Both Troy Edgar and Dean Zarkos have picked up their election packets but neither had returned them yet.  Papers must be filed with the City Clerk by nextFriday, August 6, provided that all three incumbents have filed by then.

If not, the deadline is extended to the following Wednesday, August 11.

In order to give the voters a choice, I certainly hope that at least three more candidates file before the deadline.

Not just any candidates, either.  I would hope these would be committed, intelligent, independent-minded citizens with some history of civic involvement.   Candidates committed to trying to understand and do their best to meet the legitimate concerns of all the citizens.  Candidates not obligated to any individuals, neighborhood, or special interest group.

Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say why not?

–Ted Kennedy, in his eulogy for Robert F. Kennedy, paraphrasing his brother’s paraphrase of George Bernard Shaw

Los Alamitos needs City Council candidates with a long-term perspective, who will focus more on the city’s next 50 years than on the last.

Candidates who can see beyond our outdated mismash of industrial, residential, and commercial zones to a better Los Alamitos that too few bother to envision, a Los Alamitos designed to benefit all the community, not just a few landowners willing to invest heavily in Council campaigns.

Candidates who can be peacemakers and bridge builders as they seek to do what’s best for the community, not candidates whose very running for office would bring further division and bad publicity to our town.

Candidates who respect citizens and, yes, even Commission Chairpeople who disagree with them.  Candidates looking out for what’s best for our citizens first and foremost.

If you know someone like that who lives in Los Alamitos, you might want to encourage them to run. . . and stand by them with your time and money.

My purpose here is  not to criticize the two incumbents who have pulled papers.  While we certainly see many things very differently, there are areas where I agree with them both, and they have invested significant time seeking to fulfill their responsibilities.

My purpose at this point is to encourage at least three additional well qualified candidates to run.   Our citizens and our town deserve a choice of at least five good candidates.

That might just be the best  way to celebrate Los Alamitos’ 50th anniversary year!

On the informal side, Paul’s Place and Volcano Burger have long been local favorites, while Nick’s Deli is a newer addition that’s pretty hard to beat.

Also hard to beat, but more in the “family dining” category would be the Gourmet Pie and Cafe across from Costco and Hoff’s Hut.

One of the newer and nicer restaurants is the Mediterranean/Greek Preveza which opened in the old Burger King on Los Al Blvd. If you haven’t tried it, you should!

The question is, what are your favorites, and why? A little opportunity to exchange info. Try to keep it to restaurants actually in Los Alamitos if you can–why not have 1% of the tab go to our city instead of Seal Beach or whomever? Maybe we’ll do another post for nearby food places later on.

What’s your favorite Los Al restaurant or fast food place? What’s your favorite item? What’s our town’s “Best Kept Secret?”

Today’s thoughts are excerpted from a  letter I received last month from a friend, Paul Rhoads,  formerly assistant pastor at a church in Lakewood, currently with Christian Resource Ministries.   In it he shares some truths that I think will hit home with most of us, but he definitely approaches the topic from a Christian perspective.

“Changing Places” is an attitude, or “posture” that my friend  Paul believes is essential to “a life of on-going growth and renewal.”  I’ll let him explain in his own words:

Changing Places means seeking to truly understand whatever situation I am in from the other’s point of view.  There are three biblical convictions that undergird this posture:

We are incurably self-focused

Why?  Because of our finiteness and our fallenness:  We are limited by our own experience.   We have only lived our own lives.  We cannot know what it is really like to be someone else.  We can imagine; we can try to put ourselves in their place, but our efforts are limited by that fact that we can only live our own life.

What makes matters worse is that we have been distorted by the disease called sin.   Sin creates a centripetal force that pulls us intoourselves.  The only thing that really matters to us is what we think and feel.  Even as an adult I am like a little child that sees the entire world as only about me.

That’s why. . .

We must intentionally try to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes.

Otherwise we’ll be bound and blinded by our own emotions and experience.

The decision to seek to do this is an act of faith because I cannot do this in my own strength.  Only the Holy Spirit can both give me the desire and will to do this, as well as the power to step outside my own self-focused world.

Jesus is the ultimate example of  “Changing Places”

Though all knowing, God did not rely on his own knowledge but became a man in the Person of Jesus Christ to fully experience our situation.

John 1:14:  “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”

Hebrews 2:16:  “Therefore he [Jesus] had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect. . . . “

Hebrews 4:15  “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.”

What astonishes me is that Jesus spent the first thirty years of his life (and he only lived 33 years) fully entering into our situation.  If God chose to do that, surely we are called to do no less as followers of Jesus in all our relationships.

