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Belmont Shore Residents Association MINUTES EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING November 13, 2008 The meeting was called to order by President Mike Ruehle at 6:00 pm. The members of the Executive Board present were: Aileen Colon, Vice President Terence Endersen, Charles Folks, Marvin Jones, Jim Lazarus, Secretary Jeff Miller, and President Mike Ruehle. Executive Board members Tim Clark and John Forstrom arrived later; Larry Jordan and Treasurer Christopher Van Horn were absent. Thirty-four additional BSRA members and visitors were present. President Mike Ruehle announced the meeting is being recorded on videotape. Natalie Beam, Librarian of the Bay Shore Library, spoke about the services available from the city's libraries. She showed a few of these features on the Library web site, lbpl.org, such as the availability of Blu-Ray DVDs, the veterans oral history project, and the capability to download audio books. Secretary Jeff Miller reported the receipt of four new memberships. The $10 invoice for the administrative fee for our liability insurance has been paid. A motion was approved unanimously to reimburse the remaining September election expenses incurred by Terry Endersen and Jeff Miller, totaling $149.11. The checking account balance is $4,605.71. There was no representative from the Long Beach Police Department, so no report was given. Nancy Buchanan, BSBA representative, asked the audience to join BSRA's efforts in urging residents to "shop local" and support the Belmont Shore merchants during the coming holidays. She announced two new businesses opening in the shore: Venissimo, a gourmet cheese shop, and We Olive, a gourmet olive oil shop. The BSBA is seeking sponsors for bands in the Christmas Parade December 6. Jeanette Gavin, the designated residents' representative on the Belmont Shore Parking Commission, announced the next meeting of the commission will be November 20. Funding of the bond for alley repair and parking lot purchase will be discussed. Julie Maleki of Councilmember DeLong's office announced the planned repair of sidewalks in the block of Granada Ave. between Ocean Blvd. and First St. Assistant City Manager Suzanne Frick will speak about the proposed Los Cerritos Wetlands purchase arrangement at the Third District meeting on November 20. The beach parking lot at La Verne Ave. will be open for free parking the evening of December 6 for the Christmas Parade. Mr. Dennis Eschen, Manager of the Planning and Development Bureau, Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine, spoke about the city's plans to replace the aging building at the Leeway Sailing Center. The project is in the planning stage at this time; no design has been produced yet. The projected cost is estimated to be $700,000 and construction is proposed for Fall of 2010. The city is accepting comments about the project until December 19. Project details will soon be available on the city's web site on the Parks Department page. Questions from the audience were addressed; about this project and about the planned lowering of the Ocean Blvd. seawall and the opening of the beach parking lots to free parking. Executive Board members Tim Clark and John Forstrom entered the meeting. Secretary Miller reported the formation of a number of committees to address the issues identified on the recent BSRA survey of residents as most important to them. The committees are: BSRA-BSBA Communications Committee, Chair = Jeff Miller Ocean and Bay Pollution, Chair = Aileen Colon Beach Issues and Concerns, Chair = Christopher Van Horn Parking, Chair = Jim Lazarus Alcohol Issues, Chair = John Forstrom Alley Maintenance and Repair, Chair = Charles Folks Bylaws, Chair = Jeff Miller A motion was approved unanimously to activate these committees, with the chair of each committee as named. Volunteers are encouraged to apply for committee membership, which is open to all BSRA members. Committee members will be selected by the chair of each committee, subject to approval by the Executive Board. Secretary Miller reported on the activities of the BSRA-BSBA Communications Committee. This committee was formed with the purpose of improving communications with the BSBA. The committee members have met twice with representatives of BSBA, hosted by Council Member Gary DeLong and facilitated by Joel Colbert. In the initial meeting, the participants agreed on some ground rules and a format for further discussions. In the second meeting, they discussed the issues of parking and bar disturbances. They developed lists of the issues, ideas for improvement, and finally a prioritized list of actions to pursue. Secretary Miller announced the new BSRA program "Shop Local", which is a promotional activity encouraging residents to patronize the Belmont Shore businesses. Lisa Ramelow, owner of La Strada restaurant, announced her participation in this program by hosting a "resident appreciation day" on November 19, when Belmont Shore residents will be given a 20 percent discount on the price of their meal.
President Ruehle reported the owner of the former Vint's restaurant has applied to California ABC to remove several of the operating conditions from their alcohol license. A recent survey of residents indicated 75 percent of the people responding disapproved of the changes, so a letter of protest has been filed with ABC. Based on this support from residents, Council member DeLong has also filed a protest. President Ruehle reported the results of the recent Planning Commission meeting, at which the commission ruled on proposed changes to the zoning regulations. City staff had recommended the requirement to notify residents of zoning variance requests be increased from the current standard of notification to residents within a 300 foot radius to 750 feet. After lengthy discussion and public testimony, the commission rejected this change and instead increased the radius to only 500 feet. Mr. Ruehle characterized the action as a disturbing trend by several of the commissioners to favor developers over the rights of homeowners. The commission also approved adding renters as well as property owners to the noticing requirement and they approved a larger signage requirement. President Ruehle announced plans to survey residents about the city's proposed pilot project to open the beach parking lot at La Verne Ave. to free overnight parking. A similar proposal for the Granada Ave. lot is also being considered. Several concerns and questions were raised during the discussion, such as parking of trucks and RVs, people camping in vehicles, loitering, and disturbances caused by vehicles entering and leaving at night. The survey results will be sent to Council member DeLong. Marge Campbell complained about the conduct of the Executive Board election in September. She requested a straw vote of the audience in support of invalidating the election, which showed only six people supported her. Rich Carry complained about President Ruehle's statements about the September election. Nancy Buchanan complained about the video recording of the September election meeting. Luann Cadby requested that future elections be conducted with a specific ending time for voting announced. Sylvia Barger suggesting voting be restricted to members who have registered at least 30 days ahead of the election. The meeting was adjourned at 7:58 pm. Submitted by: Jeff Miller, Recording Secretary
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