At the Signal Hill City Council meeting on March 27, newly selected Mayor Tina Hansen (left) reads from a proclamation presented to outgoing mayor Edward Wilson (right) for his service.
The council also authorized staff to submit the city’s General Plan annual progress report to Sacramento, as per State law. Staff reviewed specific concerns about the housing element of the plan, given new State law SB 25.
Mayor rotation
The Signal Hill City Council, like 66 other Los Angeles County municipalities, reorganizes annually, selecting a new mayor and vice mayor from among its five elected council members each year.
At its meeting on March 27, the council unanimously voted for Tina Hansen to be mayor for a year, with fellow councilmember Larry Forester serving as vice mayor. Former mayor Edward Wilson will continue serving on the council as a member.
This is Hansen’s fifth (non-consecutive) term as mayor, as she has served on the city council since 1994. She is also a deputy district attorney with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
It had been Hansen’s “turn” to rotate in as mayor last year, but she chose to defer that opportunity until this year so she could be mayor when construction of the new Signal Hill Public Library is complete. Instead, she served as vice mayor.
“Everyone knows that my passion is the [new Signal Hill public] library and I want to be assured that I will be mayor when the library opens,” she had explained at the meeting last March.
Hansen’s and Forester’s four-year elected terms will expire next March. Terms of the other three members— Wilson, Lori Woods, and Robert Copeland— expire in March 2021.
During the council meeting, as per procedure, each member had the opportunity to nominate a mayor in order for the council to then vote on those nominations.
After city clerk Keir Jones initiated the procedure, Forester nominated Hansen, and Wilson moved to close nominations. Newest member Robert Copeland asked if it was a “yes-no” vote and then voted yes, as did all the other members.
Following applause by the public and officials attending the meeting, Wilson and Hansen changed seats and name plaques so that Hansen could sit at the center of the council dais.
As new mayor, Hansen then conducted procedures for selecting a new vice mayor. She nominated Forester, and Wilson seconded the motion, after which other council members motioned for nominations to be closed and voted unanimously for Forester to be vice mayor.
“If I may say, we are a team again,” said Forester, referring to his working with Hansen previously in mayor/vice-mayor roles.
“I love when Larry is my vice mayor because, as everybody knows, I have a complex life and I know that Larry is such a good backup for me,” Hansen said.
Hansen then presented Wilson with a proclamation from the council thanking him for his representation as mayor over the past year.
“[Wilson] served this office with authenticity, enthusiasm and dedication,” Hansen read from the proclamation. “During his tenure as mayor, the popularity of community events— such as Spring Fest, Halloween carnival and Concerts in the Park— reached all-time highs.”
Hansen also noted Wilson’s successes in building better relationships with local schools, opening the Zinnia housing development and the new Signal Hill Dog Park, and beginning construction of the new public library.
The opening of Mother’s Market and Ten Mile Brewing and the planned addition of Mazda to the Signal Hill Auto Center, all under Wilson’s tenure, Hansen said, promoted Signal Hill as a desirable place to establish a new business.
“Mayor Wilson was an advocate of environmental stewardship through his mayor’s clean-up events, encouragement of water-conservation efforts and reducing energy use through the approval of the LED streetlight-conversion project,” Hansen added.
Finally, she noted Wilson’s prudent fiscal practices leading to a balanced budget and sound reserve levels.
Hansen also presented Wilson with a plaque for outstanding dedication and service to the community as mayor and city council member.
“Apparently, this is a new thing,” Hansen quipped of the plaque. “I like it, and we can keep it next year. [!] I, of course, would mention the library on mine.”
Other officials also made presentations of appreciation to Wilson, including representatives from the offices of Congressmember Alan Lowenthal and Senator Ricardo Lara, and Felton Williams, a board member of the Long Beach Unified School District.
“Thank you so much, Ed,” Williams said, “for the great job and collaboration you’ve done with us over the years.”
Housing element
City Manager Charlie Honeycutt explained that the State requires all cities to submit to their local legislations an annual progress report on the city’s General Plan goals.
The City is then required to file the report with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, as well as the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), by April 1. The council approved these submissions.
Chart viewed at the March 27 Signal Hill City Council meeting showing the statewide shortage of new housing production that prompted the passing of State law SB 35. The council discussed how, under the new law, the State may allow developers to bypass City planning processes to construct required housing.
Though the staff report indicates progress in all elements in 2017— including completing the Zinnia project of 71 workforce-housing units at 1500 E. Hill St. and ongoing construction of the new library and Crescent Square housing— Charney focused the council’s attention on a concerning issue related to the housing element.
Along with several other housing-related bills due to the statewide housing shortage, the State passed SB 35 last September to assist in faster housing development by bypassing a city’s planning process.
