Raymond Gregory Councilmember Present 3:00 PM • AGENDA FINALIZATION There were no changes to the Agenda. 1. CLOSED SESSION City Attorney Eric Vail announced that the City Council will meeting in Closed Session to discuss the following items listed on the Agenda: A. Conference with Labor Negotiator Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.6 Agency Negotiator: Charles McClendon, City Manager Represented Employees: Police Management Association (PMA) B. Conference with Legal Counsel - Anticipated Litigation - Consideration of whether to Initiate Litigation Pursuant to Government Code 54956.9(d)(4) Number of Matters: One Statement Conference with Labor Negotiator Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.6 The City Council recessed to Closed Session at 3:02 p.m. The City Council reconvened at 4:00 p.m. City Attorney Eric Vail announced that the City Council met in Closed Session to hold a conference with Labor Negotiator Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.6. The Agency Negotiator was Charles McClendon, City Manager and the Represented Employees was the Police Management Association (PMA). There was no reportable action taken. The City Council also held a conference with Legal Counsel regarding anticipated litigation - Consideration of whether to Initiate Litigation Pursuant to Government Code 54956.9(d)(4), one matter. There was no reportable action taken. 2. PUBLIC COMMENT There were no members of the public that wished to make public comment. 3. STUDY SESSION A. Cannabis Regulation and Tax Update Recommendation: This item is presented for information, discussion and direction only. City Manager Charles McClendon provided an overview of the changes that will be proposed in an amended Ordinance that will be presented to the City Council at a later date. These changes were based upon discussion at the Special City Council Meeting of April 20, 2022. City Manager McClendon also provided information on the following items, which was also requested by the City Council at their Special City Council Meeting of April 20, 2022: • Additional follow-up information on Labor Peace Agreements. • Additional Information on Background Checks including the definition of "manager". • 5.88.070 Dispensary Operational Requirements - Product not visible to the Public - Work with legal on regulations related to advertisement. • Provide more information related to regulations on outdoor consumption lounges. • Provide additional language on the definition of Residential Zone. The following members of the public provided public comment on the items listed above: Kenneth Churchill suggested that each business that would like to have an outdoor lounge bring forward their plan and allow the Planning Commission to review and approve/disapprove on a case-by-case basis. He expressed his concern with allowing only specific zones to allow outdoor lounges. Those businesses in those zones may not be interested in having an outdoor lounge. Maria Scagliotti feels that the Council should allow for outdoor lounges in the industrial zoned areas because it would be less impactful there. She does not Cathedral City Page 2 Printed on 5/19/2022 support allowing lounges on a temporary basis because of the costs that will go into building the outdoor area. Rich Eaton stated that he agrees with Mr. Churchill that the lounges should be allowed and considered on a case-by-case basis reviewed by the Planning Commission. He stated that marijuana odor does not travel, the odor problem comes from the cultivators. He feels that they should be given a chance. Armondo Roarty expressed his support for outdoor lounges and agrees with Mr. Eton and Mr. Churchill on the process. Councilmember Mark Carnevale stated that he feels that the City should allow any business that has a dispensary license the ability to have an outdoor lounge if they desire to. He feels that it is unfair to limit it to certain areas. Councilmember Gregory is supportive of allowing outdoor lounges as long as specific guidelines are put in place to ensure that the Planning Commission has guidelines to follow when reviewing the project. He would support allowing them in the industrial area on a trial basis in an effort to move forward with outdoor lounges in a prudent way. Councilmember Nancy Ross concurs with Councilmember Gregory. Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez feels that all of the dispensaries should be allowed to have an outdoor lounge if that is their desire, however, there needs to be guidelines in place that will ensure odor control. He feels that the Planning Commission should be the reviewing body providing a recommendation to the City Council with Council being the approving body. Mayor Pro Tem Rita Lamb feels that limiting the outdoor lounges in certain zones is the best way to proceed. She wants to encourage the businesses to be as successful as possible and she would like to move forward with baby steps. After discussion by the City Council, staff was given direction to move forward with the code amendments as recommended with the exception of outdoor lounges. They would like staff to develop language to bring back to Council on regulations related to outdoor consumption lounges in particular to odor control. City Manager Charles McClendon provided an overview of Cannabis Taxes and Fees and provided information on what other agencies in the region are charging. The following members of the public provided public comment on Cannabis Taxes and fees: Maria Scagliotti expressed her frustration with the City charging her taxes on cultivating when she is not cultivating. She feels that businesses that have a cultivation license should only have to pay the taxes if they are cultivating cannabis. She urged the Council to stop wrongly taxing her. Cathedral City Page 3 Printed on 5/19/2022 Armondo Roarty feels that the high tax rates are an issue all across the State of California. He believes that the high taxes are creating a rise in the black market. He would like to see a study done in the City to see if individuals are consuming legal or illegal cannabis. Rich Eaton indicated that there are other cities that have no retail taxes and that is where people will go to purchase their cannabis and then there will be no cannabis in the City of Cathedral City. Matthew Sigurdson believes that lowering the tax will bring more people to the City and will increase the revenue. Kenneth Churchill believes that if the City does not lower the taxes for retail businesses in Cathedral City it will force those retailers to close. He feels the City is not doing anything to help the dispensaries to be successful. He encouraged the City to do something. Speaker, urged the Council to review the per piece manufacturing tax, he indicated that in large volumes it can be quite high making it tough to do business in Cathedral City. Councilmember Mark Carnevale expressed support for offering some type of assistance to the cannabis industry. Councilmember Ross feels that the City is doing a disservice to businesses by making them pay taxes for something they don't use. She suggested some type of pause that a business could take by paying a small fee for a few months. She feels we shouldn't run people out of business by taxing too much and what she sees as unfair taxation. She would like to see if there would be an increase in revenue if the taxes were lowered. Councilmember Raymond Gregory indicated that he may be supportive of allowing a pause of collecting taxes for a period of time between the approval of CUP and growing. He also would support having the Cannabis Task Force look into the per piece tax for manufacturing as mentioned by the gentlemen who provided public comment. He also is supportive of only taxing the canopy space or have language included in the code that allows for tax exempt areas that are not used for cultivation. He does not support lowering retail taxes for the cannabis businesses at this time. Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez indicated that the City relies on the taxes that they receive from the cannabis industry. There are several positions that were hired based on that revenue and he feels that if we are going to lower the taxes for the industry then Council needs to decide which positions would be eliminated as a result. He would support a pause of 30 to 60 days for those cultivating businesses that may want to sell their business to accommodate that sale. He does not support lowering the taxes for the industry at this time. Mayor Pro Tem Rita Lamb stated that she supports limiting the taxes for cultivators to the canopy space. She supports having a pause of when taxes are Cathedral City Page 4 Printed on 5/19/2022 due between when the CUP is issued and cultivating begins. She does not support lowering the retail taxes at this time. After discussion of the City Council, the following direction was given to staff: • Develop language in the definition of the code under cultivation that will allow tax exempt areas that aren't used for cultivation. • Meet with the Cannabis Tax Force to discuss the manufacturing tax related to the per piece charge under manufacturing taxes. • Allow a phase in period for new cultivation licenses. • businessesnottheircultivatingt x Allow for a pause for some to pay a when they have a license to cultivate but are not cultivating for a period of 30 to 60 days. There is no support for changing the retail tax at this time. B. SB 1383 residential roll out program, amendment to the franchise agreement and rate increase request on commercial, residential, and roll-off services. Recommendation: The SB 1383 residential roll out program, amendment to the franchise agreement and rate increase request on commercial, residential, and roll-off services is presented to the City Council for discussion, comments and direction in anticipation