There were none of the usual ceremonial presentations at the June 5 City Council Meeting, so they moved right to the Consent Calendar, which was unanimously approved, and included:
- A Resolution to designate a 12-minute green curb parking zone in the 1000 block of Ninth Street.
- An encroachment permit for a proposed pedestrian ramp on the Adella Avenue frontage of the Coronado Beach Resort, 1415 Orange Avenue.
- A five-year agreement for professional services with the California Yacht Marina for the management of the Glorietta Bay Marina.
- A letter of support for Neighborhood Electric Vehicles in San Diego County and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure. (SB 1151, AB 1082 and AB 1083)
Ed Walton, City Engineer, presented a brief report on designating a blue curb parking zone in front of 1021 E Avenue. He indicated that the applicant had presented the necessary documentation including primary residency, physician’s note, handicap placard, vehicle registered in their name and if additional parking is available at the residence. Two neighbors spoke and indicated that the applicant does not live at the residence full-time, and asked that the request be denied. Because there are questions surrounding this issue, the Mayor and Councilmember Downey asked to continue this agenda item to conduct further research and revisit this again at a later date.
Next, Thomas Ritter, Assistant City Manager, gave a report on the 12-month trial suspension of the decal parking permit zone. Surveys were conducted in March, April and May of the available spaces on H, I, F and E Avenues and Alameda Avenue. They also surveyed outside the district on A and H Avenues for comparison. He indicated that the survey doesn’t show a lot of difference in these areas. The Navy has changed the 24-hour lot to a 72-hour, and the survey shows that there are always parking spots available there. Often Navy personnel do not park in this lot because of closer proximity on the surrounding streets.
Image: page 179 Coronado City Council Meeting Agenda for Oct. 3, 2017
The Mayor stated that there was a miscommunication that this would be an actionable item, but instead it came as an informational item. Councilmember Downey says they have heard from many residents that the permits should be returned to the original area from 1991. She said she would like to see options at the next meeting. Councilmember Sandke asked how many calls the police have received for the 72-hour violation code and Chief Jon Froomin said there had been some increase, but didn’t have specific statistics.
Nine homeowners spoke up on this issue, with the majority saying that they want the City to bring back the parking permits to help alleviate the parking problems on their streets. Councilmember Downey made a motion, that unanimously passed, to receive this report and come back with actionable items at the June 19 meeting. City Manager Blair King pointed out that the suspension can also be reconsidered at that time.
In Oral Communication, Daron Case asked for the Free Summer Shuttle to be reinstated for the Cays. He started a petition that 150 people have signed in the past three days. 
Later in the meeting, Councilmember Downey addressed this issue by saying that she and Councilmember Donovan went to the Cays Homeowners Association Meeting and no one there raised this issue. According to the statistics, an average of one person per day used the free shuttle from the Cays, and this was after they customized it so that people could be picked in front of their houses. If more people begin to ride it, then they will look at adding the Cays back on to the schedule. It will be available to Cays residents on the Fourth of July.
Councilmember Donovan said that he and Councilmember Downey conducted two successful Historical Resource Program public workshops and they will brief the City Council at the next meeting. There is still time for the community to see the presentation, recommendations and give feedback on the city website at https://www.coronado.ca.us/cms/one.aspx?pageId=1619269.
Peter McVeigh, vice president of the Coronado Swimming Association (CSA), is asking the city to consider a long term partnership to let them use city facilities rather than the Brian Bent Memorial Aquatics Complex (BBMAC) due in part to rent increases and management decisions. He asked Council to take into consideration the proposal he presented to the Council earlier this month.
Dan Orr praised Holland’s Bicycles for their support in May of National Bike Month and asked the City Council if there was some way to recognize them.
Councilmember Downey gave a report that she spoke to Dr. Beach and discovered that he does look at water quality of beaches during summer months. He said that storm runoff causes these problems everywhere. He offered to help bring attention to this issue.
Blair King presented the City Manager’s report highlighting two awards received during National Public Works Week given by the American Public Works Association (APWA). The first was Project of the Year for structures under $1 million for the Spreckels Park Restroom, technically considered a “comfort station.” The second award was Project of Year for sustainable projects between $1-5 million for the John D. Spreckels Center and Bowling Green. Mayor Bailey thanked the staff for their hard work on these projects.
Tricia Olsen, associate planner, presented background on the approval of a historic alteration permit for reconstruction of landscape structures at 711 A Avenue. They are requesting set back variances to rebuild previously torn down structures on the property. These structures include a shade structure, tea pergola and additional pergolas, which will be rebuilt in phases as historically accurate. This motion was approved unanimously.
Ed Walton, City Engineer, presented a summary of the TransNet Local Street Improvement Projects for fiscal years 2018-2019 through 2022-23. They are going through steps to receive $3.5 mil revenue for local street improvements. This is part of the Regional Transit Improvement Plan (RTIP). This was approved unanimously.
During the Inter-agency Reports, the Mayor discussed The San Diego Association of Governments’ (SANDAG) new Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) standards for the County of San Diego.
The State is introducing bills that if the cities don’t comply with, then builders could potentially bypass the city and go to the State for approval. The Mayor said that the determination of these numbers is part art and part science, and that the 12 local cities understand their needs better than those at the State level. Four weeks ago, the SANDAG Board voted to push back on the State building numbers and ask for lower numbers. Then two weeks ago, after the Builder’s Industry Association (BIA), Chamber of Commerce and others weighed in, SANDAG re-voted and decided to reconsider the vote in favor of the State’s higher numbers. Councilmember Sandke said that this is a regional issue and other larger cities can take on additional housing requirements.
The Mayor stated, “I believe it is in the City of Coronado’s best interest to push back on any effort by the state to take away local control. The latest effort by the state to increase density in our community is unacceptable and just another example of overreach by Sacramento.” He will attend another SANDAG meeting on June 8, 2018, and see what happens.
The City Council unanimously adopted the Fiscal Year 2018-2019 Budget. There was public comment regarding funding for the Coronado Senior Association (CSA) and the way they operate and funds are used. The Mayor said that the City Staff and Council will review this issue.
City Manager Blair King said that the City Council previously provided direction for a larger project to improve the Toll Plaza and they are working with Caltrans on that, but in the interim, a new Gateway Signage and Maintenance Project was presented by Ed Walton, City Engineer. This project will potentially include a Marquee sign on the wing structure, removal of the overhead traffic sign, consistent painting on wing structure, repair of lighting and additional lighting on wing structure, shifting travel lanes to center, more defined lanes, getting rid of orange construction barrels, adding new landscape with the same palette, consistent with historic theme. Councilmember Downey said they have received comments regarding the name Coronado Island on top of the wing structure. King said this project should take approximately two to three years to complete and that the City Council had approved the go ahead for signage. Rita Sarich from Coronado MainStreet said they support the project, other than the signage. After discussion by the Council, this proposal was approved unanimously with the caveat that the signage option is removed.
For the final item, the City Council considered a motion to authorize staff to create an ordinance to prohibit vaping or the use of electronic smoking devices in certain outdoor areas in Coronado. Six community and association members spoke up in favor of this motion. Councilmember Sandke made the motion that the City Attorney look at revisions to the Coronado municipal code to include more comprehensive definitions of smoking and electronic smoking devices. The motion passed unanimously.
