* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. TIME. [00:00:01] OKAY. [CALL TO ORDER ] I CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. LET US, UH, STAND FOR THE FLAG SALUTE IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE. PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC, WHICH IS STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. YOU MAY BE SEATED. MAY WE HAVE ROLL CALL, PLEASE? YES. UM, COMMISSIONER SOLE PRESENT, COMMISSIONER EDISON PRESENT. COMMISSIONER CIRCO PRESENT, COMMISSIONER MOROSE PRESENT AND COMMISSIONER P*****K. RUDE PRESENT. OKAY. [CHAIRPERSON’S WELCOME ] WELCOME TO THE CAJON PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. THIS MEETING IS BEING LIVE STREAMED ON THE CITY OF EL CAJON WEBSITE. APPEALS OF FINAL DECISIONS OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MADE THIS EVENING MUST BE FILED IN WRITING WITH THE CITY CLERK BEFORE 5:00 PM MONDAY, APRIL 14TH, 2025, AND MUST INCLUDE THE PAYMENT OF A FILING FEE. IF YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON EITHER A NON AGENDA OR AN AGENDA ITEM TONIGHT, PLEASE FILL OUT A REQUEST TO SPEAK CARD LOCATED BY THE AGENDA AND TURN IT IN TO THE SECRETARY WHO WILL CALL YOU UP TO SPEAK. WHEN THE AGENDA ITEM COMES UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS, WE ASK THAT YOU GIVE US YOUR NAME, SPELLING YOUR LAST NAME. SPEAKERS ARE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES. THE DISPLAY ON THE PODIUM, AS WELL AS THE OTHER MONITORS IN THE CHAMBERS WILL SHOW TIME COUNTING DOWN 30 SECONDS. THE PODIUM CLOCK READOUT WILL TURN RED. SIGNIFYING YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS UNTIL THE END OF YOUR TIME. APPLICANTS AND INDIVIDUALS REPRESENTING GROUPS OF PEOPLE MAY BE ALLOWED MORE TIME IF APPROPRIATE. ALL PUBLIC HEARING COMMENTS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO ME AS THE CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION AND NOT TO INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS OR STAFF MEMBERS. PLEASE TURN OFF ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO ALREADY. PURSUANT TO CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NUMBER 1 1 4 DASH 79, A COMMISSIONER HAS RECEIVED EVIDENCE RELATED TO A MATTER BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION OTHER THAN AN UNESCORTED VIEW OF THE SUBJECT, PROPERTY IS REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE SUCH INFORMATION AT THE HEARING. AT THIS TIME, WE'LL TAKE COMMENTS FROM ANY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC ON ANY ITEM OF BUSINESS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE COMMISSION. THAT IS NOT ON THE AGENDA UNDER STATE LAW, NO ACTION CAN BE TAKEN ON ITEMS BROUGHT FORWARD UNDER PUBLIC COMMENT EXCEPT TO REFER IT TO STAFF FOR ADMINISTRATION OR PLACE IT ON A FUTURE AGENDA. IS THERE IS, IS THERE ANYONE WHO WISHES TO ADDRESS A COMMISSION UNDER PUBLIC COMMENT? PLEASE COME FORWARD. OKAY. WERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS SUBMITTED PRIOR TO THE MEETING? NO. OKAY. THANK YOU. A NOTE, MR. CHAIR. OKAY. THANK YOU. [CONSENT ] OKAY. NOW WE'LL GO TO THE CONSENT CALENDAR. A SINGLE MOTION WILL COVER ALL ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. DOES THE COMMISSION WISH TO PULL A CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM FOR DISCUSSION? NO. OKAY. NO. DOES THE STAFF WISH TO PULL A CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM FOR DISCUSSION? NO CHANGES FROM STAFF. OKAY. UM, I MOVE TO ADOPT THE MINUTES AS RECORDED. SECOND, THAT MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER SERCO, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER ROSE, PLEASE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE [Public Hearing Item 2] A. THE SECOND ITEM IS THE PALM RESIDENCE SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY. SRO EXTEND APPROVAL PERIOD FOR ONE YEAR. AND ITS CQA EXEMPT AND THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS APPROVED. HOWEVER, I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THIS WAS, UM, UH, THE PLANNER ON THIS IS, UH, MAISA MAGINI AND SHE'S THE, UH, PLANNER IN WAITING. RAISE YOUR HAND, WELCOME HER HERE. OKAY, STAFF. ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING PLANNING COMMISSIONERS. IF I COULD GET PERFECT. UM, MY NAME IS SPENCER HAYES AND I'M THE ASSOCIATE PLANNER IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. UH, THE FIRST ITEM FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IS A REQUEST FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME OF A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR TO CONVERT A MOTEL TO A SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY, UH, RESIDENCE. THE REQUEST IS SUBMITTED ON BEHALF [00:05:01] OF THE IC UH, FAMILY TRUST, UH, ON APRIL 4TH, 2023. THE PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVED CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NUMBER 2022 DASH 0 0 1 4 FOR THE CONVERSION OF A MOTEL TO AN 11 UNIT SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY RESIDENCE. UH, THE ZONING CODE ALLOWS FOR, UH, AN EXTENSION OF TIME OF UP TO ONE YEAR BEYOND THE ORIGINAL APPROVAL TIMEFRAME, UH, WHICH WAS TWO YEARS IN THIS CASE. UH, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT BUILDING THE BUILDING SAFETY DIVISION RECEIVED AN APPLICATION FOR A BUILDING PERMIT, UH, TO FORMALIZE THE CONVERSION ON MARCH 27TH, 2025, JUST A FEW DAYS AGO. UH, AND THAT BUILDING PERMIT WOULD NEED TO BE ISSUED PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION DATE, UH, IN ORDER FOR A CP, THE CUP TO BECOME EFFECTIVE. UH, THE APPLICANT ALSO PROVIDED AN OUTLINE OF THEIR ANTICIPATED MILESTONES, WHICH INCLUDES, UH, PROJECT COMPLETION WITHIN THE CALENDAR YEAR. UH, NOTABLY THERE HAVE BEEN NO UPDATES OR MODIFICATIONS TO SRO REGULATIONS IN THE ZONING CODE, UH, SINCE THE PROJECT WAS APPROVED IN 2023. UH, AND JUST AS A REMINDER, THIS IS THE, THE SUBJECT MOTEL FOR REFERENCE. UH, THE ADDRESS IS, UH, 1349 EAST MAIN STREET. AND THAT CONCLUDES, UH, STAFF'S PRESENTATION. BUT WE'RE OPEN TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO. NOW THIS IS NOT GONNA BE OPEN TO PUBLIC COMMENT BECAUSE IT'S A, A MOTION TO CONTINUE. SO IF SOMEONE WANTS TO MAKE A MOTION TO CONTINUE, YOU'RE WELCOME TO DO SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME. I MEAN TO, UH, APPROVE. SO THIS IS MR. CHAIRMAN, IF I MAY, SORRY, UH, FOR THE RECORD, I WOULD NOTE, UH, THAT THE APPLICANT, UH, HAS BEEN IN CONTACT WITH STAFF. UM, BUT, UH, AND WE HAVE NO SPEAKER CARDS FOR THIS ITEM. OKAY. SO THIS IS THE BUILDING PERMIT HAS BEEN REQUESTED BUT HASN'T BEEN SIGNED YET, AND THEY'VE GOT THREE DAYS LEFT. SO WE'RE GIVING THEM EXTENSIONS SO THEY CAN GET IT DONE. OKAY. YEAH. COOL. UH, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO ADOPT THE NEXT RESOLUTION IN ORDER APPROVING THE TIME EXTENSION FOR CUP NUMBER 2 0 2 2 DASH 0 0 1 4. I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. MOTION MAY BY COMMISSIONER CIRCLE SECOND, UH, BY COMMISSIONER P*****K. RUDE, PLEASE. UH, VOTE. MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE OF MEMBERS PRESENT. OKAY. [Public Hearing Item 3] ITEM THREE IS, UH, VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE, NONPROFIT MEDICAL CLINIC. IT'S CQA EXEMPT AND STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS TO APPROVE STAFF. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. UH, THE SECOND ITEM FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IS A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR A NON-PROFIT MEDICAL CLINIC, UH, OPERATED FROM AN EXISTING RES UH, RELIGIOUS FACILITY. THE PROJECT IS SUBMITTED, UH, BY STUDIO E ARCHITECTS ON BEHALF OF VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE OR, OR VIM VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE PROPOSES TO OPERATE FROM ROUGHLY 675 SQUARE FEET OF EXISTING OFFICE SPACE WITHIN GOOD SHEPHERD MINISTRY CENTER, WHICH IS FORMERLY EL CAJON FIRST UNITED BAPTIST CHURCH, UH, AT 7 7 2 SOUTH JOHNSON AVENUE. THE PROJECT SITE ISN'T WITHIN THE LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DESIGNATION AND WITHIN THE RESIDENTIAL SINGLE FAMILY 6,000 SQUARE FOOT ZONE. THE RESIDENTIAL LAND USE TABLE INDICATES THAT, UH, RELIGIOUS FACILITIES AND NONPROFIT SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS DEVOTED TO SERVING THE GENERAL PUBLIC REQUIRE APPROVAL OF A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AS REQUESTED. THE SITE IS CURRENTLY GOVERNED BY CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NUMBER 79, WHICH APPROVED IN AN EXPANSION TO AN EXISTING RELIGIOUS FACILITY IN 1959. IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT VIM UH, WAS APPROVED TO OPERATE FROM ANOTHER, UH, LOCAL RELIGIOUS FACILITY IN 2003. UH, AND UNLIKE THAT, UH, THE CURRENT, UH, PROPOSAL, VIM INSTALLED MODULAR OFFICES AT 1456 EAST MADISON AVENUE, UH, WHICH IS THE UNITED METHODIST CHAPEL VALLEY CHURCH. UH, ACCORDING TO CITY RECORDS, UH, WE HAVE, UH, RECEIVED NO COMPLAINTS OR, UH, THERE HAVE BEEN NO OPEN CODE COMPLIANCE CASES FOR VIM AT THEIR CURRENT LOCATION. HERE'S THE PROPOSED SITE PLAN AND PROJECT LOCATION. UH, THE RELIGIOUS FACILITY AND OFFICES ARE LOCATED ON THE NORTHWEST CORNER, UH, OF SOUTH JOHNSON AND GRANT AVENUES, UH, CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NUMBER 79 APPROVES OF PARKING ACROSS THE STREET, UH, FROM THE RELIGIOUS FACILITY. UH, AND THE PROPOSED USE DOES NOT REQUIRE ADDITIONAL PARKING. UH, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THERE IS A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE A DA PARKING SPACE DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE RELIGIOUS FACILITY ON GRANT AVENUE, UH, NEAR LETTER D ON THIS EXHIBIT. AND THEN HERE'S THE EXISTING FLOOR PLAN CONFIGURATION. UH, VIM PROPOSES TO UTILIZE EXISTING OFFICE SPACES, UH, AND NO CONSTRUCTION OR SITE IMPROVEMENTS ARE PROPOSED. THE [00:10:01] EXISTING CONFIGURATION ALLOWS FOR TWO EXAM ROOMS, UH, A CONSULTATION ROOM, RECEPTION DESK, AND SMALL WAITING AREA AS OUTLINED IN THE STAFF REPORT. UM, THE PROPOSED USE IS RELATIVELY LOW VOLUME WITH APPROXIMATELY 10 IN-CLINIC VISITS THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. UH, IN ADMINISTRATION THERE ARE FOUR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS AND SEVEN SPECIALTY PROVIDERS, UH, WHICH RANGE FROM CHIROPRACTIC SERVICES TO DIABETES CARE AND DIETICIAN SERVICES. UH, RADIOLOGY IMAGING AND OTHER SPECIMEN COLLECTION ARE CONTRACTED TO OFFSITE MEDICAL PROVIDERS. SINCE THERE'S NO CHANGE IN OFF OFFICE OCCUPANCY AND NO MODIFICATIONS ARE PROPOSED, UH, THE BUILDING OFFICIAL DETERMINED THAT A BUILDING PERMIT IS NOT REQUIRED FOR THIS PROJECT. IT'S PROPOSED THAT THE PRO PROJECT IS C EXEMPT PURSUANT TO, UH, CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT GUIDELINES, SECTION 15 3 0 1 FOR EXISTING FACILITIES. UH, SINCE THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS A NEGLIGIBLE, NEGLIGIBLE EXPANSION OF AN EXISTING OFFICE USE, UH, AND DOES NOT INCLUDE NEW CONSTRUCTION, THE PROPOSAL ALLOWS FOR THE OPERATION OF A NON-PROFIT MEDICAL CLINIC SERVING UN UNINSURED AND INCOME QUALIFIED RESIDENTS IN EL CAJON IN THE BROADER EAST COUNTY AREA. UH, AND STAFF RECOMMENDS, UH, APPROVAL OF THE CQA EXEMPTION, UH, AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NUMBER 2025 DASH 0 0 3 SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS. UH, AND WE'RE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE. THANKS, SPENCER. I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. ARE THERE ANY PLANNING COMMISSIONERS TO HAVE QUESTIONS? JUST A QUICK, EASY QUESTION. WHAT ARE THE HOURS GONNA BE? THEY DO VARY. UH, IT'S ACTUALLY SHOWN ON THEIR PROPOSED SITE PLAN IN THE AGENDA PACKET. UM, FROM WHAT I RECALL, I BELIEVE, I THINK IT WAS EIGHT A 7:00 AM TO 8:00 PM GENERALLY SPEAKING. UH, AND THEN SPECIALTY PROVIDERS KIND OF COME ON RANDOM DAYS THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. UH, SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY NECESSARILY SPECIFIC HOURS FOR THOSE SPECIALTY PROVIDERS. BUT NOT 24 HOURS? NO, NOT 24 HOURS. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO. WELL, LET'S OPEN IT UP TO PUBLIC SPEAKING. IS THERE, DO WE HAVE ANY CARDS ON THIS AGENDA ITEM? WE DO HAVE A SPEAKER CARD. ERIC SLAND. GOOD EVENING. I'M ERIC NA WITH STUDIO E ARCHITECTS, AND I'M HERE REPRESENTING VOLUNTEERS OF MEDICINE AND THE GOOD SHEPHERD MINISTRY CENTER. I'M AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS ONLY. UH, I DON'T NEED TO MAKE A PRESENTATION. TERRIFIC JOB, SPENCER. WELL DONE. MR. NASIN, I PRO PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME CORRECTLY. YES, THAT'S CORRECT. COULD YOU SPELL YOUR LAST NAME, PLEASE? YES, N AS IN NANCY, A-S-L-U-N-D. OKAY. QUESTIONS? UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO. OKAY. YOU'RE GOOD TO GO? THANK YOU. THANK YOU, . THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. ANY OTHER SPEAKER CARDS? NOT FOR THIS ITEM. OKAY. THANK YOU. I MOVE TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. OKAY. SECOND, THAT A MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER CIRCLE. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER EDISON, PLEASE VOTE. AND MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE. VERY GOOD. OKAY. HMM. THE NEXT ITEM, WELL, SHOULD WE ADOPT THIS? WELL, LET'S, SHOULD WE MOVE TO TELL YOU WHAT, I'LL MAKE A MOTION. OH, YES. I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO MOVE TO ADOPT THE NEXT RESOLUTION IN ORDER APPROVING THE PROPOSED CQA EXEMPTION IN CUP NUMBER 2 0 2 5 DASH 0 0 0 3 SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS. I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER MOROSE, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER P*****K, PLEASE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE. OKAY. THE NEXT ITEM, [Public Hearing Item 4] THE, UH, PALMS RESTAURANT AND BANQUET HALL. CONSIDER REVOCATION OR CONDITIONERS. PERMIT NUMBER 2115 A CQA EXEMPT AND STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS TO REVOKE 2 0 1 15. IF THE BUSINESS NOT OPERATING IN ACCORDANCE WITH REQUIRED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL, WOULD YOU LIKE TO BRING US UP TO DATE? YES. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. SURE. UM, SO THIS IS A STAFF INITIATED REQUEST THAT THE PLANNING COMMISSION HAS BEEN WORKING ON, UH, FOR MORE THAN ONE YEAR NOW. UM, JUST FOR BACKGROUND PURPOSES, UH, 1 43 EAST MAIN STREET IS OPERATED AS THE PALMS RESTAURANT AND BANQUET HALL, AND AGAIN, IS AUTHORIZED BY CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NUMBER 2 1 1 5. UM, IT IS [00:15:01] AUTHORIZED TO OPERATE AS A RESTAURANT WITH ON SALE ALCOHOL SALES, UH, LIVE ENTERTAINMENT, AS WELL AS ANCILLARY BANQUET USE. UH, WHEN APPROVING THE ORIGINAL REQUEST IN 2010, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL DID FIND THAT THE OPERATION OF THE USE AS A RESTAURANT DURING NORMAL, UH, RETAIL BUSINESS HOURS AND EVENINGS WAS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO PROMOTE AN ACTIVE RETAIL CORRIDOR IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. SO HERE'S JUST AN IMAGE OF THE SUBJECT SITE. UM, UH, JUST FOR ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND, UM, OVER THE PAST YEAR, BEGINNING ON FEBRUARY 20TH, 2024, UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION DID REVIEW THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. AFTER COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED, THE BUSINESS WAS NOT OPERATING AS A RESTAURANT. AT THAT TIME. THE BUSINESS OPERATOR ATTENDED THE MEETING AND THE PLANNING MISSION DIRECTED STAFF TO WORK WITH THE OPERATOR AT THAT TIME. UH, THEN IN, UH, MARCH OF 2024, UH, THE BUSINESS OPERATOR, UH, PROVIDED STAFF WITH A COPY OF A RESTAURANT MENU. SO, FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL COMPLAINTS, UH, CITY STAFF CONDUCTED TWO INSPECTIONS OF THE BUSINESS DURING OCTOBER OF 2024. AND EACH TIME, STAFFORD, THE PALMS HAD INDICATED THAT THEY WERE NOT OPEN AS A RESTAURANT, UH, TO THE PUBLIC. THEN ON, ON NOVEMBER 19TH, 2024, AN ADDITIONAL REVIEW OF THE CEP WAS CONDUCTED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION, AND TESTIMONY WAS RECEIVED THAT THE BUSINESS WAS NOT OPERATING IN A MANNER OR WAS OPERATING IN A MANNER THAT SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TO A, UH, PRIVATE CLUB, AND THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE A PRINTED MENU AT THAT TIME. SO, BASED ON THAT HEARING, THAT'S WHEN THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, DIRECTED, STAFFED, STAFFED TO SCHEDULE THE REVOCATION HEARING. SO THE, UH, REVOCATION HEARING WAS THEN SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 17TH, 2024. UM, UNFORTUNATELY AT THAT MEETING WE HAD, UH, COMMISSIONERS THAT WERE ABSENT. AND SO THE, UH, REVOCATION HEARING WAS, UH, CONTINUED, UH, TO FEBRUARY OF 2025 IN ORDER TO ALLOW, UM, THE APPLICANT TO HAVE THE BENEFIT OF A FULL COMMISSION. UM, ULTIMATELY ON, UH, FEBRUARY 4TH, 2025, UH, THE APPLICANT'S REPRESENTATIVE WHO WAS AN ATTORNEY, UM, SPOKE, UM, PROVIDED SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO THE COMMISSION, UH, ASKED FOR SOME ADDITIONAL TIME IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH STAFF TO BRING THE BUSINESS INTO COMPLIANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL. UM, FOLLOWING, UH, THE LAST HEARING, UM, I DID MEET WITH THE, UM, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING THE OPERATOR. UM, I GAVE SOME SUGGESTIONS, UH, THAT WERE INCLUDED AS ATTACHMENTS IN THE AGENDA REPORT. UM, SO I ASKED THEM, UH, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE COMMISSION, UM, STRUGGLED WITH, UH, DURING THE LAST HEARING WAS, UM, ACTUAL DATA OR FACTS WITH REGARDS TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE OPERATING AS A RESTAURANT. UM, SO MY SUGGESTION TO THE OPERATOR WAS TO PREPARE A SPREADSHEET THAT SHOWED, UH, THE INDIVIDUAL DATES, UH, THE NUMBER OF DINERS THAT WERE SERVED, AND THEN ACTUAL RECEIPTS RELATED TO ALCOHOL AND RELATED TO FOOD. UM, I HAD SHARED THAT WITH THE, UH, OPERATOR AND THE ATTORNEY. UM, I FOLLOWED UP WITH THEM TWICE, UM, SINCE THAT LAST HEARING, ASKING FOR UPDATES AND IF THEY WERE GONNA BE ABLE TO PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION. UM, ULTIMATELY I GOT AN EMAIL BACK FROM THE, UM, THE ATTORNEY INDICATING THAT THE APPLICANT WAS WORKING ON THAT. UH, BUT THAT THEY, UM, HADN'T SUBMITTED ANYTHING TO ME. UM, EVEN UP TO TODAY'S HEARING, UM, I HAVEN'T RECEIVED, UH, ANYTHING, UM, IN RESPONSE TO THAT SPREADSHEET REQUEST. UM, IN RESPONSE TO THE UPDATED, UM, PUBLIC NOTICE, UH, FOR THE REVOCATION HEARING, UH, WE DID RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENTS. UM, I WANTED TO NOTE THAT THE DOWNTOWN EL CAJON BUSINESS PARTNERS, UH, PROVIDED A, UH, A TWO PAGE COMMENT LETTER THAT WAS FAIRLY, FAIRLY DETAILED. UM, I JUST HIGHLIGHTED TWO, TWO ITEMS HERE, UH, WHICH, UH, THE BUSINESS PARTNERS IDENTIFIED, WHICH WERE, UM, ONGOING VIOLATIONS THAT ARE HAVING A REAL IMPACT ON THE DOWNTOWN ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMIC VITALITY OF DOWNTOWN. AND ADDITIONALLY, UH, THEY ALSO RECOMMEND A REVOCATION OF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, UH, IS NECESSARY AT THIS JUNCTURE. SO STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS EVENING IS TO, UH, CONDUCT THE PUBLIC HEARING AND THEN TO ADOPT THE NEXT RESOLUTION IN ORDER, UH, REVOKING THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. UM, DID GET A COUPLE QUESTIONS THROUGHOUT THE DAY TO DAY, AND THE ONE THING THAT I WANTED TO NOTE FOR THE COMMISSION'S BENEFIT IS THAT IF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT WERE TO BE REVOKED, UM, A RESTAURANT IS STILL A PERMITTED USE WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. SO THE REVOCATION OF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT WOULD ONLY RESULT IN, UH, NO LONGER, UH, ALLOWING ALCOHOL SALES AT THE ESTABLISHMENT, UH, ELIMINATING, UH, THE LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AS WELL AS THE ANCILLARY, UH, BANQUET HALL USE. SO IF SOMEONE WERE TO COME FORWARD IN THE FUTURE WANTING TO ADD THOSE THINGS, THEY COULD APPLY FOR A NEW PERMIT AND THAT WOULD GO THROUGH THE, UM, THE APPROPRIATE PROCESS. BUT THE RESTAURANT, JUST TO CONFIRM, UM, COULD CONTINUE OPERATING IF THE COMMISSION WERE TO REVOKE THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT THIS EVENING. OKAY. