City of Carpinteria. COUNCIL AGENDA STAFF REPORT April 27, 2015

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1 City of Carpinteria COUNCIL AGENDA STAFF REPORT April 27, 2015 ITEM FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION Second Reading of Ordinance No. 701, Amending Chapter 2.17 of the Carpinteria Municipal Code Relating to Performance Guarantee Bonds for Development Projects. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Action Item K ; Non-Action Item _ Approve the second reading and adopt Ordinance No. 701, amending Chapter 2.17 of the Carpinteria Municipal Code Relating to Performance Guarantee Bonds for Development Projects. Motion: I move to approve the second reading and adopt Ordinance No. 701, as read by title only. BACKGROUND At its regular meeting of April 13, 2015, the City Council approved the first reading of Ordinance No. 701, and continued the matter to April 27, 2015, for its second reading. Ordinance No. 701 amends Chapter 2.17 of the Carpinteria Municipal Code (CMC) relating to performance guarantee bonds for development projects. Specifically, it amends Sections and of the CMC to adjust the bond amounts for small developments and authorize the City Manager to release certain bonds. DISCUSSION A. Bond Amounts Bond amounts are determined by the City Manager on the advice of the City Engineer as specified in CMC Section

2 Municipal Code Amendment - Bonds April 27, 2015 Page 2 Ordinance No. 701 would amend CMC Section to allow residential developments with eight units or less to post bonds based on fifty percent of the Engineer's cost estimate for all improvements other than public improvements and onsite grading. The bond for public improvements and on-site grading would remain at one hundred percent of the Engineer's cost estimate. Bonding posted for developments with more than eight units shall also remain on one hundred percent of the estimated cost of the obligations for which a bond is required. Adjusting the bond amount requirements will allow the City to respond to concerns received by developers of smaller projects about this significant upfront cost while still protecting the public interest. B. Release of Bonds To formally release a bond, the City Engineer or City Manager must confirm that all work has been completed to the City's satisfaction and the City Council must accept the work as complete and take action on the release of the bond regardless of the bond amount. Ordinance No. 701 would amend CMC Section to grant the City Manager the authority to release bonds in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars or less relating to small projects with grading and/or site improvements typically associated with developments such as single family homes. Currently, only the Council has the ability to release bonds. Staff believes that authorizing the City Manager to approve the release of bonds associated with smaller projects is consistent with the City's interest in organizational efficiency and would continue to ensure that larger improvements be considered by the City Council. Furthermore, a list of released bonds will be presented to the City Council for their information via a subsequent report. POLICY CONSISTENCY This item is consistent with the City's mission statement which states that "Government shall make judicious use of the City's limited resources to promote the highest possible quality of life for all of Carpinteria's residents. This includes providing services consistent with community needs as well as protecting the social and physical environment" by increasing the organizational efficiency of the City as well as reducing costs to project applicants while still protecting the public interest. In addition, this item is in accordance with Chapter 2.17 of the Carpinteria Municipal Code which provides direction and policy to the City with respect to the form, type and other conditions relating to bonds required to provide a guarantee of performance to the City by those required to provide such guarantee. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS No financial impacts are anticipated from the adoption of Ordinance No G:\Public Works\PW Boards and Committees\CC\2015\042715\Bond Amendment Continuation\ Second Reading - Bond Amendment.docx

3 /Municipal Code Amendment - Bonds April27, 2015 Page 3 l LEGAL Ordinance No. 701 will amend Sections and of the Carpinteria Municipal Code. The City Attorney has reviewed the proposed ordinance. OPTIONS 1. Approve the second reading and adopt Ordinance No. 701, as read by title only. 2. Direct the Department of Public Works to return with an amended ordinance. PRINCIPAL PARTIES EXPECTED AT MEETING No principal parties are expected to attend. ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: Ordinance No. 701 Staff contact: Melissa Angeles, Engineering Technician (805) , ext. 445 MelissaA@ci. carpinteria. ca. us Signature Reviewed by: Charles W. Ebeling, Public Works Director Reviewed by: Dave Durflinger, City Manager G:\Public Works\PW Boards and Committees\CC\2015\042715\Bond Amendment Continuation\ Second Reading - Bond Amendment.docx

