Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutOverlook Park - Entrance to be be Gated and Locked - The Blu Q 3&?>(-UJ, I*M I ) CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEA9H „� ► 'r o!� TlN', ON GEACtJ, CA City Council Interoffice Communication 2004 SEP ► 3 P 3? To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members From: Gil Coerper, Council Member; Date: September 13, 2004 Subject: H-Item for September 20'h - Overlook Park Recently the City Council received a communicaton from Karen Good, a resident in The Bluffs. She expressed a concern about the types of activities that are occurring, particularly in the evening in the parking lot associated with Overlook Park. (Her letter is attached along with an earlier letter from another member of her homeowners association.) In response to her concerns, I met with her and Lt. Craig Juninger. He noted that the activities she describes are not uncommon to most city parks. He also advised that in response to previous correspondence from her association, a gate has been installed at the entrance to the parking lot and the police department is closing and locking it each night at 10:00 PM or as close thereafter as an officer is available to close it. It is reopened at approximately 5:00 AM each morning. Ms Good suggested that it would help to have the gate closed around dusk. However, our Police Department's dispatch system is set up so it requires a specific time for notifying an officer to close the park. I believe a reasonable time for closure would be 7:00 PM. I am, therefore, making a motion as follows: MOTION: That the City Council authorize the parking lot associated with Overlook Park be gated and locked each evening at 7:00 PM or as close thereafter as an officer is available to close it. They will continue to open it again at approximately 5:00 AM. ATTACHMENTS: 2 ATTACHMENT # 1 Sunday, November 16, 2003 The Board of Directors— Mr. Don Galitzen The Bluffs Huntington Beach, CA 92648 RE: Overlook Drive Park and Parking Lot Dear Mr. Galitzen— Board Member: I have documented our experiences in the Overlook Drive parking area and park over the last four years. We have on numerous occasions witnessed young kids having sex in their cars with their legs hanging out the windows and their naked bodies pressed against the windows. This is so very upsetting for adult's not alone young children to see and experience. We have on numerous times smelled Marijuana smoke which we have seen coming from the car windows that park in the spots directly behind our house. When my husband goes back there to ask them to turn their music down he has also seen them drinking beer and other alcohol beverages. We have seen numerous times' young teenagers urinating in public. We have found used condoms, beer bottles, toilet paper, liqueur bottles, garbage thrown all over the place, underwear, bras, and syringes. While walking one day my husband and I witnessed a man throwing a mattress and box spring from the back of his truck unto the dirt area of the park. My husband told the man this is not a dump and we wrote down the license plate number and told the man that if he did not pick that up and take it to the proper place (the dump) we were going to call the police and give them his license plate number. The man did end up picking up the mattress and box spring and putting them back into his truck. Why is it we need to risk our own lives by getting involved with such intolerable behavior? The authorities need to play a stronger role in the patrolling of this area. I have called the (714) 980-8825 number 100's of times reporting loud music, cussing, drinking, and sexual activity. The other night I heard a young boy screaming for his life, when I went out back I saw two kids holding him down and beating him with their fists. I screamed and the boys went running. My husband and I were walking one day and a man pulled up in his truck and was releasing some caged animal into the park area, he saw us watching and peeled off in a hurry, leaving that animal out there, I have no idea what it was. My Mom and I were out walking and there was a lady with three Doberman pinchers running without leashes, they came running right toward us. My Mom and I climbed on top of a car and screamed for help. When the lady came and got her dogs she was screaming at me for showing fear of her dogs and that is why they behaved the way they did, I asked her if it had anything to do with the fact that they were not on leashes and her comment was "we come here all the time and never have had any problems". I Got her license plate#and called the police, they never showed up. The area has become a city dump for inappropriate behaviors. The birds sit on top of the garbage cans and pick at the garbage inside dumping all the trash onto the ground while they look inside the can for food. This area is now used for loitering, partying, gang members hang out, sexual activities, illegal behaviors, run aways, bums, and other negative situations. We must do something about this, please let me know who we can plead with for assistance. This has to stop. We must ciet this area permanently closed down to automobiles and used for the sole purpose of walking trails and hoarse trails. Please call me with any questions. Karen M. Good 18681 Clearview Lane Huntington beach, CA 92648 (714) 596-7182 home# ATTACHMENT #2 Rug 30 04 10: 12a EDP Systems 949 553 8753 p. i Your Printer Specialist ensuring greater"UPTIME" East Coast Division Corporate Headquarters 2072 Concourse Drive P.O. Box 1712 St, Louis, MO. 63146 Huntington Beach, CA 92647-1712 (714) 375-0400 VOICE: (714) 375-0400 FAX (714) 596-7183 EMAIL: kmgood@edptek.com URL: WWW.edptek.com