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. SO HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. YEAH, I'M GLAD THAT YOU CLARIFIED ON THAT ONE, THAT IT CAN STILL CONTINUE AS A RESTAURANT BECAUSE IT IS ALREADY ZONED FOR THAT. QUE I DO HAVE A QUESTION. ANY QUESTIONS? YES. YEAH. YOU SAID IT COULD OPERATE AS A RESTAURANT, BUT IT CANNOT SERVE ALCOHOL. CORRECT. THE CONDITIONAL USE [00:20:01] USE PERMIT DOES, UH, AUTHORIZE AL ALCOHOL SALES. SO IF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT WERE TO BE REVOKED, UM, THE A A FUTURE OPERATOR COULD COME IN AND APPLY FOR A NEW PERMIT FOR ALCOHOL SALES. OKAY. IN ORDER TO HAVE THE ALCOHOL SALES, OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE A BC LICENSE. THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. OKAY. DO THEY, SOMEONE CURRENTLY CARRIES AN A BC LICENSE THERE? I UNDER, YES. OKAY. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? HOLD ON. OKAY. UH, WELL THIS IS A CONTINUANCE FROM THE PREVIOUS, UH, PUBLIC HEAR HEARING, SO WE'LL, UH, CONTINUE THAT. UH, DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKER CARDS? UH, YES, WE DO. THE FIRST ONE IS VINCE ULA. OKAY. WOULD YOU PLEASE COME FORWARD AND, UH, SPELL YOUR LAST NAME FOR US, PLEASE? UH, MY LAST NAME IS K-A-T-T-O-U-L-A. IF YOU JUST GIVE ME A MOMENT TO SET UP, PLEASE. AND DO YOU REPRESENT THE, UH, PROPERTY OWNER OR YOU REPRESENT THE BUSINESS OWNER? I REPRESENT THE NEW OWNERSHIP THAT TOOK OVER, UH, THAT'S IN THE PROCESS OF TAKING OVER. UH, WE ASSUMED OPERATIONS ON MARCH 26TH. UH, IN THE STAFF REPORT, IT HAD INDICATED THAT THE BUSINESS WAS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING SOLD. THE PREVIOUS OWNERS ARE, UM, NO LONGER IN THE PICTURE AND WILL NOT BE REPRESENTING THE PALMS BANQUET HALL AND A RESTAURANT, UH, TONIGHT OR MOVING FORWARD. UH, THE OTHER THING THAT I WANNA MENTION, UH, THROUGH THE CHAIR IS, UM, A RESTAURANT IS NOT GONNA SURVIVE HERE WITHOUT ALCOHOL SALES. IT, IT, IT, IT'S GOING TO SHUTTER IT JUST LIKE ANY OTHER RESTAURANT. PEOPLE GO EAT, THEY WANT TO DRINK. AND I'LL GET INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER. UM, BUT, UH, IF I MAY BEGIN, UH, CHAIRMAN, I'D LIKE, UH, FIVE MINUTES FOR MY PRESENTATION, IF THAT'S OKAY. SURE, THAT'S FINE. THANK YOU. OKAY. GOOD EVENING, CHAIRMAN SOLA AND MEMBERS OF THE EL CAJON PLANNING COMMISSION. MY NAME IS VINCE CATULA AND I REPRESENT THE SOON TO BE NEW OWNERS OF THE PALMS RESTAURANT AND BANQUET HALL. RM INC. WITH ME TODAY ARE TWO OF THE FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE NEW OWNERSHIP GROUP, JEFF AND RAMON MANSOUR. WE ARE HERE BEFORE YOU TODAY SEEKING YOUR CONFIRMATION THAT THE PALMS RESTAURANT AND BANQUET HALL IS IN FACT OPERATING UNDER THE CONDITIONS IMPOSED BY CUP 2 115 AND TO REJECT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION TO REVOKE THE CUP. JUST TO PROVIDE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE SITE, PALMS IS LOCATED AT 1 4 3 EAST MAIN STREET BETWEEN MAGNOLIA AND DALE AVENUE. THE SITE CONSISTS OF APPROXIMATELY A 7,200 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING THAT CURRENTLY SERVES AS A RESTAURANT AND BANQUET HALL. AS YOU SEE HERE, THE SITE IS PERMITTED FOR A RESTAURANT WITH ONSITE ALCOHOL SALES, LIVE ENTERTAINMENT, ANCILLARY BANQUET USE, A NON GAMBLING CARD ROOM, AND AN A BC TYPE 47 FULL LIQUOR LICENSE. IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IN NEITHER THE MUNICIPAL CODE OR THE BUSINESS LICENSES YOU SEE HERE WE ARE RESTRICTED TO 15% BANQUET USE. NOWHERE IN THE MUNICIPAL CODE AND NOWHERE IN THE CUP AND NOWHERE IN THE BUSINESS LICENSES. DOES IT SAY, ARE WE LIMITED TO 15%? WE'LL GET TO THAT IN A LITTLE BIT. I WANNA GO OVER A FEW DEFINITIONS, AND THESE ARE ALL STRAIGHT OUT OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE. ACCESSORY OR ANCILLARY MEANS A USE THAT IS SUBORDINATE TO THE PRIMARY USE OF THE PROPERTY. AGAIN, IT DOES NOT SAY 15%, IT'S SAYS SUBORDINATE. SO MY FIRST QUESTION TO THE COMMISSION AND TO STAFF IS WHAT'S THE THRESHOLD AND WHERE IS THE THRESHOLD INDICATED IN WRITING? NEXT, A BONAFIDE EATING PLACE, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR CONDITIONS, AND I'LL BRING UP THE CONDITIONS HERE SHORTLY, IS WHAT OUR CUP REQUIRES US TO OPERATE IT AS. AND IT MEANS A PLACE WHICH IS REGULARLY AND IN A BONAFIDE MANNER, USED AND KEPT OPEN FOR THE SERVING OF MEALS DIRECTLY FROM THE A BC WEBSITE. AS REQUIRED BY THE CONDITIONS CLUB MEANS AN ASSOCIATION OF PERSONS FOR SOME COMMON PURPOSE, BUT NOT INCLUDING GROUPS ORGANIZED PRIMARILY TO RENDER A SERVICE WHICH IS CUSTOMARILY CARRIED ON AS A BUSINESS BY CITY OF EL CAJON. CODE DEFINITION, WE DO NOT FALL UNDER THE CATEGORY OF A PRIVATE CLUB. THE PALMS HAS NEVER REQUIRED. MEMBERSHIP [00:25:02] HAS NEVER BEEN MANAGED OR CONTROLLED BY A FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION OR UNION GROUP. WHAT PALMS MAY APPEAR TO BE, TO SOME WHICH I MIGHT ADD IS SUBJECTIVE, APPEARANCE IS ALWAYS SUBJECTIVE, IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE ARE. THE STAFF REPORT PRESENTED TO YOU TONIGHT IS GROSSLY INACCURATE AND MISLEADING. IT SHOULD BE OBJECTIVE AND SOLELY BASED ON FACTS, NOT APPEARANCES AS THEIR SOLE REFERENCES. IF I MAY, I'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU WHAT THE FACTS ARE. THE PALMS IS A RESTAURANT THAT'S OPEN TO THE PUBLIC SEVEN DAYS A WEEK BETWEEN 4:00 PM AND 1:00 AM. CUSTOMERS COME IN USUALLY AFTER WORK, KIND OF LIKE A HAPPY HOUR WITH THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY, SIT DOWN AT A LARGE COMMUNAL STYLE TABLE, ORDER SOME FOOD, ORDER SOME DRINKS, AND MAYBE START A FRIENDLY CARD GAME OR A BACKGAMMON GAME AND SPEND THE EVENING EATING, DRINKING, SOCIALIZING, AND GENERATING SALES. TAX STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION TONIGHT TO REVOKE THE CUP IS UNDER THE FALSE PREMISE THAT THE APPROVAL IS BEING OR HAS BEEN EXERCISED CONTRARY TO WHAT THE TERMS OR CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL ARE. I WANNA TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO GO THROUGH THE CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL TOGETHER AND DISCUSS HOW WE ACTUALLY ARE ABIDING BY THE CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL AND WHAT THEY IMPOSED HERE ARE ALL OF OUR CONDITIONS. THE ONE IN QUESTION IS THAT THE RESTAURANT SHALL BE OPERATED AS A BONAFIDE EATING PLACE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOL BEVERAGE CONTROL REQUIREMENTS. AS WE JUST SAW IN THE DEFINITION A FEW SLIDES AGO, WE ARE A BONAFIDE EATING PLACE. I WILL REPEAT THIS ONCE MORE. BONAFIDE EATING PLACE MEANS A PLACE WHICH IS REGULARLY AND IN A BONAFIDE MANNER, USED AND KEPT OPEN FOR THE SERVING OF MEALS TO GUESTS FOR COMPENSATION, HAS A SUITABLE KITCHEN FACILITIES CONNECTED CONTAINING CONVENIENCE FOR COOKING AND AN ASSORTMENT OF FOODS TO PROVIDE EVEN FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT WE ARE IN FACT A RESTAURANT. HERE'S A VIDEO THAT WAS TAKEN JUST THIS AFTERNOON, AND MIND YOU THAT I UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT MAY HAVE HAPPENED UNDER THE PREVIOUS OWNERSHIP, UM, IS WELL DOCUMENTED AND AGREED UPON. BUT SINCE OUR TAKEOVER LAST WEEK, WE HAVE TAKEN ALL OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S PAST RECOMMENDATIONS AND HAVE IMPLEMENTED THEM. AND, UM, ASIDE FROM THIS VIDEO, I'VE ALSO BROUGHT WITH ME TODAY A COPY OF THE FOOD ORDERS THAT WE'VE TAKEN LAST WEDNESDAY WHEN WE TOOK OVER LAST SATURDAY AND LAST NIGHT. I'M HAPPY TO HAND THESE OUT TO THE COMMISSION IF IT'S OKAY WITH THE CHAIR. UH, YES, GIVE IT TO THE, UH, SECRETARY. IN ADDITION, WE'VE CREATED DRAFT MENUS THAT WE PLAN ON GOING LIVE. I'LL BE HANDING THOSE OUT AS WELL. AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS THE VIDEO, UH, JUST TAKEN EARLIER TODAY. WHAT YOU SAW IN THE PREVIOUS PICTURE STAFF SHOWED WAS THE VACANT, UH, UH, PATIO AREA. HERE WE'VE KEPT WITH THE THEME OF THE RESTAURANT BY ADDING, UH, OVER A DOZEN, UH, DATE PALMS. WE HAVE A, UH, PODIUM WHERE THE HOSTESS WILL MEET OUT FRONT. CLEAR RESTAURANT OPENS AT FOUR WITH HOURS OF OPERATION, COMMUNAL STYLE FAMILY TABLES, 4 65 INCH PLASMA SCREEN TVS PLAYING SPORTS LIKE A SPORTS BAR WOULD. HERE YOU SEE SOME ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF THE RESTAURANT. THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION AT THE LAST PC HEARING TO INSTALL A PARTITION WALL OR SOME SORT OF SCREENING TO REDUCE THE BULK OF THE RESTAURANT WHEN IT'S NOT USED AS A BANQUET HALL. WE HEARD THE COMMISSION LOUD AND CLEAR, WE APPRECIATED AND WE IMPLEMENTED THE RECOMMENDATION, WHICH YOU SEE HERE OFF TO THE RIGHT OF THE LARGER PICTURE. THE FAMILY TO THE RIGHT HERE CAME IN LAST NIGHT FOR DINNER AS A FAMILY WITH THEIR FOUR YOUNG CHILDREN AND TO CATCH UP ON A SOCCER GAME. [00:30:05] RECENTLY, THE CITY RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS PARTNERS CLAIMING THAT THE PALMS CREATES A DEAD FRONTAGE ALONG A KEY DOWNTOWN BLOCK, UNDERMINING EFFORTS TO CREATE A LIVELY AND INVITING ATMOSPHERE FOR SHOPPERS AND VISITORS. THE PICTURES YOU SEE HERE ARE ALL TAKEN EARLIER TODAY AND ARE PRIME EXAMPLES OF THE DEFINITION OF DEAD FRONTAGE, GRAFFITI ON A SIDEWALK, SIDEWALKS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN PRESSURE WASHED IN YEARS. A SMALL HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT IN FRONT OF THE DOWNTOWN CAFE BAR AND GRILL TRASH AND CLOSE DOWN BUSINESSES. THIS IS THE PALMS FRONTAGE, QUITE THE CONTRARY OF DEAD FRONTAGE. IF YOU ASK ME. I AM GONNA SHARE A QUICK STORY WITH YOU GUYS TODAY. UH, EARLIER I WENT TO THE PUMPS TO TAKE ALL THE PICTURES THAT YOU GUYS JUST SAW. UM, RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR DOORS, THERE WAS A HOMELESS PERSON SCREAMING OBSCENITIES AND DOING WHAT HOMELESS PEOPLE DO. OH, YES. UH, YOUR TIME IS UP. CAN I WRAP UP? SURE. HOW LONG DO YOU NEED? ONE MINUTE. OKAY, FINE. UH, I CALLED THE POLICE. POLICE CAME, FOUR GUYS CAME. TWO FROM THE FRONT, TWO FROM THE BACK. UH, BY THAT TIME THE HOMELESS GUY LEFT, BUT THEY'VE NEVER BEEN IN THERE BEFORE. THEY SAID, THIS IS A REALLY COOL PLACE. WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO HERE? KIND OF EXPLAIN THE BANQUET. WE DO QUINCEANERAS, WE DO BAR MITZVAHS, WE DO WEDDINGS, WE DO BAPTISMS, ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF EVENTS. AND WE'RE ALSO A RESTAURANT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. I TOLD THEM WHAT'S HAPPENING AND WHAT THE CITY'S TRYING TO DO TONIGHT. ONE OF THEM ROLLED THEIR EYES AND SAID, GREAT. ANOTHER VACANT BUILDING. DON'T EXACERBATE POLICE RESOURCES BY CREATING ANOTHER VACANT BUILDING HERE. OUR REQUEST IS TO CONFIRM, BASED ON THIS INFORMATION, AND AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST, BUT I COULD TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED SINCE LAST WEEK AND WHAT'S GOING TO BE HAPPENING MOVING FORWARD TO CONFIRM THAT WE ARE NOW OPERATING UNDER THE CUP CONDITIONS REJECT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION. AND I WOULD EVEN GO AS FAR AS TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LIVELINESS AND ATTRACT VISITORS AND SHOPPERS TO THE DOWNTOWN AREA BY ALLOWING UP TO 30% OF THE YEAR TO BE ALLOWED FOR BANQUETS AND PRIVATE EVENTS. YOU'RE PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HERE. AND TO SHOW THAT WE WANT TO BE GOOD PARTNERS WITH THE CITY AND THE DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP REQUIRE US TO COME BACK EVERY SIX MONTHS FOR A CUP CHECKUP. THANK YOU. AND I'M AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. YES. I HA I DO HAVE A QUESTION. HAVE YOU SUBMITTED TO THE CITY PROOF OF SALE? WE JUST TOOK OVER LAST WEDNESDAY. THAT WAS OUR SUBMITTAL TONIGHT. AND THAT'S YOUR PROOF OF SALE? THAT'S OUR PROOF OF SALE. DO YOU HAVE ANY LEGAL DOCUMENT? OH, I'M SORRY. PROOF OF SALE FROM THE BUSINESS? CORRECT. THEY'RE ALL BEING TRANSFERRED. THEY'RE ALL BEING TRANSFERRED AS OF OCTOBER 26TH. UH, STAFF HAD MENTIONED EAR IN THE STAFF REPORT THAT THEY RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM THE PREVIOUS ATTORNEY SAYING THAT IT'S IN THE PROCESS OF BEING SOLD. SO IT'S AN ESCROW RIGHT NOW. IT'S AN ESCROW. OKAY. SO, OKAY, SO IT'S NOT COMPLETED YET. IT'S NOT COMPLETED, BUT IT WILL BE COMPLETED. IT'S PENDING. OKAY. YEAH. GOT IT. AND, UH, UH, THIS, UH, JUST A MOMENT, UH, A QUE ON THE ORIGINAL CONDITION OF APPROVAL. I REMEMBER READING THAT IT WAS LIMITED TO 15% USE AS A A BANQUET HALL. NOW IT WAS IN, IN THE ACTUAL, UH, I READ IT MYSELF AND, UH, IN 2010 I WAS HERE AND I REMEMBER SEEING 15% ON THAT. UH, LET ME ASK THE STAFF, DO YOU HAVE IT THERE? YES. IN THE ACTUAL CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL? UM, IT JUST TALKS ABOUT, UM, ANCILLARY, UH, BANQUET HALL USE. UM, IT'S NOT DEFINED WITH A SPECIFIC PERCENTAGE. UH, THE 15% PERCENTAGE JUST COMES FROM OTHER ZONING REGULATIONS THAT WEREN'T CITED IN THIS PRESENTATION. UH, BUT IT'S, UM, SO, UM, IN A, UH, AS AN EXAMPLE, IN A INDUSTRIAL ZONE, YOU CAN HAVE INCIDENTAL RETAIL SALES OF UP TO 15%, OR THE OPPOSITE. IN A COMMERCIAL ZONE, IF YOU WANTED TO DO WHOLESALE USE, YOU COULD HAVE INCIDENTAL WHOLESALE USE OF UP TO 15%. SO IT'S A COMMON METRIC THAT WE USE IN ORDER TO, UH, QUANTIFY INCIDENTAL. UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD REFERENCE AS PART OF STAFF'S PRESENTATION, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, HOW THE CITY COUNCIL WAS, UH, VERY, UM, CLEAR, UH, WHEN THEY APPROVED THIS, THAT THEY WANTED TO ENSURE THAT THE RESTAURANT WAS THE PRIMARY USE AND THAT IT, UM, AND THAT HE CONTINUED TO OPERATE AS A RESTAURANT IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN THAT VIBRANCY WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. SO I JUST WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT THAT WAS PART OF THE DISCUSSION AT THE COUNCIL. SO ALTHOUGH IT MAY NOT BE SPECIFIED IN THE ACTUAL CONDITIONS, UH, THAT WAS THE EXPECTATION AS PART OF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. UM, I WOULD ALSO NOTE THAT ONE OF THE CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL REQUIRES THE BUSINESS TO OPERATE IN A COMPATIBLE FASHION WITH THE, UH, DOWNTOWN AREA. AND SO [00:35:01] I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE OTHER ISSUES THAT YOU'RE SEEING COME THROUGH, UH, THAT'S INCONSISTENT WITH THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AND THE COMMENTS THAT YOU RECEIVED FROM THE DOWNTOWN ELCON BUSINESS PARTNERS. SO JUST SOMETHING ELSE TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION. I REMEMBER READING SOMEWHERE 15% NOW. THAT'S, THAT'S WHY I WAS, YES. SO 15% IS JUST THE COMMON INCIDENTAL, UH, ASPECT THAT IS USED FOR ZONING PURPOSES. OKAY. UM, I WOULD ALSO NOTE, I KNOW THE APPLICANT OR THE, UM, THE SPEAKER, UM, INDICATED A DESIRE TO INCREASE INCIDENTAL UP TO 30%. UM, THAT COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. SO TONIGHT WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT AMENDING THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, NOR ARE WE LOOKING AT RENEGOTIATING CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL. WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT WHETHER OR NOT THE FACILITY HAS BEEN OPERATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL AND WHETHER OR NOT THE APPROVAL SHOULD BE, UM, REVOKED. UM, AND I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION, UH, WITH REGARDS TO THE ISSUE OF THE SEPARATION, UM, DURING THE LAST HEARING WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT INSERTING A SEPARATION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BUSINESS, UM, I DID INDICATE, UH, TO THE APPLICANT AS WELL AS THE ATTORNEY THAT, UM, THAT STAFF WOULDN'T SUPPORT, UM, JUST INSTALLING THAT BECAUSE WE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO EVALUATE AND ANALYZE THAT WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. BECAUSE THE WHOLE INTENT OF THIS ISN'T TO WALL OFF A PORTION OF THE BUSINESS AND THEN HAVE, YOU KNOW, PRIVATE FACILITIES IN THE BACK. IT'S TO, FOR THE WHOLE BUSINESS TO BE OPERATED AS A RESTAURANT JUST WITH INCIDENTAL, ESSENTIALLY ONE, ONE TIME PER WEEK, UH, BANQUET USE. OKAY. THANK, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I APPRECIATE THAT. YEAH, I MUST HAVE BEEN MISTAKEN. I I REMEMBER SEEING 15% SOMEWHERE, HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE NOT BEEN IN THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE HAD AND THE WITNESSES THAT WERE, THAT WERE HERE ARE, UH, STATED CONTRARY TO WHAT YOU'RE STATING HERE THIS EVENING. SO IT'S, THERE'S A DISJUNCTION IN BETWEEN WHAT THE PRIOR WITNESSES SAID OF THE PREVIOUS OWNERS AND WHAT IS BEING SAID THIS EVENING. NOW I'M GONNA ASK MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT THEY WANT TO ASK YOU. I, WELL, YOU CAN GO FOR, GO AHEAD. JUST REALLY QUICK, 'CAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE NOW IN THE PROCESS OF PURCHASING THIS BUSINESS. NOW, WHEN YOU WERE PURCHASING THIS, USUALLY I, I, I DO SALES, A LOT OF REALTORS. SO DID THEY INFORM YOU OF WHAT WAS GOING ON OR WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED THUS FAR REGARDING, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW A LOT ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, SO I'M SURE THEY SHARED SOME OF IT WITH YOU AND YOU CHOSE TO TAKE THAT ON. SO I'M JUST WONDERING, KNOWING WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DO, HAVE YOU SPOKEN WITH THE, WITH NOAH OR ANYONE AT, REGARDING THE SALE OR HOW TO RECTIFY THIS TO KEEP I NOTIFIED STAFF THAT WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF ACQUIRING THE BUSINESS, AND I WAS AWARE, I AM AWARE OF WHAT WAS GOING TO TAKE PLACE TONIGHT. SO THIS WAS OUR EFFORT TO TRY TO SALVAGE A BUSINESS IN EL CAJON, TRY TO BRING SOMETHING TO BE IN COMPLIANCE AND BE A POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMMUNITY. MM-HMM . UM, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE HERE TONIGHT. WELL, I APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION, SO THANK YOU COMMISSIONER ROSE. I'M GOOD. YOU'RE GOOD. OKAY. COMMISSIONER EDISON. SO YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE NOT THE OWNER AS OF TODAY. AS OF TODAY, WE ARE IN ESCROW TO CLOSE AND ACQUIRE THE SITE, BUT YOU'RE NOT AT, WE HAVE CONTROL OVER THE SITE. SO ANYTIME A PSA IS EXECUTED, YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER A SITE DURING ESCROW. I GUESS PART OF THE FRUSTRATIONS THAT, THAT WE'RE HAVING IS THAT THIS IS THE FOURTH OR FIFTH MEETING THAT WE'VE HAD, AND IT'S ONE PERSON AFTER ANOTHER. AND NOW WE'RE, THE LAST MEETING WAS SUPPOSED TO BE COUNCIL, AND NOW WE'RE MAYBE IN THE NINTH HOUR WE HEAR OF THIS. IT, IT'S FRUSTRATING FOR ME. AND NOW I SEE, YOU KNOW, YOU, IT'S GREAT THAT YOU'RE BRINGING INTO SALES, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S JUST A, A WEEK. I MEAN, THAT DOESN'T, THAT DOESN'T REALLY SAY A LOT FOR THE O OVERALL YEAR THAT WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THIS. I MEAN, A WEEK IS, IS A SMALL, IS MICROCOSM OF, OF WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN THERE. AND I DO APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU'VE TAKEN THE PIER PRESENTATION OF SOUND, BUT IT DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T, MY OVERALL PROBLEM WITH THIS IS THAT IT HAS BEEN A STRUGGLE TO GET THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY INTO COMPLIANCE WITH THE CEP. IT'S BEEN A STRUGGLE TO GET THE CURRENT, THE CURRENT OWNER TO COMMUNICATE WITH STAFF. IT'S BEEN A STRUGGLE TO GET CONSISTENT STATEMENTS, EVEN WITH THE ATTORNEYS HERE NOW. WE HAVE A NOW WE HAVE A NEW, UH, PARTNER TO DEAL WITH. AND IT JUST SEEMS LIKE EVERY TIME THAT THE STAFF ASKS FOR JUST TO, TO FOLLOW THE CUP, THAT THIS JUST LIKE THE BARE MINIMUM TO GET US THERE. AND NOW WE HAVE A NEW PERSON SAYING, HEY, NO, EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE FINE. IT'S DIFFICULT FOR US GIVEN THE, AT LEAST FOR ME, I'LL SPEAK. FOR ME, IT'S DIFFICULT GIVEN THE HISTORY OF THE PAST YEAR. YOU JUST COMING IN SAYING, OKAY, EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE FINE, YOU JUST GOT HERE. SO IT'S KIND OF HARD FOR ME, UH, THROUGH THE CHAIR, COMMISSIONER EDISON, THAT WAS THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF US BRINGING IN THE EVIDENCE, THE CONCRETE EVIDENCE TO NOT SAY WE NEED SOME MORE TIME, BUT TO SHOW YOU THAT SINCE WE'VE TAKEN OVER, [00:40:01] SINCE WE'VE SAMPLED THE BUSINESS, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED THOSE CHANGES THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SOLY PROMISED OVER THE LAST YEAR. I HEAR YOU, YOU WERE PROMISED A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF THAT DID NOT TAKE PLACE AND IT ONLY JUST TOOK A FEW DAYS FOR US TO IMPLEMENT. AND SO PERHAPS THE ISSUE WASN'T NECESSARILY THE BUSINESS. PERHAPS THE ISSUE WAS THE OPERATORS, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE HERE NOW. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER CIRCLE? OH, GO AHEAD. AK RUTH HAS A QUESTION. GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. OH, OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, SO HAVE YOU, HAVE YOU BEEN IN CHARGE OF A RESTAURANT BEFORE? IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE DONE BEFORE AND HAD SUCCESS WITH, OR THE FAMILY, UH, ACTUALLY HAD A VERY FAMOUS RESTAURANT IN THE EARLY NINETIES IN DOWNTOWN. IT WAS A VERY SIMILAR CONCEPT. UH, THEY'RE ACTUALLY MULTIPLE MEDIA STORIES, UH, OF THEM IN THOSE, I DON'T, I DIDN'T HAVE THOSE MEDIA STORIES, BUT I THINK IT WAS CALLED KING'S KEBAB, IF I'M NOT MIS, KING'S KITCHEN, UH, VERY FAMOUS KEBAB HOUSE. AND WE PLAN ON BRINGING BACK THOSE RECIPES. UH, HIS FATHER IS ACTUALLY A GOURMET SHAWARMA CHEF FROM BACK HOME, AND WE PLAN ON BRINGING THOSE RECIPES BACK TO LIFE HERE. ARE SOME OF THOSE ON THIS MENU HERE OR IS THAT SOMETHING YEAH. OKAY. YEAH, THIS IS OUR DRAFT MENU. WE STILL GOTTA CLEAN IT UP A LITTLE BIT, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO COME UP WITH OVER, UH, THE LAST FEW DAYS ON THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOODS THAT WE PLAN ON SELLING. OKAY. MY ONLY CONCERN, I MEAN, IS LOOKING AT THESE SALES, KNOWING WHAT RENTS AND THINGS COST AND WHAT OPERATING EXPENSES ARE, THIS CLEARLY NEEDS TO BE KIND OF AMPED UP TO BE A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS. RIGHT. AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU BRINGING IT, BUT I'M JUST MAKING SURE THAT THIS, IT WOULD BE SOMETHING MORE DYNAMIC IN THIS. 'CAUSE THEN, I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU WANT TO GET IN BUSINESS IN THE FIRST PLACE HERE AT THE PALMS. WE'RE VERY AWARE OF THE DIFFICULTIES BEHIND MANAGING A RESTAURANT, BUT WE'RE ALSO AWARE OF THE COMMUNITY GATHERING PLACES THAT THEY, UH, SUPPORT AND THAT THEY SERVE AS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, UM, WE HAVE FULL INTENT TO NOT ONLY REVAMP THE OPERATIONS, BUT ALSO SPEND SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY ON REMODELING THE PALMS. I'M GONNA, UH, BRING UP RAMON HERE IN A MINUTE. HE, UH, HANDLE, HE'S GONNA BE HANDLING OUR REMODEL TO TALK ABOUT ALL THE GREAT IDEAS THAT WE HAVE, UM, HERE IN A MOMENT. OKAY, THANK YOU. I BELIEVE, UH, STAFF HAS, UH, NOAH HAS A COMMENT TO MAKE. UH, YES. YOUR THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN. UH, I JUST, UH, BASED ON THE PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE THAT THE PLANNING COMMISSION HAS HAD, I, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL, UM, IF WE COULD ASK THE SPEAKER JUST TO CLARIFY, UM, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HIMSELF AND THE BUSINESS OPERATORS. UM, SO THE, UM, STAFF HASN'T RECEIVED ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE SALE OF THE BUSINESS OR WHO, UM, THE NEW OPERATORS MAY BE. SO I THINK CLARIFICATION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE SPEAKER IS PART OF THE OWNERSHIP GROUP, WHETHER OR NOT HE WOULD BE THERE ON A DAILY BASIS IN CONJUNCTION WITH RESTAURANT OPERATIONS, OR IF THAT WOULD BE SOMEONE ELSE AND HE'S JUST REPRESENTING THEM. SO I THINK THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR THE COMMISSION. RIGHT. AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW ABOUT ESCROW. I'VE KNOWN A LOT OF ESCROWS THAT HAVE NOT CLOSED, THAT SOMETHING CAME UP AND DID NOT CLOSE. SO IT, IT DOES HAPPEN. YOU CANNOT PUT YOUR A HUNDRED PERCENT TRUST ON THE, THE ESCROW BEING CLOSED. IT'S STILL OPEN. SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE OF THAT. UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE WE CALL THE NEXT SPEAKER? I WAS JUST GOING TO ASK, UH, WE KNOW YOU'RE REPRESENTING THE OWNERS. ARE THE OWNERS GOING TO BE ON SITE ON A DAILY BASIS? ARE YOU GOING TO BE ON SITE ON A DAILY BASIS? WHAT'S YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NEW OWNERS? ASSUMING THE ESCROW DOES CLOSE, I REPRESENT THE OWNERSHIP GROUP BEFORE PUBLIC HEARING BODIES. OKAY. UM, BUT I'M ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH THEIR VARIOUS BUSINESS OPERATIONS, BOTH AS A COMMUNITY LIAISON AND A GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS LIAISON. UM, I WOULD ALSO ADD THAT AT LEAST ONE MEMBER OF THE FAMILY WILL BE ON SITE EVERY SINGLE DAY, SEVEN DAYS OF THE WEEK. AND THAT INDIVIDUAL WHO WE PLAN ON BRINGING IN AS OUR OPERATING, UH, HAND OF THE BUSINESS, UM, IS VERY AWARE OF THE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS AND CRITERIA AND CONDITIONS. GOOD. 'CAUSE ONE OF THE, LIKE MR. EDISON MENTIONED EACH MEETING WE GET A NEW FACE WHO'S GOT A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE RESTAURANT. SO HAVING SOME CONSISTENCY WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL TOO. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAD RECOMMENDED IS WE'RE WILLING TO ACCEPT A CONDITION THAT SAYS, SHOW UP EVERY SIX MONTHS OR THREE MONTHS, OR EVERY MONTH IF YOU'D LIKE. AND I'M HAPPY TO COME IN AND DEMONSTRATE THE SALES RECEIPTS AND THE DIFFERENT MENUS AND GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE ON WHAT'S HAPPENING, UH, AT THE PUMPS. AND IS, UH, THEY M STILL THE PROPERTY OWNER OR DID YOU BUY THE PROPERTY AS WELL? UM, WE HAVE NOT PURCHASED THE PROPERTY, UM, BUT UH, UH, I BELIEVE DAVID WILL REMAIN AS THE OWNERSHIP GROUP. YES. YOU'RE ASSUMING [00:45:01] THE LEASE. YES, WE'RE ASSUMING THE LEASE, YEAH. YES. MR. CHAIRMAN, SORRY IF I MAY INTERJECT. I, I DID SPEAK WITH DAVID MALICK, THE, UH, PROPERTY OWNER TODAY, AND HE CONFIRMED RECEIPT OF THE PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE, AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT HE REMAINS THE PROPERTY OWNER, STILL REMAIN THE PROPERTY OWNER. OKAY. UH, I DO HAVE A QUESTION. YES. UH, MR. UH, IS, IS THE OWNERS HERE TODAY, UH, THE PROSPECTIVE BUSINESS OWNERS? YES. YES. THEY'RE HERE TODAY. OKAY, GREAT. YEAH. DID THEY FILL OUT SPEAKER CARDS? UH, YES, THEY FILLED OUT SPEAKER CARDS. OKAY, THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. LAURA, DO WE HAVE ANOTHER SPEAKER CARD? UH, YES. JEFF MANOR. UH, PLEASE, UH, SPELL YOUR LAST NAME. UH, GOOD EVENING. UH, MANSOUR, M-A-N-S-O-U-R. AND YOU'RE RAMON OR JEFF? I'M RAMON. RAMON. OKAY. WE'RE BROTHERS. OH, RAMON. RAMON. OKAY. YES, GO AHEAD. YES. SO, UM, MAYBE A LITTLE BACKGROUND. I, WE APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR TIME AND OF COURSE YOUR EFFORT AND, UH, WE UNDERSTAND YOUR FRUSTRATION IN THE PAST. UH, WE'LL, WE WILL GIVE YOU A LITTLE INSIGHT OF, OF, UH, WHAT WE'RE PLANNING, UH, HOPEFULLY ON DOING SO. OUR FAMILY, WELL, MY DAD BACK HOME, UM, HAD A RESTAURANT BACK IN, UH, IN IRAQ WERE CALI CATHOLICS IN, UH, FROM, FROM BAGHDAD. AND, UM, WE OWNED AND OPERATED A RESTAURANT CALLED KING'S SHISH KEBAB ON SIXTH AND F IN DOWNTOWN FROM ABOUT 1997 TO ABOUT 2001. AND, UH, SO WE, WE HAVE THAT MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD, UH, HISTORY. AND, UH, ACTUALLY IF YOU, ANY OF YOU AWARE OR KNOW A RESTAURANT CALLED CRAFTED GREENS, UH, HERE IN EL CAJON. SO, UH, VERY, VERY POPULAR RESTAURANT. IT WAS, IT'S AC IT'S MY FATHER-IN-LAW'S RESTAURANT. UH, I HELPED TO DESIGN THAT RESTAURANT. I, I NAMED THAT RESTAURANT. I HEADED ALL THE, UH, UH, MARKETING, UH, ON HOW TO IMPLEMENT A, IT USED TO BE A STARBUCKS THAT, THAT THIS, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT RELOCATED AND SHUT DOWN. AND, AND WE TOOK OVER THAT LEASE. AND, UH, IT TOOK ABOUT, ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF OF BUILD OUT AND ALL THIS. AND I THINK WE REALLY BUILT SOMETHING SPECIAL. UM, IT'S REALLY POPULAR. IT'S BEEN ON THE, UH, YELP'S TOP 100, UH, TWICE, AND WE'VE ONLY HAD IT FOR ABOUT, UH, SEVEN YEARS. SO WE, WE HAVE REALLY, WE HAVE THE EXPERIENCE AND, UH, WE ARE THE NEW OWNERS. I UNDERSTAND YOU, OF COURSE, IT TAKES A LITTLE TIME TO TAKE OVER. BUT, UM, YES, WE HAVE PLANS WITH THIS SPECIAL KIND OF PROPERTY. YOU UNDERSTAND IT'S A BIG PLACE. UM, AND IT'S NOT A TRADITIONAL RESTAURANT, SO IT WOULDN'T SUCCEED AS JUST A REGULAR RESTAURANT IF IT WAS, IF YOU PUT CRAFT GREENS IN A 7,000 SQUARE FOOT HALL, IT JUST WOULDN'T WORK. RIGHT. IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. BUT, UH, WE SAW, UH, THE NEED, ESPECIALLY IN THIS COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY IN THE DOWNTOWN EL CAJON, UM, IT'S ESSENTIAL, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. AND IT JUST NEEDS A NEW VISION. UM, BETTER OPERATORS, UH, FOCUSED, UH, WITH SOME HISTORY. AND SO OF COURSE, MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD IS OUR, IS IS WHAT WE KNOW BEST. UM, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE SUCCEEDED WITH, UH, AMERICAN FOOD AS YOU, YOU KNOW, FROM CRAFT TO GREENS. UH, BUT THIS PARTICULAR STYLE, UM, WITH US IMPLEMENTING, I MEAN, WE'RE NOT ONLY, WE SPEND SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT TO BUY THE BUSINESS AND, UM, ANY BUSINESS IS, IS A RISK OF COURSE. BUT WE'RE ALSO ESTIMATED SOMEWHERE AROUND 300,000 THAT WE'RE GOING, WE'RE INVESTING IN, IN, IN A REBUILD OF THE INTERIOR, THE KITCHEN, UH, THE, THE EXTERIOR SIGNAGE. UM, OF COURSE WE, WE, WE HAVE A GAME PLAN, WE'RE READY TO IMPLEMENT AND WE ARE PLANNING ON IMPLEMENTING. WE, I, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, I DIDN'T KNOW THE DETAILS OF, OF ALL THE SOAR YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE BAD THINGS THAT MAYBE THE, THE PREVIOUS OPERATORS PUT YOU GUYS THROUGH. BUT WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD, YOU KNOW, CONFIDENCE THAT, UM, THAT IF WE OPERATE THE WAY WE WANNA OPERATE WITH THE CONDITIONAL USE, UH, THAT THAT, THAT IT HAS, UM, THAT THIS PLACE IS GONNA BE SOMEWHERE SOMETHING SPECIAL. AND, YOU KNOW, EVEN CRAFTED GREENS NOW, IT'S LIKE A LITTLE OVER HALF OF THE BUSINESS NOW IS ALL UBER EATS AND DOORDASH AND OUT OF OUR CONTROL. THIS IS JUST THAT, THE TIMES WE LIVE IN. AND SO WHAT THE MENU YOU'RE SEEING WILL BE HAVING, WILL BE OFFERING, OFFERING THE, THE DOOR DASHS AND THINGS LIKE THAT TO HELP A LITTLE BIT OFFSET SOME OF THESE COSTS. YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A BIG PLACE. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THE ALCOHOL, WITH THE SEMI USE OF THE, AS A, AS A RESTAURANT AND AS A BANQUET HALL, UM, WITH OFFERING A, A VERY UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR A LOT OF OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, [00:50:01] THE, THE, THE PEOPLE. CAN YOU WRAP IT UP? OH YEAH. YOUR TIME IS OVER IN THIS AREA. THAT SOMETHING THAT THEY'VE EXPERIENCED BACK HOME. OKAY. AND SO IT'S, IT'S THE SOCIAL ASPECT AS WELL AS THE FOOD, THE ALCOHOL, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY THE GAMING ALL, ALL THIS KIND OF IS, IS A, IS PART OF THE, UH, UH, UH, MAKING THIS THING WORK. OKAY. IF I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. YEAH. YEAH. UH, COMMISSIONER EDISON, GO AHEAD. YOU S MAYBE YOU MISSPOKE, MAYBE I MISHEARD YOU. YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T AWARE OF WHAT WAS GOING ON. I I WASN'T AWARE OF ALL THE, THE DETAILS I WASN'T SURE OF, OF HOW, HOW THE, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU GUYS AND THE PREVIOUS OWNERS AND, AND, AND THE FRUSTRATION THAT YOU HAD. I I WASN'T AWARE OF ALL THE DETAILS OF THAT. WELL, LEMME JUST ASK YOU DIRECTLY, WERE YOU AWARE OF THE POSSIBLE REVOKE OF THE CUP? I'M SORRY? WERE YOU AWARE OF THE POSSIBLE REV? REV? WE DEFINITELY HAD. WERE YOU AWARE OF IT? YEAH, I MEAN, WE WERE, WE WERE SOMEWHAT AWARE OF, OF THAT, OF, OF A POSSIBILITY. WHY, AND THEY DIDN'T TELL, BUT IT WASN'T REALLY SURE OF, OF THAT, THAT THEY DID NECESSARILY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT THEY DIDN'T COMPLY WITH SOME OF THE THINGS YOU GUYS REQUESTED. SO I GUESS MY, MY ISSUE AND SO WE, WE FIGURED WE, WE WOULD EASILY COMPLY WITH THOSE THINGS. YEAH. WELL, I, I LIKE THE ENERGY. I'M JUST GONNA BE BLUNT. I LIKE THE ENERGY AND OPENING UP, BEING WILLING TO PUT MONEY INTO A BUSINESS IS A RISK. AND I ALSO APPRECIATE THAT. YEAH. THE CONCERN I HAVE IS THAT YOU'RE SAYING YOU WEREN'T AWARE OF WHAT WAS GOING ON. YOU WEREN'T AWARE OF THE, THE CUP ISSUES. UM, YET YOU'RE GONNA BRING A DIFFERENT APPROACH, BUT YOU WEREN'T AWARE OF, I, I, I, I'LL CLARIFY, I GUESS I'M CONFUSED WHAT I SAID. I WASN'T AWARE JUST HOW BAD MAYBE THE, THE, THE FRUSTRATION THAT YOU AND THEM HAD. IT WASN'T THAT, THAT I WASN'T AWARE OF A POTENTIAL THAT THE CUPU MAY BE REVOKED. UM, BUT LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE CONFIDENCE IN OUR GAME PLAN AND THE, THE FACT THAT THEY JUST COULDN'T COMPLY WITH VERY SIMPLE THINGS, UH, GOES TO SHOW WHAT KIND OF OPERATORS THEY WERE. AND WITHIN JUST ABOUT A WEEK OR SO, WE'RE EASILY ABLE TO COMP, YOU KNOW, TO TO, TO COMPLY. AND I THINK WE'LL SURPASS YOU GUYS' EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT THIS PLACE IS GONNA BE. MY LAST QUESTION IS, IS FOR STAFF. HAVE THEY, UM, HAVE YOU HAD A PRETTY GOOD DIALOGUE AND COMMUNICATION WITH THE POSSIBLE NEW OWNERSHIP? HAVE THEY BEEN OPEN WITH COMMUNICATION WITH YOU? UH, NO. I HAVE NOT BEEN CONTACTED BY THE NEW OWNERSHIP GROUP. UH, THIS IS THE FIRST, UH, PRESENTATION THAT I'VE RECEIVED. SO, UH, THE ONLY CORRESPONDENCE THAT I'VE HAD WAS WITH THE PREVIOUS ATTORNEY AT LAST WEEK WHEN I INDICATED THAT I NEEDED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO PREPARE FOR THIS HEARING. AND, UH, AND NO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WAS RECEIVED UNTIL NOW. AND YOU SEE, THAT'S THE THING. IT'S, IT'S EVEN WITHIN THAT'S MORE OF THE SAME. IT, MY REQUEST IS THAT WE WOULD COMMUNICATE WITH STAFF. 