of being presented for Public Hearing and City Council approval at the June 8, 2022, City Council Meeting. This item was postponed to the May 11, 2022, Regular Meeting of the City Council as item 6A. ADJOURN Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez adjourned the May 11, 2022, Study Session meeting at 5:28 p.m. -Mayor, City of Cat edral City City Cler ity of Cathedral City Cathedral City Page 5 Printed on 5/19/2022 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Cathedral City Regular Meeting Wednesday, May 11, 2022 5:30 PM City Council Chambers 68-700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero Cathedral City, CA 92234 This meeting was conducted in person and via Zoom. • CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM by Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez. • PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Pro Tem Rita Lamb led the Pledge of Allegiance. • INVOCATION (MOMENT OF REFLECTION) Councilmember Raymond Gregory offered a Moment of Reflection. • ROLL CALL Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Ernesto Gutierrez Mayor Present 5:30 PM Rita Lamb Mayor Pro Tern Present 5:30 PM Mark Carnevale Councilmember Present 5:30 PM Nancy Ross Councilmember Present 5:30 PM Raymond Gregory Councilmember Present 5:30 PM • AGENDA FINALIZATION Due to time constraints, item 38. SB 1383 residential roll out program, amendment to the franchise agreement and rate increase request on commercial, residential, and roll-off services, will be heard during the Regular Meeting as item 6A under Legislative Actions. 1. PUBLIC COMMENT There were no members of the public who wished to speak. 2. COUNCIL REPORTS Councilmember Mark Carnevale reported that he filmed a video with Chris Parman, Communications and Events Manager, for the upcoming State of the City. He reported that on Cinco De Mayo he attended the Coachella Valley Animal Campus meeting where they discussed the $750,000 donation from David Brook. He was also able to attend the SCAG Regional Conference and General Assembly, and the Cathedral City High School Cinco De Mayo event at the Senior Center. He reported that he spoke with John Corella, City Engineer, and Robert Rodriguez, Planning/Building Director, related to an issue with a cannabis business, they were a great help. He reported that he attended a CDBG subcommittee meeting and the grand opening of the Panorama Dog Park. He also reported that he toured the Hall of Flowers event with Ani Gasparyan from the Desert Sun, who wrote an article about it. He also reported that he met with Mayor Gutierrez and Environmental Conservation and Public Works Manager Deanna Pressgrove related to the Earth Day event and was able to talk about ideas for Century Park. He announced that he will be attending the upcoming CVEP meeting and the State of the City. He also announced that Nicolino's will be sponsoring meals for the Cathedral City High School band. He read a letter from a Cathedral City High School Choir student who was thankful for the donations from the City. Councilmember Nancy Ross reported that she has taken some days off to help a former Commissioner. She reported that her"Notes from Nancy" were about the free state park passes available at the library. She also reported that on May 3, 2022, she attended a Zoom meeting to discuss neighborhood issues for which they are making headway. She also reported that she studied for her Housing Leadership Academy, which was a lot of work. She also reported that she attended the Lift to Rise monthly housing meeting, the Hall of Flowers event, and the SCAG Regional and General Assembly Conference, which was a great time. She reported that she filmed a video with Chris Parman, Communications and Events Manager, for the upcoming State of the City. She attended a neighborhood meeting at Ocotillo Park along with the City's Economic Development Department, the Fire Department. the Police Department, the Water District, the City Engineering Department, and the City Manager. She reported that she attended the League of California Cities Riverside Division meeting, met with a constituent, met with a person in need, and met with Assistant City Manager Fuentes and City Manager McClendon for an update meeting. She expressed her excitement to see the artwork that is being proposed for the Ofelia Bringas Bridge. She hopes everyone will enjoy the weather for the next few days before the heat comes next week. She reported on the Spring Fest event held at Century Park which was amazing. Councilmember Raymond Gregory reported that Spring Fest at Century Park was a great event and thanked all those involved. He reported that he attended the SCAG Regional and General Assembly Conference along with his fellow Councilmembers, which had some great speakers. He reported that he along with his fellow Councilmembers attended the Cathedral City High School Cinco De Mayo Event at the Senior Center, which was a very nice event. He also reported that he attended the Quality California Political Action Committee Dinner which was held on May 7, 2022. He reported that he attended the CVAG Public Safety Committee Meeting on May 9. 