March 15, 2001
CIPOA started with a brief meeting at 225 Claressa where we discussed the upcoming Planning Commission special meeting and other issues. Following that, a few members departed to attend the meeting at the Avalon Courthouse on March 7, 2001.
The main purpose of the Planning Commission meeting was to review the Staff recommendation for a proposed new ordinance (based on one adopted by the City of Big Bear Lake) to codify the approval process for CUPs.
A few letters were read, most were critical of the proposed ordinance. Specific areas were addressed, such as signs and exclusion zones. Further it was suggested that portions of the proposed municipal code were inappropriate for Avalon, or needlessly addressed issues which are already in other areas of the City Codes such as building and safety.
There was much discussion about the proposed requirement that signs be placed on transient rental units. The signs were to contain information such as the Sheriff's phone no., the property owner's phone no., and rental agency. One suggestion was a uniform sign, "tastefully designed" by the City, with a space for a 24 hour contact.
The general feeling during the public comment portion was that signs on the TR units would not set the proper tone for the neighborhood and detract form the charm of Avalon and should not be placed in public view.
One rental agency stated that they were removing their existing signs, because they felt the signs didn't look nice on the homes. A real sense of concern was that a sign seemed to be an invitation for problems with break-ins. Just recently it was reported that several local youths had broken into vacation rental homes and had their own parties. They subsequently were arrested.
This is an obvious problem for property owners, yet some members of the Commission loved the idea of signs and over the objections of practically everyone, wants to keep them.
Mr. Taska complained about "bootleg transient rentals" that are adjacent to where he is living.
Not much discussion focused on former hot topics like water, traffic, and the general quality of life in Avalon. These issues seemed less important in terms of discussion. The usual horror stories about bad neighbors were told, but no real answer was given as to why people don't call the Sheriff when there is a problem. Ms. Saldana mentioned two times that the police were too overworked to deal with noise or late night partying, and it wasn't worth calling them.
It seems that if the Sheriff's Dept. is in fact not doing an adequate job, as she implies, then that issue should be taken up at the City Council meeting. It's been my experience that the Sheriff's Dept. is responsive and can do a great job of helping to control parties and late night noise IF they are called.
The City Attorney, Pam Albers, admitted that there might be too much boiler plate from the Big Bear Law in the proposed ordinance and she would go through and remove some of the unusual and not needed provisions.
The overall public comments reflected the concern that this ordinance is being targeted solely at transient rentals, and is very discriminatory. If the ordinance was for ALL rentals it was agreed that it was fair and generally reasonable.
The opinions expressed are those of the Author and not necessarily those of CIPOA.
William L. Scheding
225 Claressa