By Brett Callwood
At the City Council meeting on the evening of Tuesday, April 23, item 13B was the only one that caused any debate.
The item called for, “Amending Chapter 18.60 of the Gardena Municipal Code and Sections of 5.08.170, 8.16.030 and 8.16.050 relating to temporary use permits and temporary events permits, and amending Section 5.04.160, 5.04.278, and 5.28.020 of Title 5.”
A staff note reads, “On March 12, 2024, City Council held a public hearing for Ordinance No. 1865 relating to temporary use permits and temporary events permits . At that time, staff recommended to the City Council that the Ordinance be redrafted to add provisions to allow for walk-up food distribution events, in response to correspondences received prior to the meeting. At the close of the hearing, the Council moved to have the Ordinance updated with the suggested changes and directed it be brought back to the Planning Commission for their recommendation.”
The resolution would establish a Temporary Use permit fee of $1,160.50, and a Temporary Event permit fee between $360.00 to $756.00, “dependent upon the number of attendees expected for the event.”
A speaker from Mama Rosa’s Food Pantry was on hand to say that they need to be able to distribute food on a walk-up basis, though members of the council stated that the resulting lines of traffic can be dangerous.
A resolution by Council Member Paulette Francis to carve out an exception from the fees for non-profits was met with no support, and the item passed 4-1, Francis being the one “nay” vote.
Other items passed at the meeting included 13A, “Amending Sections of Chapter 5.52 and Title 18 of the Gardena Municipal Code relating to significant tobacco retailers, cigar lounges, and hookah lounges.”
That passed unanimously.
Three Public Works items also passed: 16A, to “Reject all bids for the Gardena Rowley Park Basketball Rehabilitation Project, JN 530, and re-bid the project with modified requirements and/or scope,” and 16B, “Confirming the Diagram and Assessment contained in the Engineer’s Report dated March 11, 2024, for the Gardena Artesia Boulevard Landscape Assessment District and ordering the levy of assessments on the same for Fiscal Year 2024-2025.”
Finally, 16C passed, “Confirming the Diagram and Assessment contained in the Engineer’s Report dated March 11, 2024, for the Gardena Consolidated Street Lighting Assessment District and ordering the levy of assessments on the same for Fiscal Year 2024-2025.”
The next meeting will take place on the evening of Tuesday, May 14.
