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Brentwood Press - BrentwoodPress_05.16.08 - Index

MAY 16, 2008 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 21A
Fire from page 1A
fi cials have said, however, that their communities
will not support more taxes unless
they have a say in the governance of
the district. The district is now run from
Martinez by the Board of Supervisors.
The Brentwood and Oakley councils
and the Board of Supervisors earlier this
year agreed in concept to a governance
model that would give the cities representation
on the district board. The county was
also to represent its residents in unincorporated
areas.
Because Brentwood lays claim to the
largest population, it was agreed that it
would have the most representatives. In
recent months, Oakley and the county
have been negotiating on how many board
members each of them would be given.
Oakley, with more residents than the unincorporated
areas, would agree to the same
number of seats on the fi re board as the
county, provided the county transferred
ownership of four parcels of land within
the city that it says should have been turned
over when it incorporated in 1998.
Roadblock from page 1A
not only the library move, but three other
Civic Center items before the council: the
hiring of a construction management
fi rm for the project for $2.3 million; acceptance
of the proposed design for the
fountain and trees for the Civic Center
Plaza; and endorsement of the City Park
Master Site Plan.
Other than the fi rst $280,000 of the
construction manager’s contract, the
votes did not call for any spending. The
current time line calls for the project to go
out to bid and for the fi nancing options
to be studied between now and the end of
the year. Decisions on how much of the
project would be built, and when, would
be made in late 2008 or early 2009.
Becnel and Brockman both said
they saw positive economic signs – Becnel
pointed to a report that shows Brentwood
real estate sales have climbed each
of the last four months, more than doubling
in April over March (from 45 to 93).
Brockman said his engineering company
was beginning to have diffi culty hiring
workers to catch up on a work backlog
Unable to reach a settlement on the
real estate, the Oakley City Council this
week decided to separate the fi re issue from
the property issue. It then voted, however,
to rescind its previous resolution agreeing
to the governance concept on the grounds
that the poor district funding was the county’s
problem to solve rather than the cities’.
The decision angered members of the
Brentwood Council, who were ready to
agree to whatever the county and Oakley
came up with and get on with the business
of improving the area’s fi re service.
“They (Oakley) have demonstrated
that they don’t have the ability to get together
with Brentwood and govern a fi re
district,” said Councilman Brandon Richey,
a member of the city’s Fire Service Subcommittee.
“They shouldn’t have mixed fi re
service with real estate transactions.”
Councilman Chris Becnel said the decision
does not bode well for regional cooperation
in other areas as well.
“It certainly raises some serious questions
on the part of this councilman about
the stability of future joint ventures,” Bec-
nel said. “With all the hours staff has put
into this, it irritates me to no end that all
that is going to be thrown by the wayside
over issues that are not nearly as important
as straightening out the fi re problem in far
East County.”
District V Supervisor Mary Piepho
said Oakley’s decision was “disappointing,”
but said local governance is still not
out of the question.
“The board (of Supervisors) still has
the option of appointing an independent
form of governance,” she said. “We were
trying to give the cities representation on
the board, but now Oakley’s walked away
from that. It remains to be seen what Brentwood
will do.”
At Tuesday’s Brentwood City Council
meeting, Richey asked that an investigation
be conducted into merging with Con
Fire in Antioch. That option has been discussed
before, but considered unlikely to
get county approval because of the impact
Brentwood’s departure from the ECCFPD
would have on fi re service throughout the
rest of far East County.
Still, Richey wants to look into it.
“Support from (the county) will be mixed,
but it can’t be obtained until we go after it,”
he said. “We tried to get what was in the
best interest of the district, and that failed.
I’m now going to aggressively pursue what’s
in the best interest of Brentwood.”
Piepho said the issue would now go
back to the full Board of Supervisors to
fi gure out the next steps. Included is some
district business – including possible personnel
additions and new contracts for the
fi refi ghters – that had been put on hold in
hopes of leaving decisions to the new governing
board. She thinks getting the supervisors
to hand over control to some form
of local governance – possibly including a
board with locked-in Brentwood representatives
and the balance appointed by the
supervisors – needs to be accomplished.