2022. He also reported that he, along with Councilmember Carnevale, attended a CDBG Subcommittee meeting, which will be discussed at the next Special City Council meeting on May 18, 2022. He also attended the League of Cathedral City Page 2 Printed on 5/19/2022 California Cities Riverside Division meeting, and the Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast, where City Manager McClendon sang in the choir. He announced the upcoming grand opening of the Panorama Dog Park on May 13, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. and encouraged everyone to attend and thanked all of those involved. He announced the upcoming State of the City which will be held on May 19, 2022, at the DoubleTree in conjunction with the Cathedral City Chamber of Commerce. Mayor Pro Tem Rita Lamb reported that the Spring Fest held at Century Park was great fun. She announced that AMVETS will be holding a luncheon on May 30, 2022, to recognize heroes. She reported that she attended the SCAG Regional and General Assembly Conference and the Cathedral City High School Cinco De Mayo event at the Senior. She stated that she purchased tickets for the Women Who Lead Luncheon and gave them away to Rebecca Roughing from the Cathedral City Senior Center, since her schedule had a conflict. She reported that she attended a meeting at the Rancho Mirage Library where they discussed the State of the State, Nation, and World, which was a great presentation. She reported that she attended the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control Board meeting where they discussed their annual budget. She announced that she will be attending a CPR demonstration at the Fire Department along with Councilmember Ross. She reported on the CVAG Conservation Committee meeting and stated that their main focus is to acquire land to support the multiple species habitat plan. She announced that she will be attending the Cathedral City High School Senior Scholarship Awards night on May 18, 2022, and announced that the High School will also be having their Spring Concert on May 17th at 7:00 p.m. She reported that she received resident concerns related to noisy motorcycles, graffiti, and mobile home park concerns, which staff is working to resolve. Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez wished everyone a happy Mother's Day. He reported that he met with City Manager McClendon which are always great meetings. He reported that he attended Spring Fest at Century Park, and noted the park needs a lot a work. He also reported that he attended the SCAG Regional and General Conference, which had some great speakers. He also attended the League of California Cities Riverside Division Meeting. He reported that he received resident concerns related to potholes and illegal parking, which he referred to the Police Department and Code Compliance. He announced that he filmed a video with Chris Parman, Communications and Events Manager, for the upcoming State of the City. He thanked his fellow Councilmembers for helping him to select two Cathedral City High School seniors to receive a scholarship from the City, he wishes they could have given all applicants a scholarship. Next week he will be presenting the scholarships the students at the Cathedral City High School Senior Scholarships and Awards night. He announced that he will be attended the upcoming grand opening of the Panorama Dog Park and the State of the City. 3. CONSENT AGENDA A motion was made by Councilmember Carnevale and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Lamb to approve the following Consent Agenda items: Cathedral City Page 3 Printed on 5/19/2022 RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Mark Carnevale, Councilmember SECONDER: Rita Lamb, Mayor Pro Tern AYES: Gutierrez, Lamb, Carnevale, Ross, Gregory A. Waive Full Reading of Ordinances on Agenda M.O. 2022-87 B. Minutes Approval M.O. 2022-88 1. City Council - Special Meeting - Apr 20, 2022 2:00 PM 2. City Council - Study Session - Apr 27, 2022 3:00 PM 3. City Council - Regular Meeting - Apr 27, 2022 5:30 PM C. Cathedral City Fire Department Strategic Plan Adoption Recommendation: Approve the amended the 2021-2025 Cathedral City Fire Department Strategic plan. M.O. 2022-89 D. ANNUAL RENEWAL OF THE LIGHTING AND LANDSCAPING DISTRICT BUDGET Recommendation: Adopt three Resolutions to renew the annual assessments with Street Lighting and Landscape Maintenance District No. 1 (Zones 1 through 54). Reso 2022-18 Reso 2022-19 Reso 2022-20 4. ITEMS PULLED FROM CONSENT 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS 6. LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS A. SB 1383 residential roll out program, amendment to the franchise agreement and