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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 2019 0221 CC SA ADJ MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND SUCCESSOR AGENCY OF THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK Moorpark, California February 21, 2019 An Adjourned Meeting of February 6, 2019, the City Council of the City of Moorpark was held on February 21, 2019, in the Council Chambers of said City located at 799 Moorpark Avenue, Moorpark, California. 1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Parvin called the meeting to order at 6:38 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Planning Commissioner Adam Haverstock, led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmembers Enegren, Mikos, Pollock, Simons, and Mayor Parvin. Staff Present: Troy Brown, City Manager (via Skype); Kevin Ennis, City Attorney; Deborah Traffenstedt, Assistant City Manager; Sean Corrigan, City Engineer/Public Works Director; Joseph Fiss Planning Manager; Captain John Reilly, Sheriffs Department; and Maureen Benson, City Clerk. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS: B. Fifth Public Hearing to Receive Comments on the Transition to District- Based Elections and Proposed Council District Maps and Sequencing of Elections; If the Council Selects a Final Map, Introduce an Ordinance Providing for the Election of City Council Members by District with an At- Large Elected Mayor, Establishing the Boundaries and Identification Number of Each District, Establishing the Election Order of Each District, Amending Chapter 2.08 ("Municipal Elections") of the Moorpark Municipal Code, and Making a Determination of Exemption Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. Minutes of the City Council/Successor Agency Moorpark, California Page 2 February 21, 2019 Staff Recommendation: 1) Reopen the public hearing to receive public comments regarding the transition of the City from at-large elections to district-based elections for City Council Members, the content of the final three (3) draft Council district maps, and the proposed sequencing of elections; 2) If the City Council is prepared to select a particular draft map and the sequencing of district elections based on that map, then direct staff to insert the final map number into the draft ordinance included as Attachment 4 and introduce the ordinance for first reading; and 3) If the City Council is not prepared to select a draft map and sequencing of district elections, then it is recommended that the Council provide specific direction on the modification(s) desired, if any, to one or more of the final three (3) draft maps and continue the public hearing to March 6th at 6:30 PM. At the conclusion of the hearing on March 6th, the City Council would consider introducing an ordinance to establish a district- based election system. Mr. Ennis gave a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the City's actions and public outreach regarding this process and gave an overview of the three maps selected for consideration and the sequencing options. Douglas Johnson of National Demographics provided a detailed PowerPoint presentation on Districting Maps 401a, 418a, and 422a and the sequencing options. In response to Council questions, he confirmed if a new map or adjustments were made to the three presented, then a 7- day publication period for a revised map was required, and another meeting would be held for selection of the map. A discussion among the Councilmembers, the City Attorney, and Mr. Johnson followed which focused on the choices and tradeoffs between the maps such as: 1) Similarities between Maps 401a and 418a; 2) Population not as balanced in Map 422a; 3) The census in 2020 will change the districts and new maps will need to be considered in 2021; and 4) An election must be held if there is a vacancy in an at-large council seat. Councilmember Mikos presented a chart she had prepared with the suggested addition of census blocks 8, 14, and 24 to Maps 401a and 418a. She discussed her recommendations for revisions to the maps under consideration and described potential Maps 422b and 422c, and she had provided each member of the City Council with a hand drawn Map 422c that she stated retained a balanced population with inclusion of census blocks 8, 14, and 24 in the downtown area, and placed two incumbent Councilmembers in two districts rather than having three incumbent Councilmembers in one district. Minutes of the City Council/Successor Agency Moorpark, California Page 3 February 21, 2019 Mayor Parvin reopened the public hearing. Councilmember Simons requested the speakers identify which map they are in favor of and where they reside within Moorpark. Monica Savic, resident of the Mountain Meadows area, stated she liked Map 422a with Tierra Rejada Road as a natural division. Adam Haverstock, resident in the Moorpark College area, stated he preferred Map 418a, and that he hoped the Council could reach a decision tonight so the process could move on. Janet Murphy, resident in Campus Hills, stated she liked all three maps, but asked if the Virginia Colony area could be moved into the downtown district. Daniel Groff, resident in the Moorpark Country Club area, stated he liked either Maps 401a or 418a, but found the decision on sequencing hard. Bernardo Perez, resident in the Peach Hill area, stated he wanted Virginia Colony, Charles Street and Everett Street areas included in the downtown district and wanted more Citizen Voting Age Population in the downtown district; Map 422a avoids separating homeowners associations as much as other maps; he likes Tierra Rejada