“There has to be more revenue, and
public support for a tax increase isn’t there
without local control,” she said. “I don’t
see it going in any other direction.”
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LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES
NOTICE OF PROPOSED
ORDINANCE SUMMARY OF
ORDINANCE NO. 859
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
BRENTWOOD APPROVing A
REZONE (RZ 07-020) ADDING
CHAPTER 17.740, RESIDENTIAL
CONDOMINIUM CONVER-
SIONS, TO THE BRENTWOOD
MUNICIPAL CODE establishing
criteria for condominium conversions
of all multi-family residential
projects over FOUR units within the
City limits.
THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE
was introduced with the fi rst reading
waived at a regular meeting
of the Brentwood City Council on
the 13th day of May 2008, by the
following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers
Becnel, Brockman, Richey, Stonebarger,
Taylor
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
ATTEST:
/s/_______________________
Margaret Wimberly, CMC
City Clerk
A certifi ed copy of the full text of
the proposed ordinance is posted
and may be read in full in the City
Clerk’s Offi ce at 708 Third Street,
Brentwood, California, or a copy
may be obtained from that offi ce
based on the City’s actual cost for
duplicating.
Proposed date of adoption by City
Council: May 27, 2008
Brentwood Press No. 02-1273
Publish Date: May 16, 2008
RIGHT TO FARM
DISCLOSURE
The City of Brentwood has
declared its policy to protect and
encourage agricultural operations
in its General Plan and has adopted
a “Right to Farm Ordinance”.
because of increased competition in the
labor market. Both said the facts supported
Wyrick’s belief that now was a good
time to go out to bid in an environment
that would result in the best prices.
“We’ve analyzed this and analyzed
this and analyzed this,” a clearly frustrated
Becnel said. “I’m getting tired of all
the doom and gloom.” He added that all
the council members had often expressed
faith in city staff, but they were not demonstrating
that faith if they would not accept
its recommendation to move forward
on the four items.
As each of the items was brought
forward, Stonebarger and Richey both
voted “no” on all of them. Taylor, whose
“yes” vote helped pass three, voted “no”
on the library move, sending it to defeat.
Because the timing and fi nancing of the
entire project was prepared with an eye to
moving the library in the early stages, the
3-2 vote effectively prevented anything
from moving forward despite the other
approvals.
“We’ve just shut down the Civic Center
project,” Becnel said. “I can’t believe
If your property is located in the
City, near an agricultural operation,
you may at times be subject to inconvenience
or discomfort arising
from those operations, including
noise, odors, fumes, dust, smoke,
insects, the operation of machinery
(including aircraft) during any time
of day or night, the storage and
disposal of manure, and the ground
or aerial application of fertilizers,
soil amendments, seed, herbicides,
and pesticides. These and other
similar inconveniences will not
be considered a public nuisance
if they are conducted according
to proper and accepted customs
and standards. The Right to Farm
Ordinance establishes a grievance
procedure to help resolve any
disputes between agricultural
operators and their neighbors.
This is only a summary of the Right
to Farm Ordinance. If you wish
further information about the meaning
or effect of the ordinance or the
grievance procedure set forth in
it, please contact the City’s Community
Development Department
at 104 Oak Street Brentwood, CA
94513 or call (925) 516-5405.
Brentwood Press No. 02-1273
Publish Date: May 16, 2008
NOTICE OF PUBLIC
HEARING AND
AVAILABILITY OF A
MITIGATED NEGATIVE
DECLARATION
Notice is hereby given that the
Planning Commission of the City
of Brentwood will, at 7:00 p.m. or
as soon thereafter as the normal
course of business permits on June
17, 2008, hold a public hearing to
consider the following:
An application to construct the
Brentwood Civic Center project,
which includes demolition of the
existing Brentwood Library, Council
Chamber, Community Center, and
City Hall, construction of a new City
Hall, Council Chamber, Community
Center, and parking structure,
and reconfi guration of the existing
City Park. The project site is ap-
something as little as a library is screwing
up the whole project” which includes
city hall, the community center, parking
structure, the new City Park, downtown
streetscape and infrastructure improvements,
as well as Summerset Park and the
senior center at the aquatic center (which
are tied in to the project fi nancially).