rate increase request on commercial, residential, and roll-off services. This item was carried over from the Study Session of May 11, 2022 as item 6A. Deanna Pressgrove, Environmental Conservation and Public Works Manager, provided an overview of the SB 1383 residential roll out program, amendment to franchise agreement and rate increase request on commercial, residential, and roll-off services. The following points were presented: • SB 1383 Background • Key Implementation Dates Cathedral City Page 4 Printed on 5/19/2022 • CalRecycle • Subcommittee Background • Residential Roll Out • Rate Increase Request on Solid Waste & Recycling Collection Services • Summary of Residential & Commercial Programs • Amendment of Franchise Agreement This item was for information and direction only, there was no formal action taken by the City Council. B. Battle in the Desert Amateur Boxing Tournament Recommendation: To approve SUP #22-004 to hold the annual Battle in the Desert on October 1, 2022 in the Cathedral City Community Amphitheater. M.O. 2022-90 A motion was made by Councilmember Carnevale and seconded by Councilmember Ross to approve Special Use Permit#22-004 to hold the annual Battle in the Desert Amateur Boxing Competition on October 1, 2022, in the Cathedral City Community Amphitheater and waive the Special Use Permit application fee of$510. RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Mark Carnevale, Councilmember SECONDER: Nancy Ross, Councilmember AYES: Gutierrez, Lamb, Carnevale, Ross, Gregory C. Contract for Services Extension for Locations Unlimited and Locations 760 Recommendation: To approve a two-year contract extension for Locations Unlimited and Locations 760 as booking agents for the Cathedral City Community Amphitheater. M.O. 2022-91 A motion was made by Councilmember Gregory and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Lamb to approve a two-year contract extension for Locations Unlimited and Locations 760 as booking agents for the Cathedral City Community Amphitheater and authorize the City Attorney to amend the contract to include language clarifying that only private parties will have to use Locations Unlimited and Locations 760 as booking agents, and all City Departments, Non-profit groups or City Sponsored events will be booked directly through the City. Cathedral City Page 5 Printed on 5/19/2022 RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Raymond Gregory, Councilmember SECONDER: Rita Lamb, Mayor Pro Tem AYES: Gutierrez, Lamb, Carnevale, Ross, Gregory D. Approval of the proposed SiFi Networks License Agreement an Open Source Fiber Optic Development Agreement Recommendation: Approve the proposed License Agreement with SiFi Networks Cathedral City, LLC. to construct a citywide fiber optic network. M.O. 2022-92 A motion was made by Councilmember Gregory and seconded by Councilmember Carnevale to approve the licensing agreement with SiFi Networks Cathedral City, LLC. to construct a citywide fiber optic network with the following amendments to section 1, Definitions of Terms, "Primary Premises", (iii) which should read as follows: • "if there would be an incremental material cost to connect such Premises would be at least fifty percent (50%) higher than the average cost of SiFi to connect Primary Premises with the Boundary." RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Raymond Gregory, Councilmember SECONDER: Mark Carnevale, Councilmember AYES: Gutierrez, Lamb, Carnevale, Ross, Gregory E. Update on Emergency Actions Related to COVID-19 Recommendation: Update on Status of Emergency Proclamation. Possible action to continue or rescind Resolution 2020-06. Update on Emergency Actions taken by City, County, State of Federal Agencies. Possible consideration of additional measures to be taken. Council may add items not listed on the agenda pursuant to Government Code section 54954.2 by majority vote. City Manager Charles McClendon provided an update on emergency actions related to COVID-19. He indicated that the numbers of confirmed cases have increased over the last two weeks, and it is really important to continue to monitor the data and report on this information. He reported that there are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the city staff. Terry Applegate expressed her concern with rising COVID-19 cases and feels the City needs to ramp up mitigation measures and urged the Council to consider reinstating an indoor mask mandate. Cathedral City Page 6 Printed on 5/19/2022 This item was for information and direction only, there was no formal action taken by the City Council. 7. DISCUSSION ON FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS There was no discussion on future agenda items. 8. CLOSED SESSION Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez adjourned the Regular Meeting at 7:26 p.m. ADJOURN • ayor, City of Cathedral City City Clerk ity of Cathedral City Cathedral City Page 7 Printed on 5/19/2022