4 ATTACHMENT A Ordinance No. 701

5 ORDINANCE NO. 701 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARPINTERIA AMENDING SECTIONS AND OF THE CARPINTERIA MUNICIPAL CODETOADJUSTTHEBONDAMOUNTSFORSMALLDEVELOPMENTSAND AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO RELEASE CERTAIN BONDS WHEREAS, Carpinteria Municipal Code, Chapter 2.17 provides direction and policy to the City with respect to the form, type and other conditions relating to bonds required to provide a guarantee of performance to the City by those required to provide such guarantee; and WHEREAS, Section of the Carpinteria Municipal Code specifies how bond amounts are determined; and WHEREAS, adjusting the required bond amounts will allow the City to assist small development while still protecting the public interest; and WHEREAS, Section of the Carpinteria Municipal Code states that bonds may be released only in the sole discretion of the City Council upon recommendation of the City Engineer or City Manager; and WHEREAS, authorizing the City Manager to release bonds within the specified range will provide efficient use of staff time and will expedite project closeouts; and WHEREAS, the Department of Public Works recommends adjusting the bond amount requirements for small developments and authorizing the City Manager to release bonds of one hundred thousand dollars or less; NOW, TRE REFORE ~TRE-C~RP-INTERIA-CITY--COlJNCILDOES-ORD"AIN"AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. INCORPORATION OF RECITALS The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein, and are each relied upon independently by the City Council for its adoption of this Ordinance. SECTION 2. AMENDMENT OF SECTION OF THE CARPINTERIA MUNICIPAL CODE Section of the Carpinteria Municipal Code is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: Amounts of bonds. The amount of bonds to be posted shall be in an amount determined by the City Manager on the advice of the City Engineer based on one hundred percent of the estimated cost of the obligations for which a bond is required. Bonds for \0604\

6 Ordinance No. 701 Page 2 of 3 developments with eight units or less shall be based on one hundred percent of the Engineer's cost estimate for public improvements and on-site grading and based on fifty percent of the Engineer's cost estimate for all other improvements. Ten percent of the total bond amount or thirty five thousand dollars, whichever is less shall be in a cash bond, and the balance of the total bond may be in an approved surety bonds or additional cash bond. SECTION 3. AMENDMENT OF SECTION OF THE CARPINTERIA MUNICIPAL CODE Section of the Carpinteria Municipal Code is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: Release of bonds. Bonds may be partially released from time to time by the City Council or by the City Manager when the bond amount is one hundred thousand dollars or less, upon recommendation of the City Engineer or City Manager, as the case may be. No bond shall be fully released until the purpose for which the bond has been proposed has been completely fulfilled and any obligation performed in connection therewith has been accepted by the City Council or the City Manager. SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days following a second reading of the ordinance; and before the expiration of fifteen (15) days following passage, this Ordinance shall be published once with the names of the members of the City Council voting for and against the same in the Coastal View News, a newspaper of general-circolation, publish~etl-in-th-e-eit~rofcarpinteria-: SECTION 5. SEVERABILITY If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decisions shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed and adopted this Ordinance, and each and all provisions hereof, irrespective of the fact that one or more provisions may be declared invalid. SECTION 6. CEQA EXEMPTION The City Council finds that this Ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines 15060(c)(3) (this activity is not a "project" as defined in 15378) \0604\

7 Ordinance No. 701 Page 3 of 3 SECTION 7. LIMITED EFFECT Except as explicitly provided herein, all other provisions of Chapter 2.17 shall remain unchanged and in full force and effect. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 2ih day of April 2015, by the following called vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: COUNCILMEMBERS: COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor, City of Carpinteria ATTEST: City Clerk, City of Carpinteria I hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Carpinteria held the 2ih day of April APPROVED AS TO FORM: City Clerk, City of Carpinteria Peter N. Brown, on behalf of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Acting as City Attorney of the City of Carpinteria \