City Council Roundup: Fees, Funds and Convenience Store Ban

The Beverly Hills City Council approved fees, funds and an ordinance banning convenience stores at its Thursday meeting. 

The council voted 4-1 on a resolution to support more than 500 fees charged for city services. Councilman John Mirisch explained his dissenting vote was due to the increase in vehicle impound fees that was part of the legislative package.

Some city fees have increased due to the rise in the Consumer Price Index, Chief Financial Officer Scott G. Miller said.

The CPI is a regional index and key economic indicator that measures the price of consumer goods and services.

The Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County CPI, which Beverly Hills uses to base fee calculations, has increased from $663 per household in November 2009 to $667 in November 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Through March, the local CPI has risen to $686 per household, due largely to high gasoline and food prices.

Some fees have increased beyond the index because "either the service level has changed, thus causing our costs for that particular service to increase, or ... our cost for providing the same level of service has increased beyond the CPI," Miller said.

Other fees have decreased or have an increased lower than the CPI due to a reduction in overhead costs, Miller said. In accordance with Proposition 26, "it's prohibited by state law for a city to charge above the actual costs to provide a service and charge a fee beyond what that service is."

Councilwoman Lili Bosse brought up a $16,000 fee pertaining to "historic resource nomination" because the council is "going to be dealing with the Mills Act." Prior to Bosse and Councilman Julian Gold's election this month, the council last year directed city staff to study the effect of putting Beverly Hills in line with the state law that was enacted in 1972 and must be adopted by municipal governments. The Mills Act reduces taxes on properties designated historic by a local, state or national authority.

Bosse asked about several other fees, such as $8,466 to the Planning Commission for staff consideration of view restoration permits. The councilwoman questioned the possible discrepancy between this and lower Architectural Commission review fees for comparable projects.

Permits pertaining to Beverly Hills trolleys, local adult escorts, entertainers and amplified sound also caught Bosse's eye. Her last request for clarification was on the city jail's "pay to stay" program, which allows convicts the option of paying $110 a day to serve their jail terms in Beverly Hills.

Gold wanted to know why fee amounts aren't rounded off.

"If the council would prefer us to round to an even number, to save potential litigation we could round down instead of rounding up," Miller said. "We can round it so that we don't violate state law and go over the costs."

Members next voted 4-0 to enact an interim ordinance banning "high impact" convenience stores. Mirisch recused himself because he lives near a property the new law would affect.

According to Director of Community Development Susan H. Keene, the ordinance applies to:

• New businesses in which more than half the floor area is dedicated to selling tobacco, magazines, toiletries and prepackaged food and drink.
• Stores that open before 7 a.m. and close later than 9 p.m.
• Businesses that are located at a fuel station; have surface parking; or are located within 300 feet of a residential zone.

The Planning Commission can approve exceptions to the rule if the store is judged to be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood and nearby community resources, Keene said. The proposed new convenience store must also:

• Have "adequate buffering" between itself and adjacent community resources such as parks and locations where children gather.
• Not create adverse traffic or safety hazards, parking impacts, or create excessive noise, odors, fumes, lighting or litter.
• Not interfere with neighboring properties.

A vote on the ordinance takes place again in 45 days.

The council also made the following fiscal moves:

• $150,000 quarterly payments into an escrow account dedicated to turf replacement at Beverly Hills schools.
• $4,500 monthly rent for one year from Dylan and Casondra Ruga for a city-owned property at 265 S. La Peer Dr.
• $116,667 from S-Fer International Inc., also known as Ferragamo, for monthly starting rent for a 12-year lease on city-owned retail space, 355 N. Rodeo Dr.
• As much as $707,508 to All American Asphalt. The federal Recovery Act funded this project, which "consists of rubberized asphalt overlay of approximately one mile of Benedict Cañon Drive, from Sunset Boulevard to the North City Limit," the meeting's agenda states.
• Another $3.08 million to All American Asphalt to resurface 12.5 miles of Beverly Hills streets and alleys.
• $672,897 to Los Angeles Truck Center for two natural gas garbage trucks that will replace a couple of job-worn diesels. The council appropriated $216,669 of reserve funds to complete the truck sale.
• $59,500 to Wittman Enterprises for Fire Department ambulance billing and collection services.

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