February
11, 2006 Meeting
Preparation
An e-mail was
sent to each member who has provided a contact e-mail address.
Susan Chu and
Laura Ellersieck phoned other members who have provided a contact
phone number.
Acknowledgments
Susan Chu brought brownies and juice.
Attendees
11 residents attended the meeting.
Meeting
Agenda Items:
- Association officer election preparation
- New business license rules
- New electric meters
- Adding street lights
- Area Events
- park sign tile workshops on Feb 11 and 25
- Hastings Branch Library birthday party on Feb15th
- Mayor's meeting on Feb 15th
- electricity rate hike community forums on the 21st and 22nd
- Newsletter distribution
- anything
else attendees wish to discuss
The meeting began about 11:15 am in Hastings
Branch
Library's meeting room.
- Association
officer election preparation
- Will bring a
cardboard box for a
ballot box.
- Will print
ballots with each office and any candidate(s) listed. Plus space
for write-ins.
- Will print a
sheet for totaling the votes afterwards.
- Requested non
office seekers to count ballots. Maria G. from Hermanos, Bernice
S. from Del Vina, and Albert B. of Avocado volunteered to count ballots.
- New business
license rules
- New rules
require businesses operating with vehicles to have a current license
decal attached to their vehicles.
- Another new
rule allows business tax inspectors to issue citations.
Previously could only refer to the city attorney for prosecution.
- Citations for
not displaying license permit start at $100 and going up to $500 for
continuing violations.
- Refusing to
get a license can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor with potential
punishment of jail and a fine up to $1000.
- Another new
ordinance requires commercial building owners to report quarterly who
is engaged in business on their properties.
- Questions were
raised about what kind of businesses are permitted to be located in a
residential zone such as ours. What requires only a business
license vs. also a use permit? What say do the neighbors have in
allowing/disallowing? Does whether a business generates
lots of cars coming and going enter into the decision making?
- New electric
meters
- Being replaced
as existing meters exceed some age limit
- We're in the
process of trying to get some more technical information about them and
why they don't provide a higher resolution of information on usage so
the homeowner can readily see what's being used in any short period of
time.
- Albert and
Bernice would like
to get a street light on the poles in front of their houses so we will
proceed with discovering and working through the process for those
locations.
- Area Events
- park sign tile workshops on Feb 11 and 25
- today's workshop is full. The 25th has just 3 spaces left
- Hastings Branch Library birthday party on Wednesday Feb15th
- Celebrating the 47th anniversary of the branch's opening on
February 17, 1959.
- Event runs from 4 to 8 pm .
- There will be cake and other refreshments the whole time.
- There will be raffle baskets of books. The baskets are
to be available for perusal and entering the raffle on Tuesday or
earlier Wednesday as well as during the event.
- 4:00
p.m.-
Birthday Story time
- 5:00 p.m.-
Puppet Show
- 6:15 p.m.-
Volunteer Recognition for Ralph Bingener
- 6:30
p.m.- Pasadena
High School
Jazz Band
- Meet the Mayor meeting on Feb 15th, 7 pm, Dining Hall of La
Salle High School. Discussion of future of the city.
- Electricity rate hike community forums on February 21st and
22nd. To discuss why PWP needs to raise the electric rates.
- Meeting on the 21st is at 6:30 pm at Norma Coombs school,
2600 Paloma (across from Victory Park).
- Meeting on the 22nd is at 6:30 pm in the auditorium at the
central library.
- No news on ice
rink since December.
- No new news on
park. Opening projected for end of April. Where the
pedestrian gate will be and the path from it to the park are still
undetermined.
- Question was raised about what is or is not allowed in terms of
what are known as "granny flats" in our neighborhood. Lots of
houses have them, but the city recently came down on one residence for
it. Basically they aren't allowed, but typically city only
enforces based on complaints or if it just happens to come to their
attention. Discussion veered into mansionization of houses
including some egregious local examples, and how it really doesn't make
sense to allow that but not allow a relative living in a small back
house that still meets set back and total land coverage
requirements. Also discussion of how many even small things
city technically requires permits for and tradeoff of protections
potentially offered by those requirements vs the hassle and cost.
- Newsletter
distribution
- 1st
newsletter
is printed and ready to distribute
- divvied them
up by block and passed them to volunteers for distribution sometime in
the coming week as they have the time and energy.
Next meeting is March 11,
same
time, same place. Come and vote!
Adjourned about 12:15 pm