Charney reminded the council that the Signal Hill’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation demands 169 new housing units by 2021 and showed that the City had issued permits for 118 units by the end of 2017, which is 70 percent of its total new-housing obligation, above the 50 percent required by this point.
That number also includes 100-percent completion of the City’s obligation for new housing for those in the low- and very-low-income categories. Charney added that Signal Hill is one of only five jurisdictions statewide that have achieved 100-percent completion of new housing for those income levels.
However, the City is short by 10 percent— or 8 units— in new housing for the above-moderate income category.
“It would be fair to assume that we would be considered ‘on track,'” Charney explained. “However, our friends in Sacramento don’t share that assessment, as we are deficient in one of the four categories, the above-moderate income group. HCD has reported that only 12 jurisdictions have met their production goals and Signal Hill and 526 other jurisdictions have not and are now subject to ‘streamlining’ provisions.”
Chart showing the number of permits issued by the City of Signal Hill at the end of 2017 to meet its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation. At the Signal Hill City Council meeting on March 27, the council discussed how the 40-percent mark for above-moderate income housing is short of the 50-percent prorated goal and therefore subjects the City to State law SB 35 to ‘streamline’ housing production.
“It does this by ‘streamlining’ the planning process,” Charney explained. “What that means, in the real world, is that many of the projects that are currently subject to discretionary review by the Planning Commission will no longer be subject to public hearings, public notice or CEQA (Calif. Environmental Quality Act) review.”
In response to a public comment, Charney explained that view considerations for new multi-family housing under SB 35 would be considered “subjective” — along with the scale and design of buildings— and therefore the State would eliminate those factors from approval consideration.
“That is one of the reasons that we as a City did send an opposition letter to Sacramento,” Charney said. “With the idea being that it didn’t give us flexibility to deal with our locally specific concerns like our view policy.”
However, Charney reinforced that the threat of State streamlining is temporary until the City meets its benchmark RHNA goal in the above-moderate income category. He also added that the City asks for specific plans from developers to help preclude the possibility of a project that did not meet the City’s goals.
“Many of the larger developments in Signal Hill have included specific plans, which is our way of dealing with requests to deviate from the current standard,” he said.
Second reading
The council conducted a second reading and approved adoption of an ordinance authorizing a contract amendment between the council and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS).
Staff had first introduced the amendment to the council on Feb. 27 and said it was necessary to make the contract consistent with the City’s recently-negotiated memorandum-of-understanding with the Signal Hill Police Officers Association regarding pensions.
New business
Some council members shared their recent experiences and efforts during new business.
Copeland shared details of his trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the National League of Cities Conference from March 11 to 14. He said that of the 2,000 delegates in attendance, nearly 60 percent represented smaller cities like Signal Hill.
Copeland said he met a representative from Alan Lowenthal’s office to discuss funding for mandated projects, such as those stemming from the Clean Water Act, that affect Signal Hill.
But Copeland was most struck by a discussion by FCC (Federal Communications Commission) Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel on what she called the “homework gap.”
“Seventy percent of teachers give homework that requires Internet access,” Copeland explained. “And 33 percent of homes don’t have Internet access.”
He said that Rosenworcel discussed a digital-inclusion strategy, such as libraries checking out mobile hotspots to students so they can do their homework, but that she also went further.
“Even more simple than that is this solution,” Copeland said. “She recommended the City just started making maps of where there’s spots for kids to come to get Internet access. So, we’d have our library, [and] maybe here in City Hall, and start engaging the local businesses, and then the local business start saying ‘OK, we’ll offer a spot. They can come down here and do their homework.'”
Copeland was struck by the simplicity of the idea to solve the problem, especially since he noted that 50 percent of current jobs require Internet literacy and that is projected to increase to 77 percent by the end of the decade.
“I thought this was the most profound thing from this whole conference because that little map is such an easy solution,” Copeland said.
Hansen reinforced the value in traveling to such conferences and said the council would discuss travel funds at the budget workshop in May.
Forester indicated that he is fighting to keep Community Hospital open in light of Long Beach MemorialCare’s recent decision to close it because it sits on an active seismic fault-line.
Woods said she enjoyed the recent grand-openings of the Zinnia housing project and new dog park.
“I’ve been there several times since with my dog,” she said of the park. “I’ve run into a lot of other neighbors, a lot of other residents from north of the 405 that are really enjoying the ability to walk to one of our parks. [!] It’s a great addition to our city, and it’s already very well used.”
The council adjourned to an off-site reception in honor of outgoing mayor Wilson.
The next Signal Hill City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, April 10, at 7pm in the council chamber at 2175 Cherry Ave.