They weren’t related to any specific post, but raised good points.   So I’m experimenting with a weekly post for you to post snippets of information, questions, or anything else you’d like to communicate with the community.

To read some of the comments and questions I received this week, or to post your own, please click here:

Thanks.

To follow along just click here for tonight’s agenda, with links to all staff reports and attachments.

As always, please don’t assume all our readers saw the meeting. Describe what you saw before commenting on it.

To post your comments, or read those of others, just click the “more”and “enjoy.”

I was surprised by both what was included and even more by what was not included. The study was apparently limited in scope, but seems to envision a Los Alamitos dominated by the Medical Center and Medical Offices. Most of the emphasis seems to focus on bikeways, bus routes, etc., which seemed to be the focus of the questionnaire which was linked on this site months ago.

Below is the bulk of the staff report, with some headings and bolding added to make it easier to scan and/or follow:

Study Overview

The Katella and Los Alamitos corridors have the bones of great corridors. Key civic, institutional, and commercial anchors dot the corridors. The rights-of-way are of sufficient width to accommodate multiple modes of transportation while preserving efficient travel for the large volumes of traffic that use the corridors to access local destinations, adjacent cities, and nearby freeways.

Additionally, OCTA is planning transportation investments that could influence development and activity along the corridors.

Through the SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments) funded demonstration project, Los Alamitos has the opportunity to revitalize the two corridors and grab control of the City’s future. This demonstration project analyzes and outlines actions the City can take to capitalize on the forthcoming Bus Rapid Transit routes/stations, stimulate new private investment and redevelopment, and ultimately create great places in Los Alamitos.

6 Project Goals:

In addition to the Compass Blueprint Principles the demonstration project is driven by six specific project goals:

1. Enhance the City’s sense of identity along the corridors and at key gateways.
2. Create a central, pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly place for those who live, work, learn, and shop in Los Alamitos.
3. Create a reason for people to turn left or right from Katella Avenue onto Los Alamitos Boulevard.
4. Consolidate scattered office, medical, retail, and service uses into logical districts and nodes.
5. Develop strategies for the reuse of key commercial centers and other underutilized parcels and incentivize lot consolidation.
6. Maximize the multimodal nature of the corridors and capitalize on future BRT investments.

The demonstration project sought out to study the Culture and History of Los Alamitos while examining the existing land use along the corridor and the current regulatory setting in the community. The next step was to consider the Traffic and Circulation for Pedestrians, Bicycles, and Public Transit and then study the economics.

Staff and the Consultant reviewed wheather the city’s goals and policies supported a need for stronger identity and sense of place. In doing so, heavy consideration was given to the goals of the Current General Plan and the 1997 General Plan. The consultant findings determined that the Town Center Overlay District may need retooling, parking standards (particularly for restaurants) may need to be revisited and that there was a desire for greater certainty from the development community in obtaining support for their development proposals.

The consultant and city staff developed an outreach program that mixed together new technology and old technology. Surveys were available on line and in person and through one on one outreach at the City’s 50th Anniversary Carnival. Surveys were available at the Senior Center, Community Center, Chamber of Commerce and City Hall. Staff and the consultant completed a round of outreach meetings bringing together the development community, commercial real estate brokers, residents, bicycle enthusiast, small business owners, engineers, commercial property owners, traffic commissioners, planning commissioners, medical center personel and a representative of the City Council.

To take this to the next step, staff then took updates of the project to the General Plan Subcommittee, the Planning Commission and the stakeholders as a group. Each presentation incorporated more input into project from various perspectives. The consultant was able to gather very specific comments about Los Alamitos regarding traffic, lack of a sense of identity a desire for improved aesthetics, and walkability.

Vision Statement: “A future Los Alamitos worth reaching:”

Katella Avenue and Los Alamitos Boulevard are attractive corridors that bring people into Los Alamitos. The two streets host some of Southern California’s most attractive and dynamic places to shop, work, live, and have fun.

The look and feel of the buildings, landscaping, signs, and spaces reflect the City’s small town character while supporting successful businesses, a world-class medical center, unique shops and services, wonderful restaurants, and a wide range of places to live. The businesses provide the City with a diversity of tax revenue and fiscal support, helping ensure Los Alamitos is economically sustainable.