'CAUSE A LOT OF THE ISSUES COULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED IF WITH OP GOOD DIALOGUE AND COMMUNICATION WITH STAFF. AND IT'S NOW THE, THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AND THERE'S BEEN NO COMMUNICATION WITH THE STAFF. THAT'S CONCERNING FOR ME BECAUSE I DON'T SEE A DIFFERENCE. YEAH, I GET IT. IT'S, OH, UH, COMMISSIONER ROSE. YES. SO YOU JUST TOOK THIS THING OVER ON THE 26TH? YES, CORRECT. UM, LET'S SEE, WHAT DAY WAS THAT? LAST WEDNESDAY, TUESDAY, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. YEP. SO DID, DID, AND AND I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. THE OTHER OWNERS DIDN'T REALLY TELL YOU MAYBE THE DEPTH CORRECT. OF WHAT WAS GOING ON, SO THEY JUST CAME IN AND SAID, HEY, WE'RE LOOKING TO GET OUT OF THIS THING. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO. KIND OF GOOD LUCK. SO DID YOU HAVE, OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, DO WHAT YOU CAN IN FOUR OR FIVE DAYS BEFORE THE HEARING. UM, MY QUESTION IS WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS AS FAR AS MOVING FORWARD? ARE YOU LOOKING TO GO TO THE CITY TO, YOU KNOW, TO SHOW BUILDING PLANS AND TO RE TO REVAMP IT AND TO REMODEL IT? OH, WE CAN, OF COURSE, WE CAN ABSOLUTELY SHOW, UH, WHAT, WHAT THE PLANS AND DESIGNS ARE GONNA LOOK LIKE. YOU CAN SEE KIND OF WHAT THE, THE NEW LOOK IS, UM, WHAT WITH THE, WHAT THE, THE DRAFT OF THE MENU. YOU'VE SEEN NEW, NEW LOGO, NEW LOOK, UH, FULL SELECTION IN TERMS OF FOOD OPTIONS. UM, AND, AND, BUT IF, IF THE REQUEST, IF THERE'S A REQUEST FOR US TO SHARE WHAT THE INTERIOR'S GONNA LOOK LIKE, ABSOLUTELY, UM, WE, WE CAN PROVIDE THOSE. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT IS GONNA LOOK VERY, VERY NICE. AND IT'S, AND WE'RE INVESTING A LOT OF MONEY INTO THIS THING AND MAKING IT, YOU KNOW, AS BEAUTIFUL. AND HOPEFULLY LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MULTIPLE BUSINESSES IN EL CAJON. I WENT TO GROSSMONT HIGH SCHOOL, GRADUATED SAN DIEGO STATE. OUR WHOLE FAMILY GREW UP HERE AND, AND WE LOVE INVESTING HERE IN EL CAJON. THIS IS, THIS IS OUR HOME. AND, UH, AND WE HAVE THE TRACK RECORD. WE, WE'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS HERE FOR ABOUT 30 PLUS YEARS IN EL CAJON BESIDES, YOU KNOW, THE ONE, THE ONE IN DOWNTOWN. SO, I MEAN, YOU, YOU'RE DEALING WITH A, A, A SOLID GROUP. I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THE PREVIOUS GUYS. I, I, YOU KNOW, I, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE, [00:55:01] BUT, UH, IN ONE WEEK YOU'VE SEEN ACTION AND, UH, AND YES, WE'RE TAKING OVER AND, AND WE HAVE TAKEN OVER AND, AND WE HAVE GREAT PLANS FOR THIS PLACE. UH, COMMISSIONER P*****K ROOT. YES. SO SINCE YOU JUST WORKED WITH THE ESCROW, THE 26TH, HOW LONG IS THIS ESCROW? IS IT, HOW LONG IS THIS ESCROW GONNA BE ON THIS ONE? LIKE, YOU HAVE A 45, 60 90 DAY ESCROW. LIKE HOW LONG? I THINK, I THINK REALLY SHORT. I'M, I'M, I'M ASSUMING LESS THAN A MONTH. GONNA TAKE ABOUT TWO TO THREE MONTHS. WE HAVE A 60 DAY PLUS 30 DAY. OKAY. PERFECT. THANK, THANK YOU. IF I MAY APPROACH THE PODIUM ONCE. YES. OKAY. UH, WE HAVE A 60 DAY PLUS 30 DAY CLOSE. OKAY. SO 60 DAY DUE DILIGENCE, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE HERE. PLUS 30 DAY CLOSE. I DO WANT TO CLARIFY ONE THING. COMMISSIONER SOLE, THAT STAFF WAS NOTIFIED ON MARCH 24TH, NOAH SPECIFICALLY SAYING, HI, NOAH, I WANT TO GIVE YOU A HEADS UP THAT PALMS IS BEING SOLD AND I REPRESENT THE NEW OWNERSHIP GROUP WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. HE RESPONDED SAYING, HERE IS THE CUP FOR YOU TO COME. I'VE ATTACHED THE AGENDA REPORT HERE IS A LINK TO THE FEBRUARY 4TH PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA. WE NOTIFIED STAFF, AND I'M HAPPY TO FORWARD THAT TO THE CITY MANAGER AS WELL AS THE COMMISSION FOR FURTHER REVIEW. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SORRY, MR. CHAIRMAN, IF I, IF I MAY, YES. JUST TO CLARIFY ONE MORE TIME, UH, WHAT I SAID WAS I WASN'T INFORMED OF THE NEW OWNERSHIP GROUP. SO I, I DID RECEIVE THE, UH, EMAIL FROM MR. ULA, UH, AS HE INDICATED, BUT I HAVEN'T BEEN GIVEN ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT WHO THE OPERATORS ARE, WHAT THE OWNERSHIP GROUP ENTAILS. RIGHT, RIGHT. OKAY. SO, UH, IN 30 DAYS IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE CLOSING A 30 DAY ESCROW. NO. OR 60 60 PLUS PLUS OH NINE 90 DAYS, 60 DAY DUE DILIGENCE. YEAH. RIGHT. 90 DAY CLOSE. YEAH. 90 DAY CLOSE. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THE COMMERCIALS USUALLY TAKE A LONGER, BUT, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, YOU GUYS ARE RUNNING THE OPERATION AT, YOU'RE COLLECTING THE MONEY. YOU'RE PAYING THE BILLS. YOU'RE PAYING THE LEASE. OKAY, GO AHEAD, JEFF. OKAY. UM, WELL, DO WE HAVE ANOTHER, UH, SPEAKER CARD? UH, YES. A JEFF MANSOUR. HELLO EVERYBODY. THIS IS JEFF MANSOUR, M-A-N-S-O-U-R. SO THE SAME THING AS, UH, VINCE SAID, AND MY BROTHER SAID, OUR GOAL IS, UM, TO TAKE OVER THIS BUSINESS. OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE A THRIVE. AND I UNDERSTAND EVERYBODY'S POSITION. I UNDERSTAND EVERYBODY'S GOAL. OUR GOAL IS THE SAME AS YOUR GOAL. WE LOVE THE CITY OF EL CAJON. THAT SAME THING, LIKE MY BROTHER, I GREW UP HERE ALL MY LIFE. I, I LIVE IN EL CAJON. I WENT TO SCHOOL IN EL CAJON AND MOST OF MY LIFE I LIVED HERE. AND WE ARE WILLING TO INVEST IN EL CAJON. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. UM, AND THIS IS GONNA BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY. AND I UNDERSTAND THE VISION OF DOWNTOWN, THE VISION OF WHAT YOU GUYS ARE TRYING TO DO IN DOWNTOWN EL CAJON, WHICH IS TO ENHANCE IT, TO MAKE IT GREAT, TO MAKE IT A DOWNTOWN LOOK. AND WE ARE THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE WE DO HAVE THE EXPERIENCE. SO WE ARE NOT ONLY, WE WOULD LOVE TO DO THAT, BUT WE'RE ALSO PUTTING OUR MONEY INTO IT. YOU GUYS WANT INVESTORS HERE WE ARE. WE ARE THE INVESTORS, AND WE'RE GONNA DO IT. AND THEN WE NEED EACH OTHER. WE NEED YOUR HELP, YOUR BLESSINGS TO COMMUNICATE WITH ENTREPRENEURS LIKE US SO THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE THE SAME GOAL. YOU KNOW, THAT THAT IS OUR POSITION AND WE MEAN THAT SINCERELY. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO. AND, AND, AND LIKE VINCE SAID, WE CAN COME AND CHECK WITH US ANYTIME YOU WANT. BUT THE POINT IS, THIS IS A RESTAURANT, BUT IT'S A UNIQUE RESTAURANT, RIGHT? IT'S A 7,200 SQUARE FOOT RESTAURANT. IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT CRAFTED GREEN LIKE MY BROTHER SAID. SO HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU OPERATE A RESTAURANT WITH 72? YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME SELL FOOD. THIS IS WHAT WE DO. YOU HAVE TO HAVE SELL ALCOHOL IS WHAT WE HAVE. AND WE HAVE A BANQUET HALL. WELL, WHAT'S THE BANQUET HALL? WE DO PARTIES. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LINEUP ALL THE, THE, THE OLD OWNERS AS WE DO QUINCEANERAS. WE DID OURSELVES, OUR FAMILY DID THE NEW YEAR'S PARTY AS A PALM. SO WE, WE KNOW THE HISTORY OF PALMS. WE'VE USED IT BEFORE. WE'VE DONE MANY TOURNAMENTS AND, AND I'M VERY, VERY, UM, UM, PART OF THE COMMUNITY. AND I DO A LOT OF EVENTS AND I'VE USED THE PALMS MANY TIMES IN THE PAST TO DO, UM, UM, COMMUNITY EVENTS. SO IT'S NOT GONNA SURVIVE. I'M JUST LETTING YOU KNOW RIGHT NOW, IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT JUST STRICTLY 100% RESTAURANT, 7,200 SQUARE FOOT OF BUILDING, THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN, RIGHT? CAN'T BE SOLELY RESTAURANT. YOU GOTTA HAVE IN THE WEEKEND, SOME PARTIES, YOU GOTTA HAVE LIKE WEDDINGS. WE'VE DONE WEDDINGS. NEW YORK PARTIES, YOU WANNA DO YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTIES, YOU WANNA DO ANY KIND OF PARTY. THAT'S WHAT GENERATES ENOUGH INCOME TO SUSTAIN IT, OTHERWISE IT'S GONNA GO BANKRUPT IF YOU JUST DO RESTAURANT ONLY RESTAURANT, YOU KNOW? SO WE ARE WILLING TO DO IT'S OPEN, COME EAT, COME DRINK. WE HAVE MONDAY NIGHTS, THEY DO, UM, BINGO NIGHTS, YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO COME. YOU GOTTA HAVE A BAR. THEY DO, UM, ON THE WEEKEND. THEY RESERVE PARTIES [01:00:01] AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. SO WE HAVE THE RIGHT PLAN, AND WE'RE MOVING FORWARD. WE WANNA WORK. AND YOU WANNA HAVE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANNA CALL THIS DOWNTOWN, YOU WANNA HAVE SOME MUSIC, RIGHT? IT'S DOWNTOWN. YOU WANNA HAVE SOME MUSIC, YOU WANNA HAVE SOME PARTIES, YOU WANNA HAVE SOME ENERGY. THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA CREATE IN DOWNTOWN ELON, AND WE'RE THE RIGHT GUYS TO DO. AND THAT'S WHAT WE ARE HERE FOR. AND WE, AND WE KNOW THESE PEOPLE, SO I KNOW YOU'RE THINKING, OH, ONE WEEK WE JUST POPPED UP IS NO, WE'VE HAD DIALOGUE WITH THEM, BUT, AND, AND WE, WE KNEW THERE WAS SOME TENSION BETWEEN CITY, UM, AND, AND COMPLIANCE. AND WE ARE HERE TO ADDRESS IT AND WE'RE HERE TO FIX IT. YEAH. IT SHOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM BECAUSE WE, WE KNOW WHAT WE, WE ARE DOING AND, AND WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD TO ACCOMPLISH OUR GOAL, WHICH IS TO PARTNER UP WITH THE CITY. WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE, KEEP THE PLACE NICE AND CLEAN. YOU GUYS KEEP THE OUTSIDE CLEAN. THE CITY KEEPS EVERYTHING CLEAN, KIND OF HELPS OUT WITH THE HOMELESS. AND YOUR TIME IS UP. MR. MONSOUR, CAN YOU WRAP IT UP? YES. THANK YOU. I JUST WANNA SAY THAT, UM, WE'RE GONNA MAKE THIS HAPPEN AND WE, WE WANT EACH OTHER TO PARTNER UP TO ACHIEVE THE SAME GOAL. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER POLLAK ROOT, PLEASE GO AHEAD. YES, JUST REALLY QUICK. I KNOW NOAH'S WORKED A LOT WITH MANY OF THE OTHER OWNERS THAT TO TRY TO KEEP EVERYTHING IN COMPLIANCE. NOW THAT YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE OVER THE PALMS, ARE YOU GONNA WORK WITH THE CITY TO KIND OF SEE WHAT THE COMPLIANCE ISSUES ARE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT STAY STAYS ON THE RIGHT TRACK? OF COURSE. YEAH. I KNOW NOAH VERY WELL, AND I'VE WORKED WITH HIM IN THE PAST. AND, UM, WE'RE GONNA DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO ACHIEVE THE SAME GOAL. I, I, WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT EVERYBODY WANTS AND WE'LL DO OUR BEST RIGHT TOGETHER TO ACCOMPLISH THAT GOAL. AND THAT'S A PROMISE. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. UH, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER SPEAKER CARDS? UH, YES. UH, KATHY ZEMAN. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SURE. SPELL YOUR LAST NAME FOR US, PLEASE. KATHY. MY NAME IS KATHY ZEMAN, Z-E-M-A-N, AND I'M HERE TO REPRESENT DOWNTOWN EL CAJON BUSINESS PARTNERS WHO ADMINISTERS THE PROPERTY BASED IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT FOR THE CITY OF EL CAJON. I'M JOINED BY BOARD MEMBER CHRIS BERG, WHO HOLDS A SEAT FOR THE CITY OF EL CAJON MANAGER'S OFFICE ON OUR BOARD. AND TONIGHT WE RESPECT RESPECTIVELY, UH, RESPECTFULLY, BUT FIRMLY URGE THE COMMISSION TO REVOKE THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NUMBER 2 1 1 5 FOR THE PALMS RESTAURANT IN BANIN HALL. FOR OVER A YEAR, THE PALMS HAS REPEATEDLY FAILED TO COMPLY WITH ITS CUP REQUIREMENTS, SPECIFICALLY OPERATING AS A BONAFIDE RESTAURANT WITH PUBLIC ACCESS FROM MAIN STREET. INSTEAD, THE PALMS CONSISTENTLY FUNCTIONS AS A PRIVATE CAR CLUB AND EVENT SPACE WITH THE ENTRANCE AT THE REAR, CREATING A VACANT AND UNWELCOMING FACADE ON OUR PRIME MAIN STREET LOCATION. THIS CONTINUED NON-COMPLIANCE DIRECTLY UNDERMINES THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL'S GOAL OF REVITALIZING DOWNTOWN NIGHTLIFE AND ACT AND ATTRACTING VI VIBRANT BUSINESSES, DESPITE NUMEROUS EXTENSIONS AND REPEATED LENIENCY GRANTED BY THIS COMMISSION, INCLUDING HEARINGS IN FEBRUARY OF 2024, FEBRUARY OF 2025, AND AGAIN, TONIGHT, COMPLIANCE HAS NOT BEEN ACHIEVED. INSTEAD, THE OWNERS HAVE EMPLOYED DELAY TACTICS, SENDING DIFFERENT REPRESENTATIVES AND LEGAL COUNSEL EACH TIME, AND TONIGHT CLAIMING TO TRANSFER TO NEW OWNERSHIP, ALL TO BUY ADDITIONAL TIME WITHOUT MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENT. ADDITIONALLY, THE PALMS CONTINUES TO CREATE NUISANCES FOR OUR COMMUNITY. WE RECEIVE FREQUENT COMPLAINTS FROM NEIGHBORING BUSINESSES ABOUT IMPROPER WASTE DISPOSAL PRACTICES, SPECIFICALLY DUMPING TRASH IN PUBLIC AREAS RATHER THAN THEIR DESIGNATED DUMPSTERS. THIS BEHAVIOR BURDENS THE DOWNTOWN OKLAHOMA BUSINESS PARTNERS RESOURCES AS OUR CONTRACTORS MUST REGULARLY CLEAN 'EM UP, CLEAN UP AFTER THE PALMS. THE SITE CURRENTLY OCCUPIED BY THE PALMS HOLD ENORMOUS POTENTIAL TO POSITIVELY IMPACT OUR DOWNTOWN AREA TO REALIZE THIS POTENTIAL, OUR ORGANIZATION RECENTLY HIRED MARCO LARI OF NEW CITY AMERICA AS OUR NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. HE'S A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED EXPERT WHO HAS SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFORMED BUSINESS DISTRICTS SUCH AS SAN DIEGO, LITTLE ITALY, AND CHULA VISTA'S THIRD AVENUE. ADDITIONALLY, CHRIS BERG FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, AND PARIS LANDON FROM LIVE NATION, NOW LEAD OUR HOSPITALITY TASK FORCE, ACTIVELY RECRUITING REPUTABLE RESTAURANT AND NIGHTLIFE TENANTS READY TO INVEST IN INVEST IN OUR DOWNTOWN REVOKING. THE CUP IS NOT ONLY JUSTIFIED, IT'S NECESSARY CONTINUING TO ALLOW THIS ESTABLISHMENT TO OPERATE OUT OF COMPLIANCE SETS A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT, UNDERMINING OUR COLLECTIVE EFFORTS TO HOLD BUSINESSES ACCOUNTABLE. REVOCATION WILL ENABLE US TO BRING IN A RE RESPONSIBLE COMPLIANT OPERATOR WHO WILL TRULY ENHANCE OUR COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT AND SUPPORT EL CAJONS ECONOMIC VITALITY COMMISSIONERS. WE URGE YOU TO TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TONIGHT AND REVOKE THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT [01:05:01] 2 1 1 15 AND HELP US RECLAIM DOWNTOWN'S POTENTIAL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU. JUST A MOMENT, PLEASE. UH, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF, UH, MR. ZEMAN? COMMISSIONER CIRCLE? JUST ONE QUESTION. YES. UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE PURPOSE OF REVOCATION WOULD BE TO BRING IN NEW OPERATORS WHO WOULD BE ABLE TO FOLLOW COMPLIANCE. YES. AND TONIGHT WE FIND OUT THAT WE'VE GOT NEW OPERATORS WANTING TO COME IN AND DO COMPLIANCE. I'M NOT SURE THAT THAT'S JUST NOT A, A SHUFFLING GAME AS OPPOSED TO REAL CHANGE. UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE, THEY'VE DONE THIS BEFORE WHERE THEY'RE JUST COMING IN AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE TELLING YOU WHAT YOU WANNA HEAR. UH, IT'S A 90 DAY ESCROW. I'M, I'M A REAL ESTATE BROKER. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S GONNA CLOSE. UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT, THAT THEY'RE GONNA MAKE ANY REAL CHANGES. THEY JUST SAID HOW HARD IT IS TO OPERATE A 7,200 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING AS A RESTAURANT. BUT I THINK WE CAN FIND PEOPLE THAT WILL COME IN THAT BE ABLE TO OPERATE AS A RESTAURANT, BAR MUSIC, CREATE THE VITALITY THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR AND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL IS LOOKING FOR IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NOPE. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER SPEAKER CARDS? I HAVE NO OTHER SPEAKER CARDS. OKAY. I, I MOVE TO CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING. I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER SOLE, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER ROSE. PLEASE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE. OKAY. I'VE GOT SOME COMMENTS. YES. UH, A COUPLE THINGS. UM, THE DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP, I KNOW THEY'VE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE. UM, I HAVEN'T SEEN A WHOLE LOT OF ACTION IN THE LAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS. THERE'S A LOT OF VACANCIES. UH, I NOTICE THAT WHEN I GET OUT OF A CONCERT, GABE ISN'T EVEN OPEN AT DOWNTOWN CAFE ANYMORE. HE'S CLOSED. HE DOESN'T OPEN TILL TWO. HE USED TO BE OPEN FOR LUNCH. HE CLOSES AT 8:00 PM SO I'M REALLY NOT SURE WHAT THE VISION IS DOWNTOWN CURRENTLY. UM, I DO KNOW THAT, UH, JEFF MANSOUR HAS RUN MANY BUSINESSES HERE. I KNOW HE IS NOT THE NEW, THE OLD OWNERS. UM, SO I JUST THINK RIGHT NOW, DO I WANT A VACANT BUILDING? I'VE GOT PLENTY OF THOSE. I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THE BUREAUCRATS ARE GONNA TAKE TO GET ANYTHING MOVING. I HOPE THEY DO. AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE BUSINESS OWNERS CAN BE PART OF IT. BUT WHAT I'VE SEEN THE LAST FOUR YEARS IS MORE VACANCIES, UH, RESTRICTIVE HOURS. I MEAN, I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THE DOWNTOWN CAFE IS NOT OPEN TILL 10 O'CLOCK ON NIGHTS OF CONCERTS. YOU KNOW, I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THEY CLOSED FOR LUNCH. I DIDN'T KNOW THAT UNTIL I WENT THERE FOR LUNCH. AND THEY'RE CLOSED. I MEAN, THEY'VE BEEN OPEN FOR LUNCH FOREVER. NOW THEY'RE NOT. AND SO, I MEAN, AT THIS POINT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE HAVE TO LOSE BY GIVING THESE GUYS A SHOT WITH THE NEW OWNERSHIP. UM, I THINK WE NEED TO PUT SOME, SOME, SOME RESTRICT. I MEAN, I DON'T NEED THINK WE NEED TO AUDIT A PRIVATE BUSINESS EVERY MONTH, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT MAYBE A 60 DAY REVIEW, MAYBE 120 DAYS, YOU KNOW, OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS. JUST GIVE 'EM A SHOT. I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE WE'RE GONNA DO WITH THE PLACE SO WE CAN JUST BOARD IT UP IF WE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, AND HAVE ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, EMPTY PLACE. BUT, YOU KNOW, THESE GUYS ARE COMING IN. I'VE SEEN WHAT, UH, JEFF HAS DONE AND SPENDING MONEY, UH, WITH HIS CASH AND CARRY AND TAKING OVER THE VACANT BUILDING. THE RITE AID BUILDING WAS THAT RITE AID. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY DO PUT THEIR MONEY WHERE THEIR MOUTH IS. SO I THINK IT'S, IT MIGHT BE WORTH GIVING 'EM A SHOT. THAT'S JUST MY OPINION. ANY OTHER COMMENT? YES, COMMISSIONER EDISON. MY COMMENT IS, IS, AND I APPRECIATE THE ENERGY. THIS IS A NEW ENERGY THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN. UM, UNFORTUNATELY I'M GOING BASED UPON THE LAST YEAR. AND THAT'S WHAT THE CUP, UH, REVOCATION IS TALKING ABOUT, IS WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON OVER THE PAST YEAR, NOT WHAT'S HAPPENED OVER THE LAST WEEK, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IT'S IN FAIRNESS TO YOU A WEEK. THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH YOU CAN DO IN A WEEK. SO I APPRECIATE THAT. BUT I'M GOING BASED UPON WHAT I'VE SEEN, WHICH IS NUMEROUS REPRESENTATIVES, DIFFERENT MESSAGES, UM, IT'S BEEN ARM AND A LEG TO GET STAFF COMMUNICATION, YOU KNOW, CONSISTENTLY. SO I'M JUST GOING BY WHAT I'VE SEEN, AND I DO AGREE WITH YOU. I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANOTHER EMPTY BUILDING, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I'M, I'M, I'M HAVING A HARD, I'M, I'M HAVING A HARD TIME WITH THIS. YES. COMMISSIONER CIRCO. