Highlights of the Meeting:
Two police officers were commended for two separate life saving actions;
Proclamation of Coronado Parenting Day on January 25th and a Parenting Symposium, also on January 25, sponsored by Coronado Safe announced;
Red Carpet Oscar Party on Sunday March 2nd to benefit the new Coronado Film Festival announced;
Council upholds Historic Resource Commission’s involuntary designation of home at 1004 10th Street as an “Historic Resource”;
Parks and Recreation Commissioner Jefferson Allison reappointed and Scott Chasin appointed as new Parks and Recreation Commissioner, both for three year terms; and
Existing encroachment permits permitting outdoor dining on the 100 block of Orange Avenue were re-approved until plans for the City’s redesign of the streetscape for downtown and the 100 block of Orange have been finalized.
Certificates of Commendation to Police Officers
Mayor Tanaka presented Certificates of Commendation to Coronado Police Officers Bill Canet and Sherry Mannello for their life saving actions in two separate incidents. Each had responded to a 911 call involving an elderly resident who had stopped breathing. In each case the officer correctly assessed the situation and provided CPR until the Fire Department arrived and continued treatment. In both cases the actions of the police officer saved the victim’s life.
Ceremonial Proclamation
The Mayor also issued a proclamation declaring January 25th as Coronado Parenting Day and presented the proclamation to representatives of Coronado Safe which is sponsoring a Parenting Symposium on January 25th. All are invited to attend.
Red Carpet Oscar Party
Doug St. Denis of the Cultural Arts Commission and Carolyn Aires took advantage of the public Oral Communications segment of the meeting to announce a “Red Carpet Oscar Party” to benefit the new Coronado Film Festival on March 2nd at Nicky Rotten’s. Tickets are $50 and may be purchased on-line or at Bliss Spa.
Appeal of HRC Decision to Designate 1004 10th Street as Historic Resource
This property is a small Victorian home built about 1910 on property then owned by the Coronado Beach Company. The property is now held in a trust for the benefit of the heirs of the family who lived in the house. The trustee is attempting to sell the property to a buyer who wants to demolish it. Because the property is more than 75 years old, City law requires that the owner seek approval of the Historic Resource Commission which is charged with the responsibility of determining whether the property meets the City’s criteria for involuntary designation as an “historic resource”. If so, the property may not be demolished without a permit which may make demolition difficult or impossible. The Historic Resource Commission had reviewed the matter and had determined that the home met the criteria for involuntary designation. The trustee/owner appealed the decision to the City Council.
The City ordinance has five criteria for involuntary designation, two of which must be met before a property is designated an historic resource. Everyone, including the trustee/owner agreed that one of the criteria – that the home has distinctive characteristics of an architectural style of a particular period – had been met. (The HRC had ruled that 4 of the criteria had been met.) The Council reviewed the other criteria to determine whether at least one of the other criteria had been met. The attorney representing the trustee/owner argued that there was inadequate documentation to support the findings of the HRC and he argued that in the case of an involuntary designation that such proof should be required. Dave Gillingham and Jon Ryan, member of the HRC, said that the trustee/owner was asking for a high level of proof where none may exist from this time period but they felt the home met the criteria.
The members of the Council had differing opinions as to whether the house met the criteria. Mr.Ovrom and Mr. Bailey did not think the home met any criteria other than the architectural style criteria all parties agreed on. The Mayor and Ms. Denny thought the home met all four criteria and Mr. Woiwode provided the swing vote as he agreed with two criteria. As a result the HRC designation of the property as an “historic resource” was upheld with Mr. Ovrom and Mr. Bailey voting no.
Port Commissioner’s Report
Newly appointed Port Commissioner Gary Bonelli reported on his first two weeks a Port Commissioner which had involved many meetings with the various constituencies including the Yacht Club, Coronado Cays, the Coronado Cays Conservancy, and the Coronado Cays Yacht Club. He hopes to arrange that the Chief Executive of the Port will meet regularly with Coronado City Manager Blair King. He said he would also assure that the Port holds meetings in Coronado as it develops its new visionary plan.
Renewal of Encroachment Permits on 100 Block of Orange Avenue
For several years the City has approved encroachment permits to several restaurants on the 100 block of Orange Avenue to permit the use of the City sidewalk for sidewalk dining: Nicky Rotten’s, The Firehouse, Sapori and Saiko Sushi, subject to certain conditions. The permits have come up for review annually or more frequently so that the Council could review the impacts on the use of the sidewalk and on the neighborhood and otherwise evaluate whether the encroachment permits should be renewed. Also, the encroachment permits exceed the City’s design guidelines which call for limiting encroachments to 5 feet into the sidewalk, whereas the permits allow encroachment of 6 to 8 feet into the sidewalk; as a result, the permits were issued on a temporary basis pending development of the City’s commercial district streetscape plan. Rather than have the permits continue to be reviewed on an annual basis, the Staff recommended that the permits be approved for an indefinite period until the City finalizes its streetscape design guidelines. The newly reissued permits will come with uniform conditions intended to control noise. This will remove a requirement particular to Nicky Rotten’s which was to have a uniformed security guard patrolling outside the premises at certain times.
It was noted that one of the permits was issued to The Firehouse which has recently closed but it is intended that another restaurant, a Japanese steakhouse, would open in the same space.
Rita Sarich speaking for Mainstreet Coronado did not oppose the permits but reiterated Mainstreet’s position that the encroachment permits should be uniform as to the distance the encroachment is permitted into the sidewalk for both the downtown commercial district and the 100 block of Orange Avenue. Right now the restaurants on the 100 block of Orange are permitted a greater degree of encroachment than downtown businesses.
The Council unanimously approved the renewal of the encroachment permits as recommended by Staff.
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