The streets are safe for everyone and every form of transportation—be they children, families, workers, or customers who walk, bike, ride transit, or drive along the corridors. Traveling by bicycle is easy and safe along Los Alamitos Boulevard and throughout much of the City. The corridors attract a large number of commuter and recreational riders living and working in Los Alamitos and those traveling along the nearby San Gabriel River Trail.
Katella Avenue offers landmark gateways that signal passage into and out of Los Alamitos. The uses are organized into attractive and logical clusters enabling the region’s and city’s residents to easily find what they want.
Los Alamitos Boulevard provides a central place for the residents, workers, and students of Los Alamitos to meet friends, stroll, grab some great food, and shop. The Boulevard forms a downtown with walkable streets, great design, a mix of highly desirable uses, slow traffic, and plenty of parking concentrated in central lots or structures. It is the place that defines the popular image of Los Alamitos.

Strategies to reach the vision:

• Strategy #1: A Pedestrian- and Business-Friendly Boulevard - A redesign of the Los Alamitos Boulevard right-of-way recaptures the spaces dedicated to the car and gives it back to the pedestrian. Enlarged parkway and sidewalk areas create safe and inviting walking environments and creates opportunities for outdoor dining. A reduction in roadway space maintains the existing travel lanes while slowing down the speed of vehicular traffic through along the Boulevard. Slower traffic will not only create a safer environment, but will also give local businesses greater exposure to the passing cars. The narrowed roadway will connect businesses and spaces within the corridor while creating a town center and distinct identity for those who live, learn, work, and play in Los Alamitos.

• Strategy #2: New Corridor Districts - The creation of a new series of districts along Los Alamitos Boulevard and especially along Katella Avenue would help the City define itself internally, brand itself to those outside of Los Alamitos, and enhance the economic synergy amongst related land uses.

• Strategy #3: Plan for Bus Rapid Transit – OCTA is planning a BRT line and two stations along Katella Avenue that will offer a combination of quicker, more frequent service and a large service area, to attract not only the transit-dependent rider, but also many discretionary riders (those who could easily travel by car) who work at or visit major employment centers such as the Medical Center.

• Strategy #4: Improve Bikeway System - Improving bicycle connections to the San Gabriel River and Coyote Creek Trails, introducing new bikeways, and enhancing wayfinding signage and bike racks will create a comprehensive bike system that allows commuters, families, and students to safely and conveniently ride their bikes in Los Alamitos.

• Strategy #5: Pedestrian Bridges – The introduction of pedestrian bridges along the corridors could provide safe routes to school, alleviate traffic congestion points, and bolster the City’s identity.

• Strategy #6: Redesign and Redevelop – The development and analysis of two conceptual plans for key sites along the corridor revealed that the existing property owners are in the best position to explore new development opportunities. Current commercial and office lease rates are too low to justify the construction of new development and acquisition of land by a brand new developer. As the market improves, areas along the corridors could be redesigned and redeveloped to take advantage of the proposed roadway improvements. New uses and designs envision outdoor plaza and dining space, and new commercial, office, and potentially hotel uses that leverage the existing homeware/hardware market niche and nearby medical center.

Design Strategies:

To achieve the vision for the Los Alamitos Commercial Corridors, this consultant and staff worked together to present a number of concepts and strategies. The design strategies represent ideas on how to make the corridors more livable, create pedestrian friendly environments, reorganize land uses into logical clusters, and enhance alternative means of transportation around and through the City. The last design strategy presents an urban design study of how two key areas along the corridors could potentially be configured or redeveloped. The resulting site plans were evaluated through a pro forma analysis to determine their financial feasibility and uncover any unexpected constraints posed by the City’s existing development standards.

Accordingly, two concepts were explored that narrow the roadway and enlarge the parkway and sidewalk areas along Los Alamitos Boulevard. The first concept is called the “Straight” option and expands the sidewalk and parkway area equally on both sides of the right-of-way, while slightly reducing the internal drive and turning-lane widths. The two primary goals are to slow down passing traffic and increase walkability. The second concept is called the “Curvilinear” option and explores maximizing the sidewalk and parkway area around key parcels: the Los Alamitos Plaza and Center Plaza. The two primary goals remain to slow down passing traffic and increase walkability. The two concepts will be extensively covered in the presentation.

The finished product being presented walks and talks much like a specific plan. It has many of the same concepts and has the potential to drive the City towards the development of a tool to usher in change in the vision for the City and its corridors including Commercial Design Guidelines and the incorporation of Economic Development Strategies.