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I LIKE THE VISION THE MANSOURS HAVE. I LIKE THAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT KEEPING IT IN LINE WITH WHAT THE CITY OF ELCON WANTS. UH, BRINGING THE MUSIC, [01:10:01] THE BANQUET HALL, THE RESTAURANT, AND MAKING SURE THAT IT IS VITAL ON MAIN STREET, NOT JUST IN THE SOUTH ENTRANCE, BUT IN THE NORTH ENTRANCE. UM, IT IS REALLY ROUGH TIMING, TO COME IN RIGHT WHEN THE REVOCATION HEARING IS HAPPENING, BECAUSE WE HAVE A YEAR OF REPORTS AND NOW WE'VE GOT ONE WEEK OF, I REALLY LIKE WHAT YOU'VE GOT, YOU GUYS HAVE DONE ONE WEEK. WHAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET THE PREVIOUS OPERATORS TO DO IN A YEAR. YEAH. SO THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD ENERGY. THEY DON'T HAVE FULL OWNERSHIP. THEY'VE GOT OPERATION GOING. UM, I LIKE THE IDEA OF CHANGING THE LOOK OF THE PALMS FROM THIS STUCCO FACADE OF NOTHING TO SOMETHING VITAL. UM, THEY CAME WITH ONE WEEK WITH A MENU. THE PREVIOUS OPERATORS COULDN'T GET US A MENU A COUPLE MONTHS. LIKE SPOILING TEETH. YEAH, . SO, UM, LIKE I SAID, THE TIMING IS THE ONLY AWKWARD PART. LIKE WE'VE GOT THIS WHOLE MOVEMENT AND WE HADN'T HAD MOVEMENT. WE GOT LITTLE BITS HERE AND LITTLE BITS THERE, AND WE GOT DIFFERENT PEOPLE. AND IT DOES FEEL, I'LL AGREE WITH KATHY ZEMAN, IT DOES FEEL LIKE THIS IS JUST SOMEBODY ELSE IN FRONT OF US TALKING TO US ABOUT HOW THEY'RE GOING TO DO STUFF. I DO APPRECIATE THAT THEY DIDN'T JUST TALK ABOUT DOING STUFF. THEY'VE ALREADY DONE STUFF. THE PALM TREES ARE NOT CHEAP. , UH, THE MENU, GETTING THE, THE HOSTESS BOOTH OUT ON THE SIDEWALK, SO IT'S INVITING INSTEAD OF HAVING TO GO IN TO FIND THE BOOTH. UM, I KNOW THAT IF WE DON'T REVOKE THE CUP, THAT STAFF CAN WORK WITH THEM ON THE ISSUES WITH THE DIVIDER. 'CAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT WAS EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE PICTURING, BUT THEY DID IT. THEY SHRUNK DOWN THE SPACE SO THAT IT'S A RESTAURANT. UM, AND I AGREE WITH EVERYONE, EVERYBODY AGREES THAT CAN'T JUST BE A RESTAURANT. IT'S TOO BIG TO JUST BE A RESTAURANT. IT'S GOTTA HAVE OTHER USES. UM, AND THESE GUYS HAVE DONE OTHER USES, SO I'M ALWAYS IN FAVOR OF GIVING PEOPLE A CHANCE. I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN THAT FOR THE LAST YEAR, UH, . AND I'VE SEEN WHAT THESE GUYS HAVE DONE WITH OTHER PROPERTIES. I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY WERE THE NEW OWNERS UNTIL TONIGHT, WHICH KIND OF IS LIKE, OKAY, YOU'VE HAD A WEEK. HOPEFULLY THEY'LL GET THE COMMUNICATION WITH THE CITY OPEN AND GOING. BUT, UH, YEAH, IT'S JUST THE TIMING. THAT'S THAT AWKWARD. THAT'S ALL. YEP. COMMISSIONER P*****K RUDE. UH, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT SAY YOU NO, I, I APPRECIATE WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY, AND I'M SURE HE'S, HE'S WORKED WITH THE CITY OF EL CAHO ON OTHER BUSINESSES, SO I'M SURE HE HAS, YOU KNOW, NOAH KNOWS OF HIM. I'M, SO, I'M SURE, YOU KNOW, TO SEE SOMETHING NEW WITH THE PALMS WOULD BE GREAT. I KNOW IT'S, YOU KNOW, A 90 DAY ESCROW, SO NOTHING COULD REALLY BE DONE PROBABLY TILL THINGS CLOSE. BUT I'M SURE YOU HAVE A VISION THAT YOU COULD BRING TO THE PLANNING AND SEE, YOU KNOW, HOW IT'S GONNA FIT IN TO HOPE TO MAKE IT A, A VITAL PART OF EL CAJON, NOT JUST WHAT IT IS RIGHT NOW. AND IT JUST TO BE IN COMPLIANT, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF VENUES AND THINGS DOWNTOWN THAT WE WOULD LIKE SOMEWHERE TO GO AFTER AND EAT AND DRINK AND CONTINUE TO ENJOY EACH OTHER'S COMPANY. SO I APPRECIATE THAT YOU'RE COMING IN. BUT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE SAYS, IT'S A, IT'S NOT REALLY A DAY LATE IN A DOLLAR SHORT, BUT WE'RE GETTING REALLY CLOSE BECAUSE WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT THIS WAS HAPPENING. SO, BUT I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU BROUGHT HERE, AND I APPRECIATE THEY PUT THE LIQUORS, YOU PUT, ASK FOR DETAILS SO YOU BECAUSE WITH THE, WITH THE REVOCATION, THERE WOULDN'T BE LIQUORS. SO, BUT I'M ALWAYS BIG ON, YOU KNOW, GIVING SOMEONE A SHOT AND WORKING IN BIG CLUBS THROUGH MY COLLEGE CAREER, I KNEW THAT A BIG SPACE, YOU CAN'T JUST HAVE A RESTAURANT 'CAUSE IT JUST WOULDN'T BE VITAL. BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE OTHER THINGS. SO I COULD UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM FROM THAT AS WELL. SO, OKAY. WELL, I, I DITTO EVERYTHING THAT MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS HAVE, UH, STATED. AND I THINK IN MY MIND AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WHAT IS APPROPRIATE IS A, A COMPROMISE. AND, UH, WHAT I MEAN BY A, A COMPROMISE IS THAT, UH, ESCROW IS GONNA CLOSE IN APPROXIMATELY 90 DAYS THAT, UH, WE, UM, MOVE THIS MEETING UNTIL THE CLOSE OF ESCROW AND MAKE THE FINAL DECISION AT THAT [01:15:01] POINT IN TIME. WELL, WE'VE MOVED IT FOR A WHOLE YEAR NOW, UH, WHAT'S ANOTHER 90 DAYS? SO IT GIVES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE NEW OWNERS TO PROVE TO US THAT THEY'RE SERIOUS IN DOING WHAT THEY WANT TO DO. AT THE SAME TIME, WE DON'T HAVE AN EMPTY BUILDING AT THE SAME TIME. UH, WHO KNOWS, MIRACLES DO HAPPEN. UH, SO I DON'T KNOW HOW MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, UH, FIELD ABOUT THAT, UH, MOVING. YES. COMMISSIONER ROSE? YES. IF I MAY JUST, I, EXCUSE ME, MR. CHAIRMAN, IF I MAY JUST INTERJECT QUICKLY ON THE, ON THE COMPROMISE SUGGESTION. UM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH YOUR DISCUSSIONS, I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF THE THINGS THAT I HEARD IN THE TESTIMONY. UM, THE, UM, YOU KNOW, I HEARD, I HEARD MORE PRIVATE EVENTS. I HEARD A REQUEST TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PRIVATE EVENTS ON A PERCENTAGE WISE, FROM 15% UP TO POTENTIALLY 30%. UM, AND, AND I HEARD SOME, UH, PUSHBACK FROM THE APPLICANT'S REPRESENTATIVE ABOUT THE AUTHORITY, UH, FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO, UM, ENFORCE THOSE, UH, REQUIREMENTS. UM, I ALSO HEARD MORE WEDDINGS, MORE BIRTHDAY PARTIES, MORE WEEKEND PARTIES, AS WELL AS THE ADDITION OF THE INTERIOR WALL, UH, THAT WAS NOT, UH, REVIEWED BY STAFF. SO ONE OF THE CONCERNS THAT I HAVE MOVING FORWARD IS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT, WE'LL START WITH THE PARTITION WALL. IF THE PARTION WALL MOVES, UM, CLOSER TO THE FRONT, AND WE END UP WITH A SITUATION WHERE MAYBE YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR SIX TABLES ACROSS THE FRONT THAT AREN'T BEING UTILIZED, BUT THEN KIND OF MORE OF A PRIVATE, UH, FACILITY IN THE BACK, UM, THAT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE OPERATED MORE LIKE A BAR. THAT, THAT'S A CONCERN THAT I HAVE WHERE I DON'T HAVE THE ACTUAL CONDITION OF APPROVAL ABOUT WHERE THAT WALL GOES AND HOW MUCH OF THE BUSINESS NEEDS TO BE A RESTAURANT AND HOW MUCH NEEDS TO BE SET ASIDE FOR, UH, FOR PRIVATE ACTIVITIES OR, OR OTHER USES. UM, I ALSO HAVE THE CONCERN ABOUT THE INCREASE FROM 15% TO 30% FOR THE ANCILLARY BANQUET USE. UM, IN MY MIND, ALL OF THOSE THINGS WOULD REQUIRE AN AMENDMENT TO THE, THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE COMMISSION HAS STRUGGLED WITH IS THAT WE'RE, WE'VE BEEN TRYING, AS NEW OPERATORS ARE COMING IN TRYING TO APPLY THESE OLD CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL. SO, UM, I THINK IF THERE'S A DESIRE TO, UM, TO WORK WITH THIS OPERATOR, UM, I THINK WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS THAT THE COMMISSION AT A MINIMUM, DIRECT THE OPERATOR TO GIVE A, A FULL BUSINESS PLAN, FLOOR PLAN IMPROVEMENT DRAWINGS. UM, I WOULD SUGGEST EVEN DIRECTING THEM TO SUBMIT AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THAT PERCENTAGE OF, UH, BANQUET, UH, USE IF THEY WANT TO PROPOSE TO INCREASE THAT SO THAT STAFF CAN ANALYZE THAT. I THINK THE, THE, THE PROBLEM THAT WE'RE HAVING HERE IS THAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS HEARING ISN'T TO RENEGOTIATE THE CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. WE KNOW IT'S BEEN OPERATED NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THOSE CONDITIONS. SO WE DON'T WANT TO GIVE GUIDANCE TO THE APPLICANT ON, ON HOW TO CHANGE THOSE. I THINK WE NEED TO ASK THEM TO COME FORWARD, UM, HAVE A NEW BUSINESS PLAN, SUBMIT AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, AND THEN IN 90 DAYS, IF THEY SUBMIT THAT, WE CAN BRING THAT BACK, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE REVOCATION HEARING AT THE SAME TIME. SO YOU SAY AN AMENDMENT, AN AMENDMENT TO THE EXISTING, UH, CUP OR AN, UH, AN AMENDMENT AN AMENDED NEW CUP, UH, IT WOULD JUST BE, IT WOULD BE ESSENTIALLY AN AMENDMENT TO THE EXISTING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. I MEAN, THE ALTERNATIVE ALSO COULD BE TO, UM, JUST GO AHEAD AND REVOKE THE EXISTING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, DIRECT THE APPLICANT TO SUBMIT FOR A NEW CUP. UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF I HAD AN APPLICATION THAT WAS SUBMITTED NEXT WEEK, WE COULD HAVE THAT BACK TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION IN 60 TO 90 DAYS WITHOUT A PROBLEM AT ALL. RIGHT. SO, WHICH IS MORE DIFFICULT, THE, THE AMENDMENT OR, UH, DOING A COMPLETELY NEW, NEW CUP, THEY'RE BOTH EQUALLY SIMPLE AND STAFF IS HAPPY AND EXCITED TO ASSIST THE NEW OPERATOR WITH THOSE. I THINK, UH, WHAT WE'RE ONLY TRYING TO ACHIEVE HERE IS A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE BUSINESS. SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN SOMEBODY WALKS DOWN THE STREET AND THEY LOOK INSIDE THE BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH OF THAT, UH, IS EXPECTED TO BE OPERATED AS A RESTAURANT? IF THEY'RE PUTTING A WALL IN THE MIDDLE, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE, UM, IF THEY WANT TO. UM, WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT INCREASING, UM, YOU KNOW, BANQUETS AND PRIVATE PROP, PRIVATE PARTIES. UH, I DON'T WANNA BE IN A SITUATION WHERE, UM, STAFF IS, YOU KNOW, GOING BACK AND FORTH ASKING THEM FOR SCHEDULES, AND AGAIN, TRYING TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT DAYS ARE YOU HAVING PARTIES? WHEN'S AT A RESTAURANT? I MEAN, THOSE ARE A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT CAME UP IN THE COMMENT LETTER, UH, FROM THE ALCON, UH, BUSINESS PARTNERS, WAS THAT IT'S NOT OPERATING AS A RESTAURANT. WE'RE HAVING SO MANY PRIVATE PROPERTY PARTIES WHERE MAYBE THE CURTAINS ARE UP OR THERE'S A WALL UP AND, AND THEY DON'T WANT ANYONE TO SEE ON THE INSIDE. SO, FROM STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE, I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE MOST BENEFICIAL TO HAVE, UM, SOME SORT OF AMENDMENT TO THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. SO WE ALL HAVE, UH, FAIR, UH, EXPECTATIONS ABOUT HOW THE BUSINESS WILL OPERATE WITHOUT HAVING TO GUESS, WELL, HOW, HOW WOULD WE WORD THIS SEEDLING AN, AN AMENDMENT? HOW, HOW WOULD THAT BE DONE? I THINK MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE TO REOPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING, ASK THE APPLICANT AND THE, [01:20:01] UH, APPLICANT'S REPRESENTATIVE IF THEY'RE WILLING TO SUBMIT AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. UM, IF THEY'RE WILLING TO DO SO, UM, THEN WE COULD PROCESS THAT AND THEN BRING, UH, BACK THE, THE REVOCATION AND THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AMENDMENT AT THE SAME TIME. OKAY. COMMISSIONER SATIA? PARDON ME. OH, GO AHEAD. YEAH. YES, COMMISSIONER ROSE. SO I, I LIKE, I LIKE THE IDEA OF A CONTINUANCE SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE TO GENERATE REVENUE WHILE THEY'RE WORKING ON IT. AND I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A PLAN. IF WE'RE GONNA GIVE 'EM 90 DAYS, THAT'S PLENTY OF TIME TO COME UP WITH A BUSINESS PLAN, UH, INCLUDING DRAWING. I MEAN, I KNOW YOU CAN'T GO AS FAR AS MAYBE NEW ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS ON MAYBE AN INTERIOR WORK THAT THEY WANNA DO, BUT JUST SOMETHING THAT REALLY STATES IN WRITING THEIR PLAN, LIKE YOU SAID, HOW MUCH SPACE ARE THEY GONNA KEEP? YOU KNOW, WHAT I'D LOVE TO SEE IS THEM PUT, BUILD A BAR IN THE FRONT OF THE RESTAURANT, RIGHT? WHERE YOU COULD HAVE GUYS SIT DOWN AND WATCH SPORTS GAMES, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WHEN THEY WANT TO DO A BANQUET, OBVIOUSLY THEY CAN MOVE THE DIVIDER, BUT NOW THEY GOT A BAR SITTING RIGHT THERE. I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT THEY CAN DO. UM, I THINK AN AMENDMENT TO THIS UP MAKES THE MOST SENSE, IN MY OPINION, JUST BECAUSE IT'LL ALLOW THEM TO CONTINUE TO GENERATE REVENUE, WHICH THEY'RE GONNA NEED TO MAKE THESE IMPROVEMENTS. UM, BUT I THINK THAT THEY NEED TO COME UP WITH A, A CLEAR AND SOLID BUSINESS PLAN AND BRING THAT BACK TO US WITHIN 90 DAYS AND WORK AND WORK WITH THE STAFF ON THAT. YOU KNOW, IF THEY DON'T LIKE THE WAY THE CERTAIN THINGS ARE WRITTEN WITH THE CUP OR THEY NEED TO CHANGE THINGS FOR THE SAKE OF HAVING IT IN WRITING, LIKE NOAH WAS SAYING, THEN LET'S GET IN, LET'S GET IT IN WRITING. LET'S JUST NOT WILLY-NILLY DO A 90 DAY FOR THE SAKE OF DOING IT FOR LIKE AN INSPECTION OR SOMETHING. LET'S, LET'S MAKE IT SOLID, RIGHT? YES. COMMISSIONER EDISON, IF WE WERE TO DO, IF WE WERE TO REVOKE THE CUP, HOW QUICK CAN THEY RE START ON THE NEW CEP AND HOW MUCH WILL THIS AFFECT THEIR ESCROW? UM, THE NEW CUP COULD BE PROCESSED IN A, IN A VERY SHORT, UH, TIMELINE. IT WOULD JUST BE, UH, THE APPLICANT AND THE APPLICANT'S REPRESENTATIVE PROVIDING US, UH, THE NECESSARY INFORMATION AS FAR AS A FLOOR PLAN AND A, AND A PROJECT DESCRIPTION. UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT WOULD NOT BE, UM, A HEAVY LIFT TO GET IT BACK TO THE PLAN COMMISSION IN 45 TO 60 DAYS IF WE WERE TO GET AN APPLICATION IN THE NEXT WEEK. JUST SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS ISN'T WORK. THIS THE CEP THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY. WE, WE CAN AMEND IT AND WE MIGHT HAVE TO AMEND IT AGAIN. IT JUST ALMOST SEEMS LIKE A FRESH START AND IT'S NOT A SLAM ON YOU GUYS. 'CAUSE THE ENERGY'S THERE. IT'S JUST THE HISTORY'S ALSO THERE. AND THAT'S WHAT I'M STRUGGLING WITH. COMMISSIONER CIRCLE? YES. OH, I LIKE WHAT NOAH SAID, AND THIS HELPED ME OUT A LOT BECAUSE WE ARE WORKING ON THIS, ON ALL THE OLD METRICS. LIKE THAT'S WHAT MR. EDISON AND I ARE CARRYING IS FOR A YEAR, FOR 10 YEARS, WE'VE HAD A BUSINESS THAT HASN'T QUITE MADE, MADE IT TO WHAT WE WERE EXPECTING THEM TO DO. AND IT'S NOT REALLY FAIR TO APPLY THE SAME METRIC TO THE NEW OWNERS. SO I LIKE YOUR SUGGESTION OF HAVING THEM WORK WITH YOU ON AN AMENDMENT TO THE CUP SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT THEY WANT AND THEN WE CAN LOOK AT, OKAY, DOES THAT FIT WHAT WITH WHAT WE WANT? UM, AND I LIKE THE IDEA OF 90 DAYS ONCE THE ESCROW'S CLOSED, THAT'LL GIVE STAFF TIME TO SEE THEY'RE DOING WHAT THEY WANT, THEY'RE DOING WHAT WE WANT THEM TO DO, AND THEN THEY CAN PROVIDE US WITH, UH, THE OPTION OF A NEW AMENDMENT TO THE CUP SO THAT THE BUSINESS IN PRACTICE MATCHES WHAT THE BUSINESS IN WRITING IS SUPPOSED TO BE. COMMISSIONER POLLAK RUDD. YES. JUST REALLY QUICK. I THINK THE REVOCATION WOULD BE A LITTLE HASTY 'CAUSE THEY'RE CURRENTLY OPERATING AND THEY DO HAVE ALCOHOL SALES, SO IT WOULDN'T REALLY BE FRUITFUL TO THEM TAKING OVER IF WE DID REVOKE IT. NOT SAYING THAT I WANT THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOREVER. I'M JUST TRYING TO BE RESPECTFUL TO TRYING TO MAKE THIS WORK FOR EVERYBODY, TRYING TO CREATE A VIBRANT DOWNTOWN EL CAJON. BUT I THINK THE IMPORTANCE OF, AND WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY BUSINESS OR TAKE ANY BUSINESS OVER, YOU WANNA WORK WITH DOWNTOWN, WE WANNA KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. 'CAUSE WE HAVE, WE'VE BEEN TRYING FOR A LONG TIME TO MAKE THIS WORK FOR THE CITY OF EL CAJON AND, AND FOR THE, FOR THE PEOPLE WHO RESIDE THERE. SO I THINK IN KNOWING HOW THE SEPARATION'S GONNA BE, HOW IT'S GONNA WORK, WHAT CAN, WHAT, WHAT YOUR ENVISION IS OF THE PLACE, BECAUSE IF YOU WANNA PURCHASE THIS PLACE, I'M SURE YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT WORKS. AND WE'RE NOT BACK HERE IN 90 DAYS. YOU WASTED ALL THIS TIME AND EFFORT AND MONEY FOR NOTHING. SO I THINK THE BIGGEST THING WITH US, WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH, YOU KNOW, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT JUST TO KIND OF SEE WHAT THE ENVISION IS. BECAUSE TO BE SUCCESSFUL, YOU GOTTA HAVE EVERYONE WORK TOGETHER ON THIS SO YOU CAN BE SUCCESSFUL AND NOT HAVE TO HAVE US, YOU KNOW, AND TAKE STAFF'S HOURS AWAY, YOU KNOW, CHECKING TO SEE IF THE MENU THERE, HOW MUCH WALL THERE. SO I [01:25:01] THINK WE JUST WANNA, YOU KNOW, MAKE THIS SUCCESSFUL FOR EVERYBODY. SO THAT, THAT'S MY 2 CENTS. GREAT. ALRIGHT. MY QUESTION IS, NOAH. YES. YOU HEARD ALL THAT RIGHT? YES, I AGREE WITH IT. I AGREE WITH 90 DAYS WHEN THE ESCROWS CLOSED. HOW DO WE WORD ALL THAT? UM, I THINK, WELL, WHAT I WOULD FIRST SUGGEST IS, I, I KNOW WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION, BUT I THINK WE'RE ASKING THE APPLICANT TO DO A LOT AND THE APPLICANT'S REPRESENTATIVE. SO IF WE COULD MAYBE REOPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING, SEE WHAT THE APPLICANT TO APPROACH THE MICROPHONE AND SEE IF THEY'RE WILLING TO, UH, TO ENTERTAIN THAT COMPROMISE. GOOD. LET'S, LET'S OPEN A PUBLIC HEARING. UH, I MOVE TO OPEN PUBLIC HEARING SECOND. I DON'T THINK WE NEED NO, GIMME A SECOND. OKAY. YOU JUST NEED TO REOPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING. UH, SO IS IT, UH, MR. KALA, MR. MANSOUR, RENO, OR IS IT, UH, JEFF. WHICH ONE? OKAY. VERY GOOD. MR. CATULA. I DREW THE SHORT STRAW . OKAY. COUPLE THINGS. UM, IF YOU'RE REVOKED THE CUP, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT BUYING IT. MAKE IT VERY CLEAR. AND THEN YOU GOTTA SHUT DOWN VACANT BUILDING AND GOOD LUCK TRYING TO FILL IT. A 70, 7200 SQUARE FOOT VACANT BUILDING. UH, NUMBER TWO, WE NEED A NEW AMENDED CUP. WE'RE GONNA HAVE NEW FLOOR PLANS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A NEW LAYOUT. WE'RE GONNA HAVE NEW MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL, AND PLUMBING THAT'S GONNA GO INTO THIS BUILDING. WE'RE PUMPING IN OVER A QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS, SO YOU'RE GONNA NEED NEW PLANS TO BE REFLECTIVE. 