The Signal Hill Planning Commission further reviewed garage-sales permit application processes at its Nov. 20 meeting to ensure the procedure is “streamlined” in response to a citizen complaint in October. The commission also approved to amend a conditional-use permit for a local brewing company to host outdoor events and viewed 2019 dates for Signal Hill City Council, Signal Planning Commission and Sustainable City Committee meetings.
A chart showing the 2019 meeting dates for the Signal Hill City Council, the Signal Hill Planning Commission and the Sustainable City Committee.
Assistant Planner Ryan Agbayani presented a public workshop on the processing of garage sales.
He said that on Oct. 23, a resident attended a Signal Hill City Council meeting and raised a concern regarding how garage-sales permits are processed. The resident reported that one property hosted four garage-sale events in his neighborhood, exceeding the maximum number of three in a calendar year. City staff checked the records and corroborated that a fourth permit was mistakenly issued to the property in question, Agbayani said.
In response to the mistake, city staff is verifying if any changes to the garage-sales process are necessary to avoid future mishaps and address community concerns.
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Agbayani said that to apply for a permit, an applicant must complete a form and provide basic information, such as a name, address, telephone number, date of an event, etc. Based on previous complaints and to improve tracking, staff incorporated a field in the application where the applicant has to list how many events have been conducted in the calendar year for that particular property.
Staff then logs the information in a binder and verifies if the applicant is still eligible to have a garage sale at the property. If all checks out, Signal Hill staff approves the application, and the applicant pays a necessary fee of $20. Finally, a receipt is stapled to the back of the application as proof.
Agbayani said that, on weekends, when most garage sales take place but planners are not present, the Signal Hill Police Department becomes the primary force that facilitates garage sales, whether it be verifying if property owners have a permit or responding to resident concerns.
For context, Agbayani said the City issued 59 garage-sales permits in 2018.
“Staff has used this opportunity to review procedures and are committed to doing a better job at tracking,” he said. “We will be using an Excel sheet […] to verify that the properties are indeed eligible to host events.”
The three commissioners opted for city staff to review the process one more time to ensure that it is as efficient as possible.
“We’re in agreement that we ask staff to go back and look at the process to reassure that they, not only have streamlined it, but they have the checks and balances in place to […] solidify that citizens are compliant and that we have addressed their concerns,” Parker said.
Senior Planner Colleen Doan gave a presentation about Ten Mile Brewing, 1136 E. Willow St., whose owner, Daniel Sundstrom, proposed an amendment to Conditional Use Permit 16-02 that would allow up to 12 outdoor events a year in the business’ parking lot.
City staff compromised with Ten Mile Brewing for its one-year anniversary event Sept. 26 and allowed the brewery to host the festivities outdoors and use it as a template for a proposed plan, Doan said.
“So, staff used the template from the anniversary event to develop the conditions of approval for outdoor events,” she said, adding that Ten Mile Brewing would need to provide an outdoor application for each function that includes an event plan and a deposit that needs to be maintained to host the 12 events each year.
The commissioners approved the resolution, 3-0, to recommend the Signal Hill City Council to amend the conditional-use permit.
The Signal Hill Planning Commission will conduct its next meeting Dec. 18 at 7pm at the Signal Hill City Hall Council Chamber, 2175 Cherry Ave. The planning commission hosts meetings on the third Tuesday of each month.