Commercial Design Guidelines

Existing architectural styles and building designs found in Los Alamitos represent an eclectic blend of architectural expressions, primarily characterized by a variety of “franchise modern” or “builder style” influences from the past 50 years. From the City’s early days of incorporation, growth has resulted in no singular or dominant authentic architectural style. Instead, a variety of semi-Mediterranean architectural designs have gained a foothold, characterized by stucco-clad facades and red tile roofs.

The City desires to have a more cohesive image along the two corridors, particularly for their commercial buildings. But the City also wants to maintain flexibility and allow the property owner or developer to express their vision. A set of commercial design guidelines is provided to expand upon the City’s existing architectural design guidelines and demonstrate the art of building composition using pictures. Their primary function is to provide prospective architects, builders, and developers with a clear statement of the appropriate design direction for commercial development within the City of Los Alamitos. The guidelines will address 11 different aspects of a commercial development’s structure, appearance, layout, and function. The guidelines can and should be implemented in any new construction. These guidelines also apply to existing development and should be implemented as improvements (incremental or comprehensive) made to private and public buildings and spaces. The intent is to encourage creative individual architectural statements that, when viewed as a whole, produce an equally outstanding commercial district.

Economic Development Strategies

The City of Los Alamitos would need to implement two types of economic development strategies to implement plans for Los Alamitos Boulevard and Katella Avenue: funding strategies and economic activity strategies.

Funding Strategies and Options

These strategies provide funding to construct and maintain public and private improvements and to provide incentives for developers and property owners to develop buildings and sites that implement the plans.
• Community Redevelopment Agency
• Assessment District
• Specialized Assessment District
• Business Improvement District
• Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance District
• General Fund
• Grants

Economic Activity Strategies

These strategies are the activities and actions—the “doing” part of economic development—that can be undertaken by City staff and the City’s partners to increase economic activity along the two corridors.
• Special Events
• DIY Home Improvement
• Branding and Marketing
• Business Development and Attraction
• Medical Services as an Anchor
• Parking Strategy

Next Steps

To realize the vision for the Los Alamitos commercial corridors and the City as a whole, this report recommends a series of steps and activities that should be taken within the next few years.

1. Incorporate the Corridors Report into the General Plan Update - The City of Los Alamitos will initiate a general plan update in the Fall of 2010. The principles and concepts contained in this report should be incorporated into the update process, specifically regarding the citywide vision, policies, and land use and circulation plans.

2. Adopt Commercial Design Guidelines – The City should adopt (by resolution) the commercial design guidelines on a citywide basis and apply them to all commercial and office properties.

3. A. Meet with Property and Business Owners – The City should meet with property and business owners within the Boulevard District about the possibility of forming assessment and/or improvement districts. Once a certain amount of consensus is reached, the City could then form a Town Center Committee.

B. Obtain Consumer Input - At the same time, the City could work with the existing businesses and others to obtain information about why people shop and dine in Los Alamitos and what they would like to see in a future town center.

4. Establish a Town Center Committee - Either as part of the general plan update or as a separate effort, the City should convene a Town Center Committee to guide changes to Los Alamitos Boulevard and its role as a town center. The Town Center Committee could also form the nucleus of a future business improvement district or similar entity.

5. Prepare an Area Plan, Revised Zoning District, or Specific Plan – Implementing the changes envisioned in this report could ultimately lead to the preparation of a targeted planning effort exclusively focused on the corridor(s). These efforts could take the form of an area plan, a revised zoning district, or a specific plan.

Area Plan:

As part of the General Plan update, the City could develop an area plan or community plan for the Boulevard District or other parts of the corridors. An area plan would consist of refined policies and design guidance focused on a specific part or community of Los Alamitos. The area plan could contain specialized designations and a recommended land use plan.

Revised Zoning District:

The City could, in place of or in addition to an area plan, revise and expand its Town Center Overlay (TC Overlay) District to the Boulevard District or a larger area along the corridors. Revisions to the district could include the removal of its overlay status, and instead the new district could replace the existing districts that are currently applied to the corridor areas.

Specific Plan:

A specific plan is a kind of hybrid between an area plan and zoning district. It provides both the policy foundation of an area plan and the regulatory authority of a zoning district. The analysis that accompanies a specific plan is also usually more comprehensive and conclusive than an area plan or zoning district.

6. Formation of Assessment and Improvement Districts - After the City receives direction through the previous steps, the assessment and/or improvement districts should be established.

Staff Conclusion:

In conclusion, staff has been very satisfied with the involvement of the community, the consultant, the stakeholders and SCAG.

Special appreciation should be noted for the work of the Planning Center, SCAG and the community members of Los Alamitos whom worked together to bring forward the vision.