90 DAYS. I WOULD LOVE TO GET A CUP APPROVED WITHIN 90 DAYS, OR PRESENTED BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION WITHIN 90 DAYS. THAT'S MUSIC TO MY EARS. UM, SO I ACCEPT THE, WE ACCEPT THE COMPROMISE OF 90 DAYS. UH, I, I GUESS WE WOULD JUST, YOU WANNA AMEND THE CUP THOUGH? YEAH. SO WHAT WE WOULD DO IS WE WOULD CONTINUE THIS HEARING FOR 90 DAYS. DURING THAT TIME, WE'LL BE WORKING WITH STAFF, UH, ON AN AMENDMENT TO THE CUP, WHICH DEMONSTRATES THE UP TO 30% OF BANQUET AND PRIVATE OF PUBLIC PARTIES, PRIVATE PARTIES, WHATEVER IT MAY BE. UH, UPDATED RESTAURANT LAYOUT. AND WE GO FROM THERE. AND WHAT IF IT'S SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN, BETWEEN 30% AND 15%? WOULD YOU COMPROMISE AS WELL? 30 TO 50? YEAH. YOU SAID CURRENTLY 15%. AND I SAY IT'S SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 30 AND 15. LOOK, UM, THE WHOLE IDEA BEHIND THIS, UH, DOWNTOWN VISION IS TO BRING LIVELINESS AND BRING ACTION AND BRING MUSIC AND DO ALL THESE GREAT THINGS TO ATTRACT VISITORS AND SPENDERS AND GUESTS, AND GENERATE SALES TAX AND CREATE SOMETHING LIKE A LITTLE ITALY. THE MORE RESTRICTIVE YOU ARE ON THIS BUSINESS, THE FURTHER AWAY YOU'RE GOING TO GET FROM ACHIEVING THAT GOAL. DO YOU WANNA GIVE US 15%? THAT'S FINE. BUT HOW DOES THAT COINCIDE WITH WHAT THE, UH, DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP IS TRYING TO DO? YES. IT'S, IT'S NOT SO MUCH, I THINK THE BIGGEST THING IS JUST HAVING THAT CONVERSATION AND PRESENTING US WITH SOMETHING. SURE. AND, AND, AND THEN WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR VISION IS. RIGHT. BUT SO I THINK RIGHT NOW IT IS 15%, YOU WOULD LIKE 30, BUT I'M SURE THEY WILL PRESENT SOMETHING AS TO WHY OR WHAT THAT WILL LOOK LIKE. AND THEN WE, AT THAT POINT WE CAN KIND OF DECIPHER, IS THAT TOO MUCH? IS THAT TOO LITTLE? AND, AND KIND OF GO FOR THERE FROM THERE. BUT I DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING SOLID IN FRONT OF US TO SEE WHAT THAT'S ACTUALLY GONNA LOOK LIKE. YEAH. SO I THINK IT'S KIND OF VAGUE TO MAKE THAT UNDERSTOOD. AND THERE'S OTHER INTRICATES OF THE BUSINESS THAT YOU GUYS NEED TO REVIEW AS WELL. IT'S NOT JUST THE BANQUETS. IT'S CORRECT. IT'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF, IT'S A WILLINGNESS PLAN TO SET OUT. IT'S EVERYTHING. SO, RIGHT. IT'S A WILLINGNESS OF HAVING AN OPEN DISCUSSION RIGHT. WITH THE CITY. RIGHT. AND YOU AND THE STAFF. WELL, EVENTUALLY, BUT THE STAFF PRIMARILY, THEY'RE THE, THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE HERE. IT'S THE STAFF. UH, SO HOW DO WE WORD THAT? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. SHOULD WE CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING FIRST? THAT'S TRUE. ANY OTHER SPEAKERS ON THIS? NO. OKAY. LET'S CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING. THANK YOU. I MAKE A MOTION TO CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING. I'LL SECOND. MOTION MADE COMMISSIONER ROSE SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CIRCLE. PLEASE VOTE. I'M MS. MISS. STILL MISSING A COUPLE, UH, EDISON AND P*****K ROOT. THERE WE GO. MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE. SO I THINK STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION BASED ON THE DISCUSSION WOULD BE TO CONTINUE THIS PUBLIC HEARING FOR APPROXIMATELY 90 DAYS, UH, WITH THE, AND THEN, UH, DIRECT THE APPLICANT, UH, TO PRIVATELY INITIATE THEIR OWN AMENDMENT TO THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, UH, FOR, UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S EVALUATION. OKAY. THAT'S MY MOTION. . I'LL GIVE IT A GO. OKAY. I MAKE A MOTION TO CONTINUE PUBLIC HEARING FOR 90 DAYS. AND IN THAT 90 DAYS, UH, [01:30:02] WE RECOMMEND THAT THE APPLICANT PRESENT STAFF WITH A PLAN, UH, TO AMEND THE CUP AS PER THEIR DISCUSSION. OKAY. I SECOND IT. UH, PLEASE VOTE. UM, UH, MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER ROSE, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER SOLE, PLEASE VOTE. AND MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE. CONGRATULATIONS. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE ALL COMING IN FOR DINNER SOON. ? YEAH. WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR RECEIPTS BACK IN YOUR MENUS? YEAH. ? YES. COME GET THEM. MAYBE HAND 'EM OVER TO THE SIDE THERE. MR. CHAIRMAN. UH, CAN STAFF PLEASE REQUEST JUST A SHORT, UH, THREE TO FIVE MINUTE RECESS? OKAY. UH, I MOVE, UH, UH, THAT WE HAVE A SHORT RECESS FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. SECONDED, VOTED NO. I WANNA VOTE ON IT. NO, JUST RECESS. OKAY. MEETING TO ORDER AGENDA [Public Hearing Item 5] ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS, UH, CAROL'S COMMUNITY CARE REVIEW OF CUP NUMBER 180 5 AND 6 31 CQA. NO SUBJECT FOR QUAS. STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS, UH, DIRECT STAFF TO, UH, SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING TO INITIATE AMENDMENT OF CUP ONE 18 AND 6 31, OR TO CONSIDER REVOCATION IF THE USE IS BEING OPERATED IN A MANNER NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE SURROUNDING USES STAFF. GREAT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. UH, SO THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC HEARING, THIS IS JUST A REVIEW ITEM ON A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. SO SIMILAR TO THE PROCESS THAT WE STARTED, UH, WITH THE PALMS, WE CAME FORWARD, ASKED THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO, UH, TAKE A LOOK AT THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AND THEN DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD TO AN AMENDMENT OR A REVOCATION HEARING. UM, SO, UH, IF YOU REMEMBER, CAROL'S COMMUNITY CARE WAS, UH, BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR A REVIEW ABOUT A YEAR AGO. UM, THE ADDRESS IS 5 23 EMERALD AVENUE, AND AS THE CHAIR STATED, THERE ARE ACTUALLY TWO CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS THAT GOVERN THE PROPERTY. THOSE WERE BOTH APPROVED IN THE 1960S WITH A FEW AMENDMENTS, AND THEN IN THE 1970S. UM, AND THEN IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS, I ALSO WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT, UH, THE REASON THAT WE'RE HERE, UM, IT'S NOT ABOUT HOUSING AND IT'S REALLY ONLY RELATED TO, UM, THE MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS OF THE FACILITY. UM, THERE'S FAIR HOUSING LAWS THAT GOVERN, UH, HOUSING. AND SO WE, UH, UNDERSTAND AND RESPECT THOSE. UH, WE'RE JUST SOLELY LOOKING AT THE OPERATION OF THE FACILITY. SO JUST AN IMAGE FOR CONTEXT. UH, AGAIN, 5 23 EMERALD AVENUE. UH, THIS PICTURE IS LOOKING TO THE EAST. UM, YOU HAVE, UM, EXCUSE ME, UH, TO THE EAST, AND YOU HAVE WEST LEXINGTON ON THE NORTH. AND THEN ON CHAMBERLAIN IS JUST TO THE SOUTH. SO, UH, THIS REALLY BEGAN BACK IN 2023 WHEN STAFF OBSERVED AN INCREASE IN CALLS FOR SERVICE AT THE FACILITY. UM, AGAIN, IT WAS OCTO OR APRIL 16TH, 2024, WHEN THE PLANNING COMMISSION CONDUCTED A REVIEW OF THE FACILITY. UM, AFTER RECEIVING TESTIMONY FROM THE OPERATOR, UH, THE CON UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, DETERMINED THAT WE DID NOT NEED TO SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING. THE OPERATOR PROVIDED ASSURANCES THAT THEY WOULD WORK THIS, UH, WITH STAFF, UH, TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS THAT WERE OCCURRING. UM, OVER THE PAST YEAR, STAFF, STAFF HAS MET WITH THE OPERATOR OPERATOR EVERY FEW MONTHS. UM, UH, BUT THE CALLS FOR SERVICE HAVE REMAINED HIGH. UM, THE MEETINGS THAT WE HAD WITH THE OPERATOR, UH, INCLUDED A WIDE RANGE OF REPRESENTATIVES. WE HAD REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FROM HEARTLAND FIRE, UH, FROM CODE COMPLIANCE, UM, AS WELL AS THE BUILDING OFFICIAL. SO WE, WE TRIED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE, IT WASN'T JUST STAFF AND CODE COMPLIANCE TALKING ABOUT THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE APPROACH THIS COMPREHENSIVELY. SO, UM, THE AGENDA REPORT INCLUDES, UH, COMPLAINTS THAT HAVE BEEN FILED, UH, WITH THE STATE. AND, AND MANY OF THE COMPLAINTS ARE SIMILAR TO THE EXPERIENCES THAT THE CITY HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING. SO, UH, ISSUES LIKE MANAGEMENT, UH, NOT BEING PRESENT, UM, UNAUTHORIZED INDIVIDUALS ON THE PROPERTY. UM, COCKROACHES, UH, MOLD COMPLAINTS, UM, AND THEN ALSO, UH, NOISE COMPLAINTS. UM, IT'S STAFF'S OPINION THAT REALLY, THAT THESE CALLS FOR SERVICE COULD BE REDUCED OR ELIMINATED WITH MANAGEMENT THAT'S REALLY MORE EFFECTIVE, UH, HAS BETTER OPERATIONAL PROGRAMMING AND WITH SOME, UM, MINOR PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENTS TO THE PROPERTY. UM, ADDITIONALLY AFTER, UH, MORE RESEARCH, UH, STAFF DID IDENTIFY THAT STATE'S LICENSING AUTHORIZES, UH, 70 BEDS AT THE FACILITY, UH, WHILE THE CITY APPROVALS REFLECT 58 BEDS. SO OVERALL, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS ALSO A NEED TO UPDATE THE CONDITIONAL USE [01:35:01] PERMIT IN ORDER TO BRING IT, UH, TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE NUMBER OF BEDS THAT ARE OUT THERE. AND THEN TO LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT NEW OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL, UH, NEED TO BE ADDED. UH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION CAN PRIVATELY, OR THEY, THE PLANNING COMMISSION, CAN INITIATE AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS, UH, ON YOUR OWN AND APPLY NEW CONDITIONS. REALLY, THE PRIMARY ISSUE IS, IS THAT THE APPROVALS FROM THE 1960S AND SEVENTIES JUST SAY THAT THE USE SHALL BE OPERATED IN A COMPATIBLE FASHION WITH SURROUNDING PROPERTIES. UM, IN STAFF'S OPINION, WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS REALLY LOOK AT AND EXPLORE WITH THE APPLICANT, UH, WHAT OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS AND ENHANCEMENTS THEY CAN IMPLEMENT. YOU KNOW, LIKE GUEST PASSES FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING ON THE PROPERTY OR, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENTING NEW FENCING. UM, JUST OTHER OPERATIONAL ENHANCEMENTS. SO, UM, SO, UH, WE DO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HERE. UH, THAT'S LIEUTENANT, LIEUTENANT THORNTON. UM, HE HAS BEEN A FIRSTHAND, UH, EXPERIENCE OF BEING AT THE PROPERTY AND EXPERIENCING, UH, THE COMMENTS THAT ARE COMING FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. SO I'D LIKE TO INVITE HIM DOWN, UH, NOW JUST TO GIVE SOME, UM, INFORMATION TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION. THANK YOU FOR ELCO PD. I'M THE DISTRICT ONE WATCH COMMANDER. AS A WATCH COMMANDER, I OVERSEE PATROL AND I'M ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR DISTRICT ONE. SO I ANALYZE CALL VOLUME, UH, CRIME TRENDS ON DISTRICT ONE AND COMPLAINTS, AND TRY AND FIND WAYS TO ADDRESS THEM FROM THE LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSPECTIVE. AS YOU'RE AWARE, DISTRICT ONE IS THE WEST SIDE OF THE CITY, AND IT DOES INCLUDE CAROL'S AT 5 23 EMERALD. THE TWO PRIMARY CONCERNS THAT WE'VE HAD HAVE BEEN THE INCREASED CALL VOLUME AND THE LACK OF MANAGEMENT ONSITE. DURING OUR RESPONSE FOR THE CALL VOLUME, I GET A MONTHLY REPORT FROM OUR CRIME ANALYST, WHICH LISTS THE TOP FIVE LOCATIONS WITHIN DISTRICT ONE. CAROL'S IS CHRONICALLY AT NUMBER ONE OR NUMBER TWO FOR RESPONSE. UH, TO PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE, THE MALL IS ALSO DISTRICT ONE. THE BUILDINGS ON THE EAST SIDE, SUCH AS BEST BUY AND HOME GOODS HAVE THEIR OWN ADDRESSES. DICK'S AND JCPENNEY HAVE THEIR OWN ADDRESSES, EVERYTHING ELSE. SO ALL THE OTHER STORES ON THE INSIDE, ALL OF THE KIOSKS, THE THEATER, THE FOOD COURT IN OUR SYSTEM ARE ALL LISTED AS THEIR OWN ADDRESS. AND WE RESPOND TO ALL OF THOSE STORES COMBINED ROUGHLY THE SAME AS WE RESPOND TO CAROL'S ON EMERALD FOR OUR SERVICE. WHEN WE DO SHOW UP, THE BIGGEST ISSUE WE FOUND IS LACK OF MANAGEMENT ON SITE. THAT IMPACTS OUR ABILITY TO DO OUR JOB. UH, SPECIFICALLY WITH MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATIONS, WHEN WE SPEAK WITH CLIENTS AND IF THEY DENY HAVING MADE ANY STATEMENTS OR DENY ANY ACTIONS, WE NEED A CREDIBLE THIRD PARTY PER THE CALIFORNIA WELFARE INSTITUTIONS CODE, AND USUALLY LET STAFF AT OTHER FACILITIES WHEN OUR OFFICERS RESPOND. STAFF IS, UH, EITHER NOT ANSWERING PHONE CALLS, NOT PRESENT OR NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION FOR US, INCLUDING FACE SHEETS TO OUR PERT TEAM. AND SO WE'RE NOT ABLE TO TAKE, UH, EFFECTIVE ACTION IN TOTALITY. WHAT THAT DOES IS IT LIMITS OUR RESPONSE TO OTHER EVENTS IN THE CITY BECAUSE WE SPEND MORE TIME AT THIS PROPERTY FOR CALL VOLUME OR FOR INEFFICIENCY, AND WE CAN'T RESPOND TO OTHER AREAS OR CONDUCT OTHER PROACTIVE ENFORCEMENT. AND THAT'S HOW IT'S IMPACTED OUR POLICE RESPONSE. SO, UH, LIEUTENANT THORNTON, UH, WHAT ARE RECOMMENDATIONS DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE, UH, THE PROPERTY MORE SECURE? UH, WHAT I'VE SEEN IN OTHER PROPERTIES, IT SEEMS TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE, IS HAVING A 24 7 ONSITE MANAGER, SOMEONE THAT WE CAN CONTACT. WE'VE SEEN THAT AT A COUPLE OF OUR ILS THAT HAVE AS FEW AS FOUR, UH, PEOPLE LIVING INSIDE OF THEM. THEY ALSO HAVE MANAGEMENT ON SITE THAT HELPS. THE GATE IS HUGE, HAVING THE PROPERTY SEALED OFF SO THAT PEOPLE, UH, CAN CHECK IN OR CHECK OUT. HAVING SYSTEMS IN PLACE LIKE THAT, UH, IMPROVE LIGHTING AND OTHER GENERAL CONDITIONS, UH, THAT NOAH HAS, HAS, UH, RECEIVED RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT SEEM TO BE THE THINGS THAT MAKE THE MOST IMPACT. OKAY. MR. CHAIRMAN, IF I MAY ADD AS WELL, UM, SORRY. THE, UM, WE ALSO WANNA WORK WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES AND THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO AND, AND ALL REPRESENTATIVES, UH, THAT ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE OPERATION OF THE BUSINESS IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS ARE CONSISTENT WITH, YOU KNOW, STATE LAW AND OTHER REGULATIONS. SO, UM, THE, THE PURPOSE HERE TONIGHT, AGAIN, ISN'T TO LOOK AT GETTING A NEW SET OF CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL. IT'S REALLY JUST TO GET THAT DIRECTION FROM THE COMMISSION TO ASK STAFF TO COME BACK AND LOOK AND PROPOSE SOME THINGS. UM, SO I THINK WE'LL, WE'LL RECEIVE TESTIMONY FROM THE, UH, FROM THE OPERATORS, UH, ABOUT SOME OF THOSE RULES AND REGULATIONS. UM, BUT WHAT I WANNA EMPHASIZE IS THAT WE WANT TO WORK WITH SOCIAL SERVICES AND THE OTHER STAKEHOLDERS AND THEN COME BACK TO THE COMMISSION AGAIN WITH A FULL PACKAGE FOR YOUR EVALUATION RATHER THAN TRYING TO PIECEMEAL OUR EVALUATION THIS EVENING. I SEE. OKAY. ARE THE OWNERS HERE THIS EVENING? YES. UH, YES. GO AHEAD. UH, COMMISSIONER EDISON, UH, IN RESPONSES TO THE, FOR YOUR CALLS FOR SERVICE, UM, HOW MUCH OF THAT IS BLEED OUT FROM THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY AND IF IT IS DIRECTLY THE RESULT OF THE COMMUNITY, UM, IN [01:40:01] GENERAL TERMS, WHAT KIND OF CALLS FOR SERVICE ARE YOU GETTING? BOTH GOOD QUESTIONS. UH, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBERS WITH ME. WHEN I DID RUN A REPORT THAT COVERED A YEAR TIMEFRAME FROM APRIL TO APRIL, THERE WAS ROUGHLY 200 CALLS FOR SERVICE. OKAY. AND I BELIEVE SIX OF THEM WERE TRANSIENT RELATED, MEANING THEY HAD NO NEXUS AT ALL TO THE PROPERTY. UH, THE OTHER 194 WERE DIRECTLY, DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PROPERTY. WE HAD A WIDE VARIETY OF CALLS, UH, SOME DIFFERENT FELONY CRIMES. UH, SOME VIOLENT CRIMES HAVE HAPPENED THERE. MOSTLY IT'S MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATIONS AND DISTURBANCES THAT WE RESPOND TO THOUGH. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND MR. CHAIRMAN, I CAN ADD TO THAT AS WELL. WE DID A, A DEEP DIVE INTO CALLS FOR SERVICE OVER THE PAST 90 DAYS, UH, DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY. UM, OVER THAT TIME, THERE WAS A TOTAL OF, UH, 47 CALLS FOR SERVICE, UM, UH, OF THE TOTAL 22, UH, WERE FROM CAROL'S RESIDENCE. UH, 12 WERE FROM CAROL'S STAFF, UH, FIVE FROM GROSSMONT HOSPITAL, UH, ONE FROM ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES, AND ONE FROM SOCIAL SERVICES. AND, UH, ONE IDENTIFIED AS A MENTAL HEALTH, UH, CLINICIAN, FELLOW COMMISSIONER. ANY QUESTIONS FOR LIEUTENANT LIEUTENANT HERE? UM, NO. I THINK JUST, I THINK, UH, I THINK A GATE'S IMPORTANT. I THINK A LOT ABOUT, LIKE E-C-T-L-C, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOT MORE BEDS OBVIOUSLY, BUT THEY HAVE A LOT OF CONTROLS. YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOT GATES, THEY'VE GOT PEOPLE ON STAFF MANAGEMENT, THEY'VE GOT SECURITY. UM, SO I THINK IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S, THAT WOULD BE SOME OF THE SOLUTIONS THAT WE NEED TO LOOK INTO. SO, MR. CHAIRMAN, I DO KNOW THE APPLICANT, OR I'M SORRY, THE OPERATOR, UH, IS PRESENT IN THE AUDIENCE. UM, IT'S NOT A PUBLIC HEARING, UH, BUT I THINK, UH, JUST AGAIN, TO REITERATE, STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION IS JUST FOR THE COMMISSION TO DIRECT STAFF TO SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING SO THAT WE CAN, UH, LOOK AT HOW WE CAN IMPROVE THIS CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. OKAY. BEFORE MR. UH, LIEUTENANT THORNTON GOES AWAY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR LIEUTENANT THORNTON? NO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. OKAY. UM, IS THE PROPERTY OWNER HERE, COULD YOU PLEASE COME FORWARD? OR THE BUSINESS OWNER, WHICHEVER THE CASE MAY BE? BOTH NOW. OKAY. MY NAME IS DON MEYERS. I'M THE, UH, OWNER AND OP AND OPERATOR OF CAROL'S COMMUNITY CARE IN EL CAJON. I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR, UM, SINCE 19 86, 40 SOMETHING YEARS. SO, ANYWAY, LIKE YOU, YOU HEARD SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WERE PRESENTED HERE. WHAT DO, WHAT SAY YOU REGARDING THOSE ISSUES? WELL, THE ISSUES WHERE I WAS HERE BEFORE WAS FOR US TO, UM, COOPERATE WITH, UH, NOAH AND HIS RECOMMENDATIONS. AND, UH, HE GAVE US RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT. UM, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING. WE'VE, UH, WE'VE BROUGHT IN MORE STAFF. WE'VE, UH, UPGRADED THE FACILITY. WE ARE IN A GRANT WITH THE, THE CITY RIGHT NOW TRYING TO UP, UH, UH, GIVE IT A FACELIFT, MAKE IT, YOU KNOW, LIVABLE AND WORTHY, UH, OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD. SO WITH THE PICTURE YOU SAW TODAY, WILL NOT BE WHAT IT IS BEFORE WE'VE, UH, BUILT A GATE. WE PUT THE FENCES UP, WE'VE, UH, HIRED, UH, STAFF, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE, THAT CAN TAKE CARE OF THE VACANCIES. WE'VE ELIMINATED MAJORITY OF THE, UH, HOMELESSNESS THAT WE HAD BECAUSE OF BUILDING THE FENCE AND PUTTING THE GATES AND, AND GETTING DIFFERENT PEOPLE TO WORK THERE. SO THE CALLS THAT YOU'RE, HE'S REFERRING TO ARE DIMINISHING REPEATEDLY. UH, SO I DON'T AGREE WITH HIS FINDINGS. UM, HE IS, YOU, THEY GAVE MENTALLY ILL RESIDENTS TELEPHONES, AND THE ONLY PHONE NUMBER THEY KNOW HOW TO USE IS 9 1 1. WHEN THEY HAVE A PROBLEM, THEY CALL 9 1 1. THE FAC, LIKE MY RECORDS FROM THE LAST TWO MONTHS, WE'VE CALLED THE, THE FIRE. WE'VE CALLED THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, I THINK TWO TIMES. UH, THOSE WERE FOR A PERSON THAT WAS INFILTRATING OUR FACILITY, TRYING TO SELL DRUGS AND BOTHERING OUR CLIENTS. UH, MY CLIENTS, UH, HE ACTUALLY HAS A RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST HIM TOO, WHICH NOBODY CAME OUT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT. SO WE HANDLED IT ON OUR OWN. ONE OF MY OTHER RESIDENTS BASICALLY KNOCKED HIM OUT AFTER THE THIRD TIME HE CAME BACK AND WAS HARASSING [01:45:01] EVERYBODY. WE DON'T KNOW IF HE WAS ARRESTED OR NOT, BECAUSE THE POLICE TOLD US, IF HE COMES BACK, GIVE US A CALL. WE'LL, WE'LL CHECK IT OUT. NEVER DID. SO THESE ARE, THIS IS WHY I DISAGREE. MY, MY RESIDENTS RUN AROUND CALLING 9 1 1. THOSE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EVICTED. THEY'VE BEEN MOVED OUT. I'VE KICKED OUT 86 PEOPLE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF 20, 24. AND THOSE PEOPLE, OR MOST OF THEM WERE, UH, VIOLATORS OF CALLING 9 1 1 DRUG ADDICTS. PEOPLE THAT JUST DON'T GET ALONG, AGGRESSIVENESS, CAUSING ISSUES AND PROBLEMS, THEY'RE GONE. THE LAST ONE WAS JUST, UH, ON MARCH 15TH, HE STARTED GETTING EXCITED. PY HE'S CALLING 9 1 1. HE'S GONE, UH, THE CALLS FROM OTHER PLACES THAT, I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN TAKEN CARE OF. I DON'T SEE WHERE HE'S COMING WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, THESE OTHER CALLS. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ADDRESSED. UH, COMMISSIONER EDISON HAS A QUESTION FOR YOU. SURE. GO AHEAD. FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA TELL YOU, YOU'RE DOING THE LORD'S WORK. UM, SO IT'S, IT'S A TOUGH JOB WHAT YOU'RE DOING. I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S NOT EASY. AND IF THERE WAS, IF IF IT WAS EASY, THERE'D BE A HUNDRED PLACES AND YOU WOULDN'T BE STANDING BEFORE US. AND I JUST WANT TO REITERATE WHAT NOAH WAS SAYING. THIS WAS TO SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING. THIS ISN'T NECESSARY TO SHUT YOU DOWN. THIS IS MAYBE, MAYBE TO FIGURE OUT SOME WAYS, BETTER WAYS TO SOLVE SOME PROBLEMS. SO I DON'T WANT YOU TO TAKE IT IN A SENSE THAT NO, WE, WE WE'RE DOING, UM, WE, I'VE, THERE'S SOME PEOPLE HERE WITH, UH, THROUGH THE COUNTY AND DIFFERENT PLACES THAT WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS IT. I JUST WANTED TO, MY, I GUESS MY FINAL POINT, I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD LOOK AT THIS NECESSARILY AS A BAD THING. I THINK IT'S AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET SOME FEEDBACK FROM STAFF AND THE CITY AND MAYBE COME UP WITH SOME SOLUTIONS, BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, MEN MENTALLY ILL, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GONNA DO WHAT THEY DO. UM, THE BUT THE, THE DRAIN ON, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC SAFETY IS, IS REAL. SO PERHAPS SOME CHANGES CAN BE FOUND THAT WE HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT YET. I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHAT THIS IS ABOUT. I THINK WHAT NOAH WAS SAYING IS JUST TO DO SOME AMENDMENTS. SO, UM, MR. ALVY GAVE US DIFFERENT, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS AND WE'VE COMPLIED WITH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT OF DOING THINGS THAT WE'RE NOT LEGALLY ALLOWED TO DO. WE CANNOT LOCK A GATE AND ALLOW, AND NOT ALLOW THESE PEOPLE TO COME AND GO AS THEY PLEASE. AND I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT HE WAS MENTIONING TOO, IS TO STAYING WITHIN THE STATE LAW, YOU KNOW, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, THEY HAVE A LOT OF RESTRICTIONS THERE. MM-HMM . YOU ARE, YOU'RE RIGHT. AND I'VE DEALT WITH THIS LINE OF WORK. YOU, YOU ARE 100% RIGHT. IT'S TOUCHY AND IT'S TRICKY, ESPECIALLY GIVEN DIFFERENT REGULATIONS. I THINK WHAT THE CITY AND STAFF ARE TRYING TO DO IS COME UP WITH SOME ALTERNATIVES TO, TO LOWER THE DRAIN ON, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY RESOURCES AND SERVICES AND MAYBE FIND SOME IDEAS THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE. SO I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS NECESSARILY A BAD THING. NO, I, I, I AGREE. I MEAN, WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE POSSIBLY CAN DO TO DO IT. WE ARE COOPERATING WITH HIM. WE ARE COOPERATING WITH EVERYTHING. IN FACT, UH, WE ARE, WE'VE PUT TOGETHER A BIG PACKET OF, OF THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING. UM, I TRIED TO HAND HIM TO HIM AT OUR LAST MEETING. HE HAD NO, DIDN'T WANT TO EVEN LOOK AT IT. UH, I SHOWED HIM WHAT, UH, THE CONTRACTS THAT WE WERE SIGNING. I TRIED TO GIVE IT TO HIM. HE DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING TO LOOK AT IT. HE DIDN'T CARE. HE DOESN'T, HE, HE, ALL HE WANTS TO DO IS, IS HARASS AND SHUT ME DOWN. AND I, AND I'M NOT HERE TO, TO DO THAT, BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE'S DOING. I HAVE PERSONALLY TRIED TO TALK TO HIM, WORKED WITH HIM. HE WILL NOT WORK WITH ME. HE JUST WANTS TO, HE JUST KEEPS THROWING NEW ISSUES AT ME AND NEW THINGS. IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT, AND IT'S LIKE, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HIS AGENDA IS. I HAVE SOME IDEAS, BUT I'LL KEEP 'EM TO MYSELF. I'LL JUST PUSH BACK A LITTLE BIT ON THAT. RIGHT. UM, ONLY BECAUSE FROM WHAT I'M SEEING AND HEARING IS, IS THAT THIS IS GIVING YOU A CHANCE TO HAVE THAT DUE PROCESS, TO HAVE YOUR SAY IF, IF THERE'S SOME REQUESTS THAT YOU FEEL ARE UNREASONABLE, THAT'S PART OF THE DUE PROCESS OF THIS. AND WE CAN WORK WITH THAT. RIGHT. A REQUEST IS A REQUEST AND EVERYTHING THAT WE COULD POSSIBLY DO, WE ARE DOING, WE'VE, WE'VE, LIKE I SAID, WE'VE HIRED NEW PEOPLE, WE'VE ELIMINATED PEOPLE. WE'VE GOTTEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOTTEN RID OF THE PROBLEMATIC PEOPLE. WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, WE'RE UPGRADING, WE'RE PUTTING THE, THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO IS GIVING US A, A GRANT OF OVER A MILLION DOLLARS TO UPGRADE THE FACILITY AND ITS APPEARANCE, UH, AND TO MAKE A BETTER PLACE FOR EVERYBODY. THEY'RE PUTTING IN ELECTRIC GATES. WE'RE PUTTING IN, UH, UM, LIGHTING, BUT, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GO, WE PUT IN CAMERAS. [01:50:01] WE BUILT FENCES, WE PUT IN TREES TO MAKE IT LOOK NICE. THEY WERE STOLEN BY THE HOMELESS PEOPLE. BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH. YOU SAID THAT ELECTRONIC GATE, THAT MEANS THAT YOU HAVE A, A CARD, ELECTRONIC CARD THAT YOU SWIPE TO OPEN THE DOOR? UM, WE HAVE A, WE'RE GONNA PUT IN A GATE CLOSURE. WE CAN'T PUT IN A ELECTRONIC GATE. THESE PEOPLE HAVE A DISABILITY, AND IN ORDER TO COME AND GO, THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO OPEN AND CLOSE THE DOOR WITHOUT ANY DEVICES. LIKE, UH, I WOULD SAY LIKE A HOTEL MOTEL CARD. THEY CAN'T EVEN USE A KEY ON THEIR DOORKNOB WITHOUT LOSING IT. AND THEY'LL BREAK MY WINDOWS TO GET BACK INTO THEIR ROOMS. THESE ARE, THIS IS, THEY CAN BREAK A WINDOW, BUT THEY CAN'T TURN A KEY OR, OR SWIPE A CAR. THEY CAN'T REMEMBER WHERE THE KEY IS. THAT'S A PROBLEM. AND YOU STILL HAVE 70 BEDS INSTEAD OF 58? I HAVE 70. WE'VE HAD 70 SINCE 1974 THAT I TOOK OVER THE FACILITY IN 1986 AS A 70 BED BOARDING CARE LICENSE BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. AND I APPLIED FOR THAT LICENSE ON, IN FEBRUARY OF 1986 AS A 70 BED BOARD AND CARE. AND THAT'S WHAT WE WERE GIVEN. AND THERE WAS A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT THAT STATED THAT I, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. NO. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. MR. CHAIRMAN, JUST IF I JUST CLARIFY JUST A COUPLE THINGS. YES. UH, I JUST WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR THAT, UM, STAFF HAS NEVER ASKED THE OPERATOR TO EVICT ANYONE. UM, THIS ISN'T ABOUT THE TENANTS OR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE. SO WE'VE NEVER SAID THAT. UM, IN THE INTERACTIONS THAT WE HAVE HAD, UH, WITH THE OPERATOR, UM, THEY DID, UH, SHOW ME INFORMATION ABOUT THE GRANT APPLICATION. UM, IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THEY'D BE COMING IN FOR BUILDING PERMITS. UM, SO I DIDN'T NEED A COPY OF THAT, UM, INFORMATION. UM, AND, UH, AGAIN, JUST TO CLARIFY THAT THE GRANT IS, UH, IT WAS STATED THAT IT WAS WITH THE CITY. THE GRANT IS NOT WITH THE CITY. UH, IT'S WITH AN OUTSIDE AGENCY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO IS THERE ANYONE ELSE THAT WILL, UH, WANTS TO SPEAK? UH, YES. WE HAVE, WE HAVE SEVERAL SPEAKER CARDS. THE NEXT ONE I HAVE IS BRIAN MYERS. WELL, HELLO, MY NAME IS BRIAN MYERS. I'M DAWN'S SON. NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE. SPELL, UM, HOW DO YOU SPELL YOUR LAST NAME? M-E-Y-E-R-S. THANK YOU. SO I'VE BEEN AROUND THIS MY ENTIRE LIFE. LOVE MENTAL ILLNESS, LOVE HELPING PEOPLE. UM, I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 30 YEARS. I AM THE OPERATIONS UNDER MY DAD. UM, I HAVE A GREAT RAPPORT WITH THE STATE, A GREAT RAPPORT WITH THE COUNTY. I ALSO WANNA HAVE A GREAT RAPPORT WITH YOU GUYS. WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO WORK WITH THE CITY ON THE PUBLIC RESOURCES AND THE PROBLEMS THAT WE'RE RUNNING INTO. UM, LIKE MY DAD SAID, THE, UH, THE PROBLEMS WITHIN ARE RESIDENTS WITH CELL PHONES. WE ARE FOLLOWING STATE LAW. NO, YOU DID NOT ASK TO EVICT PEOPLE. WE'RE TRYING TO COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS TO RELOCATE PEOPLE THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, OVERUSING THE PUBLIC RESOURCES FOR NO REASON. THAT'S A SOLUTION, NOT A, I WANT TO JUST EVICT EVERYBODY. UM, SO IN MY EYES, I MEAN, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER. LIKE HE SAID, WE'RE, WE'RE GIVING THE WHOLE PLACE A FACELIFT, RESTRUCTURING EVERYTHING, ZERO TOLERANCE. AND THAT'S FOR THE CITY, YOU KNOW? SO, UM, OH, I'M NERVOUS. . UM, YOU'RE DOING GREAT. YEAH. UH, AS FAR AS EVERYTHING GOES, WE JUST WANT ANSWERS TO THESE REQUE OR THE, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? THE, THE, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? THE, TO HIS SUGGESTIONS, I GUESS. . UM, THERE'S JUST A LOT OF CONFLICTING STUFF THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM THE CITY. SO IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED LIGHTING. WE PUT UP LIGHTING, WE'RE NEW ROOF, WE'RE DOING THAT NEW WINDOWS, DOORS, CLEANING UP THE PROPERTY. UM, THEY REQUESTED THAT WE DO A SECURITY GUY. WE HAVE A GUY AT NIGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, HELPS WITH DEFLECTING THE PEOPLE FROM THE STREETS. THE SECURITY GUARD. THERE'S, WHEN I ASKED, THERE'S NO SOLUTION TO IT. WHAT IS THE SECURITY GUARD SUPPOSED TO DO? CALL 9 1 1. SO THEY'RE GONNA BE CALLING 9 1 1. I ASKED THEM, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM CALLING 9 1 1 VERSUS US CALLING 9 1 1? [01:55:01] NO RESPONSE. THERE'S NO ANSWER. THERE'S NO SOLUTION TO WORK WITH THEM. SO THAT'S KIND OF MY ISSUE WHEN WORKING WITH THE CITY IS WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF REQUESTS FROM THEM, BUT THERE'S NO ANSWERS TO HOW THAT'S GONNA GIVE A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM. SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE IN THIS FUZZY AREA OF FRUSTRATION. IT'S LIKE, WHAT DO WE DO? YOU KNOW? UM, WHEN WE EVICT SOMEONE FOR PSYCHIATRIC ISSUES, WE GIVE THEM A 30 DAY NOTICE. NOBODY AROUND TOWN, OTHER CITIES ARE GONNA TAKE THIS PERSON 'CAUSE THERE'S AN ISSUE. WHAT'S OUR ANSWER? WHAT DO WE DO? THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO. WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE WILL ACCEPT THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE. SO IN THAT WHOLE 60, 90 DAYS, 120 DAYS, EXCUSE ME, UM, WE'RE STUCK WITH HAVING TO CALL 9 1 1 FOR THESE THINGS. 'CAUSE THERE'S NO ANSWERS. THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO SOLUTION TO WHERE TO PUT THIS PERSON. UM, THERE'S JUST, LIKE I SAID, THERE'S A WHOLE LONG LIST OF EVERYTHING'S CONTRADICTING ITSELF AND IT ALL COMES DOWN TO US. ALSO, THERE'S A, A PLETHORA OF, UH, OF, UH, COMPLAINTS FROM, UH, TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES. THERE'S QUITE A FEW OF THEM. MM-HMM . WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THOSE TO? PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO MAKE COMPLAINTS. THEY'RE ALSO UNSUBSTANTIATED. I MEAN, THEY'RE UNFOUNDED. SO, WELL, SOME, SOME, SOME ARE FOUNDED. THERE WAS A FEW THAT WERE, WELL, I MEAN, I'M SURE I'D HAVE TO SEE WHICH ONES THEY WERE OR WHAT THE SITUATION, WHAT WE DID ABOUT IT, ALL THAT STUFF. BUT I DO HAVE A REALLY GOOD CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA LICENSING. IF THERE'S AN ISSUE, WE RESOLVE IT IF, BUT 90% OF THE STUFF THAT COMES THROUGH, 99% OF THE STUFF THAT COMES THROUGH IS UNFOUNDED. YOU KNOW, SO PEOPLE, THEY DO MAKE COMPLAINTS ON EVERYTHING. YOU KNOW, ROACHES LOOK AT THE CLIENTS WE'RE DEALING WITH, AND FIVE OF THEM WERE FROM GROSSMONT HOSPITAL. I'D HAVE TO SEE WHAT THEY WERE. YEAH. YOU KNOW, SO I DON'T KNOW WHEN THEY WERE OR WHAT THEY WERE ABOUT. SO I'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT ALL THAT STUFF. SO, UM, WHAT'S THAT? WE DIDN'T TAKE A CLIENT. OH, I DON'T, I'D HAVE TO LOOK. I DON'T WANNA GIVE YOU GUYS WRONG INFORMATION ON ANY OF THAT STUFF, BUT THAT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH. AND LIKE I SAID, I DO HAVE A GOOD RE YOU KNOW, A GOOD RAPPORT WITH EVERYBODY. VERY WORKABLE. AND I DO WANT TO HAVE THE SAME WITH YOU GUYS BECAUSE I DO WANT THE STREETS TO BE CLEANED UP. I DO WANT THE SAME OUTCOME AS YOU GUYS, YOU KNOW. SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE ALL, WE'RE JUST, WE JUST NEED ALL NEED TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE, I THINK, AS FAR AS SOLUTIONS GO AND HOW IT'S GONNA MOVE FORWARD AND STUFF. SO. THANK YOU. YEAH. SORRY ABOUT THAT. SUPER NERVOUS, UH, COMMISSIONER CIRCLE. UH, THANK YOU. AND, UH, JUST WANT TO SAY THAT, UH, ONE OF THE THICK GOALS WITH AN AMENDMENT TO THE CUP WOULD BE TO CLARIFY, MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS ON THE SAME PAGE SO THAT THE CITY KNOWS WHAT THE STATE REQUIRES. EVERYBODY GETS TO PUT INTO THAT. SO THERE'S NO EXPECTATIONS THAT ARE HIDDEN OR UNKNOWN. SO THAT'S IT. ALRIGHT. UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? NO. ALRIGHT. I'LL MAKE A MOTION. MR. CHAIRMAN. I'M SORRY. I BELIEVE WE DO HAVE A FEW MORE SPEAKER SLIPS. OH, WE DO. OKAY. UH, YES. ELLA ESTRADA SPELL YOUR LAST NAME FOR US, AND THIS ESTRADA, E-S-T-R-A-D-A. OKAY. HI, GOODNIGHT. UM, MY NAME IS ESTRADA AND I'M THE ASSISTANT BRANCH CHIEF FOR COMMUNITY CARE LICENSING, WHICH IS A DIVISION OF THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES. AND I OVERSEE THIS FACILITY. SO I'M HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE YOU SOME INFORMATION THAT YOU MAY NEED IN ORDER TO MAKE A DECISION IN REFERENCE TO THE, TO THE CUP. UM, CAROL'S COMMUNITY HAS BEEN LICENSED SINCE 19 86, 4 70 BEDS, AND THAT IS THE CUP WE HAVE ON FILE AS WELL. UM, THEY ARE LICENSED AS AN ADULT RESIDENTIAL FACILITY, AND THEY SERVE A VERY VULNERABLE POPULATION, AS YOU ARE AWARE, VERY DIFFICULT. THEY ARE ALSO A RECIPIENT OF A GRANT, WHICH WAS PARTIALLY PART OF THE, UM, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, WHICH IS, UH, COMMUNITY, UH, CARE EXPANSION. AND THE PURPOSE OF THAT GRANT WAS TO PRESERVE BEDS AND TO ASSIST WITH THE HOMELESSNESS ISSUES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING [02:00:01] DILIGENTLY WITH THE COUNTY. AND HERE ARE SOME OF THE REPRESENTATIVES AS WELL. I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT WE HAVE, THE STATE HAS A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OPERATOR, WITH THE LICENSEE AND WITH HIS SON. THERE ARE SOME, UM, DEFICIENCIES AS MR. LV NOTED. HOWEVER, THIS FACILITY IS CONSIDERED IN SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE. THEY ARE NOT IN ANY NON-COMPLIANCE. UM, AND THEY WORK WITH THEIR LICENSING PROGRAM ANALYST WITH THE PROGRAM MANAGER, AND ALSO WITH THE REGIONAL MANAGER THAT COULDN'T BE HERE TODAY, UNFORTUNATELY. UM, AND THEY, THEY, UH, THEY FIX EVERYTHING. THERE IS NO FACILITY. WE LICENSE CLOSE TO 15,000 FACILITIES IN THE STATE. I OVERSEE FIVE COUNTIES, AND I CAN HONESTLY TELL YOU THAT THERE'S NO FACILITY WITH NO DEFICIENCIES BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY DIFFICULT POPULATION. IF THEY DON'T HAVE DEFICIENCIES, SOMETHING'S WRONG, , RIGHT? SO THAT MEANS MAYBE WE'RE NOT THERE AS OFTEN AS WE SHOULD BE. WE ALSO HAVE A PROGRAM, IT'S CALLED THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT PROGRAM, AND WE ARE CONNECTING THEM WITH, UH, OUR LICENSEES, ESPECIALLY THAT SERVE THIS POPULATION SO THAT THEY, IT'S A FREE CON. UH, I WOULD SAY IT'S A FREE CONSULTING, UM, TEAM THAT COME IN AND HELP THEM WITH ANYTHING, AND THEY GIVE THEM BEST PRACTICES. IT'S NON-PUNITIVE, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE STATE REALLY, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF RESOURCES, JUST LIKE A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITIES. HOWEVER, WE ARE INVESTING THAT IN CAROL'S BECAUSE WE NEED THESE BEDS. I HAVE BEEN WITH THE DEPARTMENT FOR OVER 20 YEARS. I'VE BEEN WITH THE STATE FOR 27, AND I CAN HONESTLY TELL YOU THAT WE, IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, WE HAVE LOST 50% OF THE BEDS IN THIS COUNTY. AND THAT IS ONLY, THAT'S ONLY ADDING TO THE HOMELESSNESS, RIGHT? SO WE REALLY NEED TO PRESERVE THESE FACILITIES AND WE NEED TO WORK AND COLLABORATE. I'M REALLY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT WE'RE HERE TODAY TO COLLABORATE SO THAT WE CAN ASSIST THEM IN PRESERVING THESE BEDS THAT WE NEED. BECAUSE IF THIS FACILITY CLOSES, IF NOT THAT, IT WOULD, BUT IF THE CUP IS REVOKED, THE STATE WOULD HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO REVOKE THEIR LICENSE. AND THEN WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH THE 70 INDIVIDUALS, THEY WOULD BE PART OF OUR COMMUNITY HOMELESS. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR, FOR ME, I'M HERE. MS. ESTRADA, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE, UH, DRUG USERS THAT ARE STAYING IN, IN THESE FACILITIES? HOW DO YOU ADDRESS THAT SITUATION? HOW DO YOU MITIGATE IT? SO THIS IS THEIR HOME, SIR. THIS IS THEIR HOME. WE DON'T LOOK AT IT AS A FACILITY LIKE, UH, AN INSTITUTION. THIS IS, THIS FACILITY IS THEIR HOME. WE HAVE RESIDENTS IN THIS FACILITY THAT HAVE BEEN THERE FOR 30 YEARS, RIGHT? SO THEY, THERE'S, THERE'S PROGRAMS. THE COUNTY GETS INVOLVED. THEY PROVIDE, UH, WRAPAROUND SERVICES. THEY PROVIDE PROGRAMS TO ASSIST THESE INDIVIDUALS. THEY COLLABORATE WITH THE LICENSEE TO ASSIST THEM. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, UM, AS THEY MENTIONED, THERE ARE, UM, THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE GOVERNS THE EVICTIONS, NOT HOUSING. UM, SO THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT TO ORDER THESE EVICTIONS TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE. SO THERE ARE, UH, WE ARE AN ENFORCEMENT AGENCY, SO WE DON'T GET INVOLVED WITH THE SERVICES THAT WOULD BE LIKE THE COUNTY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE HERE AS WELL TO SUPPORT. WHAT I'M HEARING IS IF IT, IT'S THEIR HOME, IF THEY WANNA DO DRUGS, ALL MEANS, WELL, THERE'S HOUSE RULES. SO EACH FACILITY IS REQUIRED BY TITLE 22 TO, UM, DRAFT HOUSE RULES. THE, THE RESIDENTS THAT RESIDE THERE, THEY HAVE TO ABIDE BY THESE HOUSE RULES. SO IF THEY DON'T ABIDE BY THEM AND TO ENSURE THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF ALL RESIDENTS RESIDING IN THE FACILITY, THEN THEY MAY BE EVICTED FOR, THAT'S ONE OF FIVE REASONS THAT THEY, THEY MAY BE EVICTED. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS? YES. UH, COMMISSIONER EDISON REAL QUICK. UH, UH, THANK YOU FOR COMING FIRST OF ALL, BUT, UM, JUST FOR FREE KNOWLEDGE, IS THERE A 24 HOUR, UM, ONSITE STAFF FOR MENTAL HEALTH, LIKE, UH, CRISIS, CRISIS MANAGEMENT, LIKE A 24 HOUR STAFF, BUT DO YOU KNOW, OR DOES THE OWNER KNOW JUST FOR FREE KNOWLEDGE FOR ME? YEAH. SO THESE FACILITIES THAT ARE LICENSED BY THE DEPARTMENT MUST [02:05:01] HAVE STAFF PRESENT 24 HOURS A DAY. NOW, WHAT KIND OF LICENSE? LIKE A CLINICAL PSYCHIATRIST OR THAT A CRISIS INTERVENTION, THEY DON'T HAVE THAT'RE THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED BY LAW OR, OR TITLE 22. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. NO. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN. MR. CHAIRMAN, IF I MAY JUST CLARIFY ONE POINT. YES. UM, THE, UM, THE STATE LICENSING IS DIFFERENT THAN THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. SO, UH, WE HAVE HAD ISSUES, UH, AT THE CITY LEVEL WHERE THE STATE HAS AUTHORIZED, UM, INCREASES IN CAPACITY. UH, YOU MIGHT REMEMBER A FEW YEARS AGO, UH, LITERACY FIRST CHARTER SCHOOL HAD INCREASED THEIR CAPACITY, AND THEN WE IDENTIFIED THAT AND THEY CAME FORWARD AND AMENDED THEIR CUP. SO, UM, IN THIS INSTANCE, BASED ON CITY RECORDS, IT APPEARS THAT THE STATE, UM, HAD INCREASED, UH, THE NUMBER OF BEDS, UM, WITHOUT CONSULTING WITH THE CITY ON THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. UM, I'M NOT SAYING IT OBVIOUSLY HAPPENED A LONG TIME AGO, AND THE FACILITY'S BEEN OPERATING, UH, FOR A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME SINCE THEN. UH, BUT I WOULD JUST NOTE FOR THE RECORD THAT THERE, THERE REMAINS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, WHICH IS THE CITY'S PERMIT AND THE PERMIT THAT'S ISSUED BY THE STATE. ANY, ANY OTHER SPEAKER CARDS? YES. UM, MIKE PHILLIPS. COULD HE EVENING? MY NAME'S MIKE PHILLIPS, P-H-I-L-L-I-P-S. I'M THE SENIOR DIRECTOR OF, UH, PATIENT ADVOCACY AND HOUSING SERVICES FOR AN ORGANIZATION CALLED JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF SAN DIEGO. I OVERSEE, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HEARD OF, OR I OVERSEE SIX DIFFERENT SAFE PARKING LOTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO. THESE ARE FOR PEOPLE THAT ENDED UP SLEEPING IN THEIR CARS BECAUSE THEY'RE RECENTLY HOMELESS. ALSO OVERSEE LARGE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROGRAMS FOR THE HOMELESS THROUGHOUT SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES. TONIGHT I'M WEARING THE HAT OF ANOTHER TEAM I OVERSEE, WHICH IS THE PATIENT ADVOCACY PROGRAM. THIS IS A, UH, MANDATED BY STATE LAW, FUNDED BY THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES, WHO YOU'LL ALSO HEAR FROM TONIGHT. IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MONITOR FACILITIES THAT HAVE, UH, RESIDENTIAL, UH, AND INPATIENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INPATIENT HOSPITALS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, BOARDING CARES. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES, LONG-TERM CARE, DRUG AND ALCOHOL FACILITIES, ET CETERA. I KNOW THESE FACILITIES, I KNOW THESE LEVELS OF CARE. I KNOW HOMELESSNESS VERY WELL, AND I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE FALLS THROUGH THE CRACKS AND THERE ISN'T A PLACE FOR THEM TO STAY. UH, ISELA IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. UH, 10 YEARS AGO WE HAD WELL OVER A HUNDRED BOARDING CARE FACILITIES WITH THOUSANDS OF BEDS. WE ARE NOW DOWN TO 52, UH, BOARDING CARES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, 760 BEDS. THESE BEDS ARE LIKE GOLD, UH, SOCIAL WORKERS DISCHARGE PLANNERS FROM THE HOSPITALS. THEY DESPERATELY NEED BEDS FOR PEOPLE TO BE PLACED, AND IF THEY CAN'T DO THAT, THEN THEY STAY IN THE HOSPITAL, THEY BACK UP THE WHOLE SYSTEM, WHICH THEN BACKS UP THE EMERGENCY ROOM, WHICH THEN AFFECTS OUR COMMUNITIES AND OUR FAMILY MEMBERS BECAUSE THE WHOLE SYSTEM'S BACKED UP. IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, AND I CAN'T SPEAK WITH FULL AUTHORITY, UH, UH, ABOUT THIS, BUT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE GROSSMONT COMPLAINT WAS BECAUSE THEY HAD, UH, ACCEPTED A PATIENT FROM CAROL'S, AND FOR WHATEVER REASON, CAROL'S WAS NOT ABLE TO TAKE THAT PATIENT BACK. AND SO THEY WERE FILING A COMPLAINT. ALSO, A LOT OF THESE PROVIDERS ARE MANDATED REPORTERS, AND SO THEY NEED TO MAKE COMPLAINTS IF THEY HAVE CONCERNS. MANY OF THESE CONCERNS ARE NOT FOUNDED, UH, IN THE END. BUT I DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS. I'M NOT HERE SPECIFICALLY TONIGHT TO SPEAK ABOUT CAROL'S BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THE SPECIFICS, BUT I THINK MR. EDISON SAID IT BEST WHEN HE SAID, YOU'RE DOING THE LORD'S WORK. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A VULNERABLE POPULATION. THESE ARE HUMAN BEINGS. THERE'S A LOT OF STIGMA, THERE'S A LOT OF NIMBYISM. IT'S VERY EASY FOR US TO FIND PROBLEMS, AND THERE ARE PROBLEMS THAT WILL OCCUR AND USE THAT AS A REASON TO SUGGEST THAT THIS SHOULD HAPPEN ELSEWHERE. AND OF COURSE, THERE IS NO ELSEWHERE. A 70 BED FACILITY IS A, IS A HUGE, IT'S THE BIGGEST FACILITY IN THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO TO MY AWARENESS. WE OBSERVE AND MONITOR THESE FACILITIES. MY COLLEAGUE WHITNEY WILSON IS HERE TONIGHT. SHE HAS A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON BOARD AND CARE. SHE GOES TO CAROL'S ON A REGULAR BASIS. SHE, WE DOESN'T, WE DO NOT GET CALLS ACCORDING TO WHITNEY ABOUT ANY COMPLAINTS OR CONCERNS FROM THE CLIENTS. WHEN SHE VISITS THE SITE, SHE SAYS SHE GETS SOME COMPLAINTS, WHICH SHE RESOLVES, UH, IMMEDIATELY. COMPLAINTS, LIKE LOW LEVEL THINGS LIKE THAT. THE HOUSEKEEPING INDIVIDUAL WAS, WAS RUDE TO ME OR I DIDN'T GET MY MAIL FAST ENOUGH. SO THERE'S, I'M NOT SUGGESTING THERE'S NOT PROBLEMS, ALTHOUGH I THINK IT'S TELLING THAT UNLESS, UH, UH, UNLESS THIS BITES ME LATER ON. I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYBODY HERE TONIGHT TO SPEAK AGAINST THE FACILITY. AND I DON'T WANNA DISRESPECT LIEUTENANT THORNTON AND THE POLICE CALLS I HAVE SUGGESTED, AND I'M WORKING ON, UH, HAVING THE FACILITY WORK WITH AN ORGANIZATION CALLED MCRT. IT'S A MOBILE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM, NON-LAW ENFORCEMENT. THEY WILL RESPOND. THEY'RE READY. THEY HAVE CAPACITY TO RESPOND TO THESE CALLS. THEY'RE GONNA PUT FLYERS UP IN THE FACILITY. THEY'RE GONNA COME OUT AND DO TRAININGS FOR THE RESIDENTS AND THE STAFF. THIS SHOULD PULL A HUGE AMOUNT OF PRESSURE OFF OF LAW ENFORCEMENT. THEY HAVEN'T BEEN UTILIZING THIS. MCRI CALLED MCRT, MARY WOODS, SHE'S THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, AND SHE SAID, I'VE ONLY HAD LIKE THREE CALLS FROM CAROL'S. WE HAVE THE CAPACITY. WE WANT THESE CALLS. WE DON'T WANT LAW ENFORCEMENT BEING TIED UP [02:10:01] WITH THIS. THERE'S A WHOLE ENTITY THAT HAS THE CAPACITY TO ADDRESS THIS HAS TO BE NON-DANGEROUS. IF IT'S DANGEROUS, THEN THAT'S A DIFFERENT ISSUE, BUT IF IT'S DANGEROUS, THOSE CALLS WILL BE REROUTED AND LAW ENFORCEMENT WILL GET INVOLVED. SO WE'VE ARRANGED FOR TRAININGS AND FOR MEETINGS, AND WE THINK THAT THAT'S GONNA TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF THE SITUATION. I REALLY HOPE THAT WHATEVER HAPPENS NEXT, WILL, YOU WILL HAVE THE GRACE AND MERCY. YOUR TIME IS UP. CAN YOU WRAP IT UP PLEASE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. NO, NO, THAT'S, HOLD ON. OH, OKAY. YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME QUESTIONS. OH, SURE, SURE, SURE, SURE. ANY QUESTIONS? SORRY. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS. NO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. YOU'RE WELCOME. ANY OTHER CARDS? YES, WE DO. MEGAN O'DOWD, PLEASE. UH, SPELL YOUR LAST NAME. MEGAN. YES, IT'S O'DOWD O CAPITAL DOWD. O'DOWD. SO, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. UH, MY NAME IS MEGAN O'DOWD. I'M WITH THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, THE DEPARTMENT OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES. I'M A CHIEF. UM, I JUST WANNA, I KIND OF, THE ITEMS, I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFICITY ABOUT THE COUNTY PARTICIPATION WITH CAROL'S COMMUNITY CARE. BUT CAROL'S COMMUNITY CARE HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR COMPETITIVELY AND WAS AWARDED $2.4 MILLION IN COMMUNITY CARE EXPANSION, PRESERVATION GRANT FUNDING, AS WELL AS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH BRIDGE HOUSING GRANT FUNDS. THESE ARE SPECIFIC FUNDS TO PRESERVE THESE BOARDING CARES. THE STATS HAVE ALREADY BEEN PROVIDED. WE'VE LOST THOUSANDS OF BEDS. THESE BEDS ARE SO CRITICAL. WE ONLY HAVE 10 FACILITIES, UH, THAT SERVE THIS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH POPULATION THAT ARE CONTRACTED WITH THE COUNTY. WE, WE ARE HIGHLY INVESTED IN INVESTING IN THOSE. UM, AND, UH, JUST TO KNOW THOSE WERE COMPETITIVE COMPETITIVELY APPLIED FOR, AND THEY RECEIVED THEM. AND FROM THE, UM, INITIATION OF THEIR APPLICATION, THEY DID SPEAK TO, UM, THE INVOLVEMENT WITH THE CITY, UM, AND USING WE, THESE FUNDS ARE FOR CAPITAL FUNDING AS WELL AS OPERATING SUBSIDY, PAYMENTS AND CLIENT SERVICES. AND SO, UM, AS WAS NOTED, WE HAVE JUST POINT, WE HAVE $1.07 MILLION CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT CAROL'S COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW. AND WE ARE CONCERNED BECAUSE WE'RE INVESTING THIS MONEY AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE THIS LEVEL OF SERVICE FROM THE SEVENTIES FORWARD BECAUSE THESE ARE CRITICAL AND VITAL BEDS. UH, WE HAVE JUST A MONTH LEFT OF THESE CAPITAL PROJECTS. IT'S FENCING, LIGHTING, NEW PAVEMENT, NEW WINDOWS, AND NEW DOORS AND NEW ROOFS. SO NEW PAINT, YOU KNOW, NEW PAINT, NEW STUCCO, JUST ALL OF THOSE CUSTOMIZED NEED THAT BOTH DON AND BRIAN TOLD US FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. AND WE ALSO HAVE BEEN WORKING, UH, WITH SOME OTHER FACILITIES ACROSS EL CAJON. THERE'S SIX OTHERS THAT WE ARE INVESTING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN $9 MILLION THAT ARE BOARDING CARE FACILITIES IN THE CITY OF EL CAJON. UM, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO ENSURE ALIGNMENT WITH THESE ACTIVITIES. SO I JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE LIKE THE GRANT FUNDINGS WHERE THEIR GRANT WAS EFFECTIVE. FEBRUARY 1ST FOR THE CC PRESERVATION GRANT, THERE'S ALSO OPERATING SUBSIDY PAYMENTS. IT'S JUST OVER 11,000 A MONTH THAT WE HAVE AWARDED THEM. AND THEY COULD USE THIS FUNDS FOR STAFFING, FOR UTILITIES, TAXES, A WHOLE MYRIAD OF OTHER THINGS TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF GET TO THE LEVEL WHERE THEY NEED TO BE. BECAUSE MANY OF THESE FACILITIES HAVE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE. MANY OF THEM ARE MEETING THE STATE LICENSING, UH, REQUIREMENTS, BUT NOW WE'RE GIVING THEM MORE FUNDS TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF GET TO THAT HIGHER LEVEL OF NEED, ESPECIALLY SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES AFTER COVID AS WELL. UM, AND I DON'T WANNA CON CONTINUE ON WITH ALL OF THE KIND OF THE IMPACT. I FEEL LIKE WE'VE KIND OF SPOKEN TO THAT ABOUT THE, THE ESSENTIAL VITAL PART OF THESE BEDS. WITHOUT THESE SERVICES, MANY WOULD BE HOMELESS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS WITHIN POTENTIALLY THE CITY OF EL CAJON. THEY COULD BE DIVERTED TO OTHER UHOR CARES, WHICH ARE PRIMARILY IN THE CITY OF EL CAJON OR SEEKING A HIGHER LEVEL OF CARE, JAILS, INSTITUTIONS, EMERGENCY ROOMS, CRISIS CENTERS. UM, AND SO WITH THAT, I I I ALSO WANNA NOTE THERE'S 767,000 IN ADDITION TO THOSE GRANT FUNDS THROUGH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH BRIDGE HOUSING THAT ARE AUGMENTED SERVICES. SO THAT'S A HIGHER LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR THIS HIGHER LEVEL. CAN YOU WRAP IT UP? UH, FACILITY NEEDS UP MM-HMM . UM, AND THEN I ALSO WANNA EMPHASIZE THE MOBILE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM, WHICH IS ALSO A COUNTY ADMINISTERED PROGRAM. WE CAN DO AN IN-SERVICE AT THE FACILITY TO TRAIN, UH, THE STAFF AND THEN EDUCATE THE RESIDENTS ABOUT, RATHER THAN CALLING 9 1 1 FOR A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS, THEY CAN CALL MOBILE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SURE. ANY QUESTIONS? UH, MS. DO OKAY. THANK YOU. I HAVE ONE MORE CARD. PHILLIP CURTIS EMERGENCY. OKAY. SO THAT WAS THE LAST CARD THEN. [02:15:01] ALL RIGHT. YES. I HAVE NO MORE CARDS. OKAY. SO LET'S SAY YOU MOTION TO CLOSE. MOTION TO CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING. WE DIDN'T OPEN A PUBLIC HEARING. WE NEVER OPENED A PUBLIC HEARING. SORRY, MR. CHAIRMAN, THIS, UH, THIS ISN'T A PUBLIC HEARING, THIS IS JUST A REQUEST FOR, UM, FROM STAFF TO INITIATE, UH, FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO INITIATE AN AMENDMENT TO THE CUP. RIGHT. WELL, I, I'M TENDING TO, UH, INITIATE THE AMENDMENT TO, TO AMEND THE C-U-P-C-U-P UH, ONE 18 AND ALSO CUP 6 31, UNLESS YOU HAVE SOME CONCERNS JUST GETTING IT IN LINE WITH WHAT, WHAT THE STATE HAS ALREADY GIVEN THEM. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA, UM, HAVING TO WORK TOGETHER. I KNOW THEY'RE SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON THIS FACILITY. IT'S DEFINITELY NEEDED. IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE WE JUST NEED TO GET IT UP TO DATE. RIGHT, EXACTLY. YEAH, I AGREE WITH YOU. ALRIGHT. UH, YOU WANNA MAKE A MOTION? COMMISSIONER ROSE? YEAH, I MOVE TO DIRECT STAFF TO SCHEDULE PUBLIC HEARING TO INITIATE AMENDMENTS OF CUP ONE 18 IN 6 31 OR TO CONSIDER REVOCATION IF THE USE IS BEING OPERATED IN A MANNER NOT COMPATIBLE WITH SURROUNDING USES. YOU HAVE A SECOND? UM, BEFORE WE SECOND, UH, I DON'T THINK WE'RE CONSIDERING REVOCATION, WE'RE JUST CONSIDERING THE AMENDMENTS. CORRECT. SO YEAH, MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S CLEAR, ESPECIALLY FOR THE AUDIENCE. YEAH. OKAY. IF, IF THE, IF THE MOTION MAKER CAN JUST CONFIRM THAT AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION. YEAH. SO, UH, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DIRECT STAFF TO SCHEDULE PUBLIC HEARING TO INITIATE AMENDMENTS OF CUP ONE 18 AND 6 30, 6 31 AND REVOCATION IS NOT INCLUDED IN THAT MOTION. VERY GOOD. DO I HAVE, DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. MOTION MADE BY ROSE SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CIRCLE, PLEASE VOTE. AND MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE. ALRIGHT, GOOD. YEAH. ANY OTHER ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION? UH, NO ADDITIONAL ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION FROM STAFF AND NO STAFF COMMUNICATIONS THIS EVENING. UM, [5. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS ] ACTUALLY I WILL GIVE ONE STAFF COMMUNICATION. UH, WE ARE, UM, GOING TO HAVE THE MEETING SCHEDULED FOR, UH, APRIL 15TH. TWO IN ONE MONTH. WOW. . UM, CAN WE JUST CLARIFY FOR THE AUDIENCE WHAT THE DECISION TONIGHT MEANS? BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A TIMETABLE OUT FOR THEM TO EX KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT. YES. SO, UH, AS NEXT STEPS, UH, STAFF WILL BE REACHING OUT TO, UH, THE COUNTY AND THE STATE, UM, AS WELL AS THE APPLICANT. UM, AND WE WILL BE WORKING WITH THEM TO PREPARE A MORE ROBUST SET OF CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL THAT WE WILL BRING BACK TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION. STAFF WILL ENSURE THAT THOSE CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL, UM, ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH, UH, STATE AND, UM, AND ALL APPLICABLE LAWS. THANK YOU. OKAY. AND YOU WILL GET NOTIFICATION. OKAY. ANY COMMISSIONER REPORTS? NO. NONE. NO. UH, I MOVE TO ADJOURN. . OKAY. THESE VOTES, WE NEED TO VOTE ON THAT. NO. MOTION CARRIES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.