Amid palpable tension in the chambers,
Taylor said, “I don’t want to stop the
entire project” and, after a brief recess, he
made a motion to reconsider the previous
vote. (City legal guidelines allow such a
reconsideration if a motion is made by
one of the members of the prevailing majority
in the previous vote.) Taylor’s motion
passed 3-2, Stonebarger and Richey
opposed.
Brockman then made a motion that
directed staff to revisit the library move
and return with a presentation in two
weeks, “so everybody understands what
their decisions are costing us.” The motion
passed 3-2, with Stonebarger and
Richey dissenting.
Following the meeting, Wyrick said
that current analysis showed the two-
proximately 5.5 acres in size, and
is bounded by Second Street, Oak
Street, and Liberty High School
(APN 013-041-008, APN 013-041-
009, and APN 013-042-001). The
following entitlements are being
requested as part of the project:
• A General Plan amendment
(GPA 07-02) to change the land
use designation on a portion of the
project site from Park to Downtown
(Mixed Use).
• A Specifi c Plan amendment (GPA
07-02) to:
1. Add a new district (Brentwood
Civic Center) to Section 2.2.1
(District Zones) of the Downtown
Specifi c Plan, and create site
development standards and permitted
uses for this district, as well
as other related amendments.
2. Redesignate City Park, the
adjacent Maple Street and Third
Street surrounding the park, and
two City-owned parcels to the new
Brentwood Civic Center district on
the Downtown District Zones Map.
move scenario could be between $500,000
and $750,000 cheaper than the one-move
option. (Even the one-move plan would
result in a temporary situation for the library.
More staff than can be temporarily
accommodated in the Tech Center would
need to be relocated before the full, new
library could be built.) The one-move option
would also result in an eight- to 10month
delay in the entire project, plus any
unforseen delays due to the building’s age
and construction.
Richey said city staff had made a
“tactical error” by placing “too many
complex, distinct topics into one resolution.”
He said he thought the quickest
way to get the project back on track was
to institute his preferential-hiring plan, as
he had no other problems with the project
and would “absolutely” be willing to
back it. He had already begun researching
similar policies in other communities,
and thought a Brentwood version could
be accomplished in “a couple of months,
no problem.”
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• A design review (DR 07-16) for
a 55,000-square-foot building
that includes a Council Chamber
with seating for 150 people and
a three-story City Hall, a 32,000square-foot
building that includes
a two-story Community Center and
additional City offi ces, a four-level
parking structure with 280 spaces,
a 2.5-acre park, and all related site
improvements.
A mitigated negative declaration
has been prepared for this project
pursuant to the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA), to
assess potentially adverse environmental
impacts. A draft mitigated
negative declaration will be available
beginning May 16, 2008 for
public review and comment in the
Community Development Department
for a period of 30 days. The
deadline for submission of written
comments on this environmental
document ends on June 16, 2008
at 5:00 pm.
Applicant: The City of Brentwood
Said hearing will be held at the
City Council Chambers, 734 Third
Street, Brentwood, California.
Further information may be
obtained from Principal Planner
Erik Nolthenius [(925) 516-5137 or
enolthenius@ci.brentwood.ca.us]
in the Community Development
Department of the City of Brentwood,
104 Oak Street, Brentwood,
California 94513.
Before any court challenge of Planning
Commission decisions, you
are required to appeal the decision
to the City Council no later than
the time period provided under the
City’s Municipal Code. In addition
you may be limited to raising only
those issues you or someone else
raised at the public hearing described
in this notice, or in written
correspondence delivered to the
Brentwood Planning Commission
at, or prior to, the public hearing.
Brentwood Press No. 02-1273
Publish Date: May 16, 2008