Fiscal Impact: There is no fiscal impact.

Submitted By: Steven A. Mendoza, Community Development Director

Tonight’s presentation may well make it worth your recording or even showing up for the 7 p.m. Council meeting.

As always, your thoughts and comments are appreciated, especially when presented diplomatically and focused on issues.

At 7 p.m. tonight they’ll be showing the first of three free movies set for this summer.   It’s Dreamworks 2004 animated film, “Shark Tales.”  You can watch it from in the water or on the bleachers, and you’re even encouraged to “bring your inflatables for the pool!”

Shark Tales is a 90 minute  feature with the voice of Will Smith as the main character.

It’s a kid’s movie that’s essentially a symbolic parody of 1972′s The Godfather (I’m not making this up. . . yet. . .) in which a City Council Majority elected with big money support from the local trash boss orders a hit on the Chairman of the Ocean’s Traffic Commission after he publicly opposes the Council for awarding the trash boss’s former company a ten year exclusive franchise costing six million dollars more than the lowest bidder.

Or something like that.  The rumor is that the film’s been updated with a segment in which an evil foreign oil conglomerate’s massive oil spill threatens to destroy all the sharks in the Gulf, both good and evil.   Anyway, in the end the mob boss comes to accept Will Smith’s character even though he doesn’t fit the standard mob mold, proving (are you listening, JM?) that even villains can have a change of heart. . .

If you don’t have air conditioning and are tired of paying to watch a movie to keep cool, then you might just want to toss the kids into the car tonight & drive over to the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base Pool.   (Take Lexington south from Katella right into the main entrance.  Lexington is east of Los Al Blvd. and west of Costco (Walker).

All adults entering the Base must have photo ID,  but you do not have to be a Los Alamitos resident to participate.

This is the first of three  “Movies in the Park” co-sponsored by  Los Al Rec & and Revolution, the same folks that have combined to bring us the Easter Egg Hunt and Halloween Carnival for the last few years.  (Despite rumors allegedly spread by a former Mayor, neither the Los Alamitos Easter Egg Hunt nor the White House Easter Egg Hunt was ever canceled due to the introduction of new crops on the White House lawn.)

Revolution is a non-denominational, contemporary church that meets at 10:00 a.m. Sundays at Artesia High, 12108 Del Amo, Lakewood (east of the 605).  Church offices are actually in Los Alamitos at 10867 Portal Drive.

The other two movies are scheduled forAugust at Laurel Park on Katella @ Bloomfield (bring lawn chairs & blankets) at 7 p.m. (allow extra time to park):

• August 7:  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
• August 28:  Disney’s UP

Thank you, Los Alamitos & Revolution!

Most significant for the city’s future isthe report from the Southern California Association of Governments “Compass Blueprint”   study of Los Alamitos main corridors, Katella and Los Alamitos Blvds, as a “Compass Demonstration Project Area.”

There’s lots to digest, but I’d suggest those interested in our community’s fugure start with the Community Development Director Steven Mendoza’s Staff Report on the SCAG study.

A power point presentation on the study also worth a look, although if your eyes are as bad as mine you’ll probably have to zoom your Adobe reader up to 200% to be able to clearly read the charts, which are printed 4 to a page.

I haven’t had time to fully digest the two documents yet, but there were several excellent ideas as well as several things that concerned me on first glance.

Please click on the links, review the documents, and share your initial thoughts and perspective.

Our city’s future is at stake.

Today’s “Sunday Sermon,” once again, is taken from one of the notes by Pastor Chuck Smith in The Word for Today Bible.  I would love to post “Sunday [or Shabbat] Sermons” from other local pastors & rabbis.  Please encourage yours to submit brief devotionals using the “contact us” button in the masthead.

David’s perspective:

From First  Samuel 17:32 – 37 (English Standard Version):

And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”

But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,  I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.  Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

“Pastor Chuck’s”  comments:

David saw this giant Goliath from the proper perspective.  It wasn’t David against the giant, but the giant against the God David served.  So it wasn’t “Poor me, I’m facing a giant,” but it was “Poor giant, he’s facing the eternal God of Israel.”

David’s take on Goliath was that he had “defied the armies of the living God” and didn’t have a chance.

So often we become overwhelmed by our problems, and lose true perspective.  Fear then grips our heart, and we are open for defeat.  Remember who God is.  That will give you perspective.

The key to conquering the giants God wants us to conquer, and to peace in all situations, is to focus on God, not the problem:

You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.

Isaiah 26:3