Road as a divider; and sequencing should be determined by random method. Steve Kueny, resident in the Mountain Meadows area, sought clarification on what circumstances based upon the law would include the downtown area in the 2020 election. He stated he was in favor of Map 401a using Tierra Rejada Road as the dividing line; wanted census blocks 8, 14, and 24 with Virginia Colony added to the downtown district; and was in favor of a random method for choosing between districts 1 and 2. Julie Diaz Martinez, resident of the Campus Park area, stated she liked Map 422a if the Council was going to add census blocks 8, 14, and 24 to the downtown district. Mark Van Dam, resident of Serenata, stated Map 422a is problematic as it joins Serenata with the college area, when their community of interest is with Peach Hill, and it leaves a district with one Councilmember while the other district has three. He went on to state Maps 401a and 418a are acceptable, and introduction of a fourth map is unacceptable at this time. Matthew Enegren, resident of Meridian Hills, spoke in support of Maps 401a and 418a and urged the Council to move forward tonight with the selection of a map and the Sequencing Option 1 for Map 401 a or Option 2 Minutes of the City Council/Successor Agency Moorpark, California Page 4 February 21, 2019 for Map 418a to allow new candidates on the Council, and recommended a future discussion of term limits for Councilmembers and the Mayor. Marc Goldman, resident of Rustic Canyon, recommended Map 401a with Sequencing Option 2. Mayor Parvin closed the public hearing. A discussion among the Councilmembers, the City Attorney, and the demographer focused on: 1) Legal requirement that maps have equal population for districts; 2) Race cannot be the predominate determining factor; 3) the protected class voting block cannot be diminished; 4) All maps have the downtown area with a consolidated majority minority; 5) Whether to add in census blocks 8, 14, 24 in the downtown district creating a new map 401b for review and extending the decisions and introduction of an ordinance to another meeting; and 6) Whether to decide on Map 401a as it is and move on tonight. MOTION: Mayor Parvin moved and Councilmember Enegren seconded a motion to select Map 401a with no changes. The motion carried by voice vote 3- 2, Councilmembers Mikos and Pollock dissenting. A discussion followed among the Councilmembers focused on the sequencing for the future elections based upon Map 401 a, and whether to use a random drawing to select between Option 1 and Option 2 on Attachment 7, or whether to vote on the sequencing to be included in the ordinance without a random drawing. MOTION: Councilmember Mikos moved and Councilmember Pollock seconded a motion to determine the sequencing option by a random drawing. The motion failed by roll call vote 2-3, Councilmembers Enegren, Simons, and Mayor Parvin dissenting. MOTION: Councilmember Enegren moved and Councilmember Simons seconded a motion to select Sequencing Option 2 for the election in 2020. The motion carried by voice vote 4-1, Councilmember Mikos dissenting. Councilmember Mikos stated for the record to be part of the minutes for this item that: "I never thought I would see the day in Moorpark where this, or any city council, would vote so unfairly as it just did, 4-1 on district sequencing. If the council had voted to sequence the districts by keeping the central protected district in 2020 and a randomly selected district from the two districts which the current incumbents live in, also in 2020, that would have been fair. One incumbent would be out and one would be in, and I would be fine with that, but that didn't happen. With this vote, only four people in our city, have decided who gets to run and who doesn't and I don't think that's fair and I don't think the public will think it's fair. You Minutes of the City Council/Successor Agency Moorpark, California Page 5 February 21, 2019 have decided to oust one Councilmember, by design, at the expense of the other and it would have been the same way if it had gone for Ken being in it instead of me. In my humble opinion, while it is legal to do that, I think it is unethical. I am very sorry to see Moorpark go this route." Mr. Ennis read the title of Ordinance No. 467 from a corrected version presented to the Council at the meeting and inserted the information regarding the Map 401a selection and the 2020 sequencing for Districts 2 and 4 and 2022 sequencing for Districts 1 and 3 in the recitals and in Section 2 for new Municipal Code Section 2.08.050 Election Sequence. ORDINANCE NO. 467 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA, PROVIDING FOR THE ELECTION OF CITY COUNCILMEMBERS BY DISTRICTS WITH AN AT-LARGE ELECTED MAYOR, ESTABLISHING THE BOUNDARIES AND IDENTIFICATION NUMBER OF EACH DISTRICT, ESTABLISHING THE ELECTION ORDER OF EACH DISTRICT, AMENDING CHAPTER 2.08 ("MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS") OF THE MOORPARK MUNICIPAL CODE, AND MAKING A DETERMINATION OF EXEMPTION PURSUANT TO THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT MOTION: Mayor Parvin moved and Councilmember Pollock seconded a motion to waive further reading, declare Ordinance No 467 read for the first time, and scheduled second reading and adoption for the March 6, 2019 meeting. The motion carried by voice vote 4-1, Councilmember Mikos dissenting. 6. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Mayor Parvin moved and Councilmember Enegren seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. The time was 8:51 p.m. OInice S. Parvin, Mayor ATTEST: y Maureen Benson, City Clerk =5 iiiIPIcV)