Voice FAX #: FROM: Karen M. Good DATE: SUBJECT: No of PAGES: 3 +header EDP, Inc,,your total network and desktop printer solution:support team Nationwide. Ensuring greater "UPTIME",for all your printer needs CALL "TEAM EDP"TODAYFOR SUPPORT(714) 3 75-0400 NOTES: �,� � PCC- - 1 Call me with any questions! C\ 'uestions! I (/ AUG-30-2004 09:38 949 553 8753 95i P.01 Aug 30 04 10: 12a EDP Systems 949 553 8753 p. 2 THE BLUFFS HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATION A RESIDENTIAL SINGLE-FAMILY COMMUNITY AT CROSSWIND &EDWARDS HUNTINGTON BEACH,CA 92648 December 5,2003 Honorable Members of the City Council City of Huntington Beach 2000 Main Street, City Hall Huntington Beach, California 92648 Re: Request to Permanently Close Overlook Drive to Vehicular Access Due to Dangerous Condition of Public Property Dear Members of the City Council: The Bluffs Home Owners Association ("HOA") has previously worked with City staff and members of the City Council and Planning Commission concerning ongoing problems, conditions, and activities at Overlook Drive. This is a public street located between Garfield at Seapoint and Edwards at Fire Station#6 and directly adjacent to unimproved parkland/open space property owned by the County of Orange (together, "Overlook Public Property") and adjacent to The Bluffs single-family home community. We have been told that Overlook Drive is owned and controlled by the City of Huntington Beach and/or the County of Orange, that the parkland is owned by the County of Orange, but that all police/fire/public safety jurisdiction for both Overlook and the parkland is with the City (rather than Sheriff's Department,OCFA,or other County agency.) Since 1999 when Overlook Drive opened to vehicular traffic, there have been, and continue to be, ongoing public nuisance and public safety issues. Examples include: (i) unsafe driving, such as speeding, exhibition of speed, reckless driving, off-road driving (including "donuts" and "wheelies"), driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and street racing on and adjacent to Overlook Drive; (ii)consumption of alcohol in a public place, in particular by minors; (iii)loitering; (iv)use of illegal drugs; (v)indecent exposure, lewd acts, public urination and defecation; (vi)altercations, including fighting; (vii)paragliders flying off and around the adjacent bluff, (viii)model airplane flights; (ix)vandalism, broken glass, discarded drug paraphernalia, discarded condoms, (x)illegal use of firearms, target practice with b-b guns, air rifles, (xi)illegal use of fireworks, such as bottle rockets; (xii) illegal dumping; and (xii) failure to correct or enforce (or selective enforcement of) these conditions and activities existing on public property, despite posted prohibitions regarding some of the same. We request the City(in cooperation with the County of Orange)take all necessary legal steps to permanently close Overlook Drive to vehicular access, both day and night, to correct or lessen the dangerous condition of public property that currently exists on the Overlook Public Property. Permanent closure of Overlook Drive to vehicular traffic is necessary due to the dangerous condition of public property and the resulting exposure to the City of Huntington Beach (and its citizens and taxpayers) to lawsuits, liability, and payment of money damages when persons are injured or property is RUG-30-2004 09:38 949 553 8753 95% P.02 Rug 30 04 10: 12a EDP Systems 949 553 8753 p. 3 Honorable Members of the City Council City of Huntington Beach December 5,2003 Page Two damaged as a proximate cause of the condition, and lack of proper management/permitted use of the public property. Permanent closure of Overlook Drive to vehicular traffic will lessen these problems, while still allowing pedestrian access and public use, in conformance with the City Municipal Code, California Penal Code, Vehicle Code, and County park and recreational objectives. Police logs going back to 1999 evidence many, many calls to the City's police department,both the non-emergency and emergency lines. These calls lodged complaints and requests for police assistance and intervention at the Overlook Public Property due to activities described above. In 2001 after numerous meetings among HOA members and City stag, Planning Commissioners, and/or former/current City Councilmembers, including a presentation by members of the HOA at a regular Planning Commission meeting, City staff was directed to regulate overnight ingress/egress to Overlook Drive at Seapoint and to close permanently access at Overlook and Fire Station A. A locked gate at Overlook and Fire Station #6 prevents access to Overlook from Edwards Street. We were advised in 2001 that the gate installed at Seapoint and Overlook Drive was to be closed and locked nightly at 10:00 p.m. by a member of the police department, and then was to be re-opened at 5:00 a.m. daily to allow vehicular access during the day. The objective of the nightly closure was to seek to lessen the criminal activities and dangerous use of this public property. Gate closure of Overlook Drive at Seapoint at 10:00 p.m., if it occurs at all, does not occur timely or regularly. Problems created by vehicular access throughout the day and night, and the resulting criminal activity and nuisances, continue on an almost daily basis at the Overlook Public Property. Government Code Section 830(a)defines"dangerous condition"as"a condition of property that creates a substantial (as distinguished from a minor, trivial, or insignificant) risk of injury when such property or adjacent property is used with due care in a manner in which it is reasonably foreseeable that it will be used." Under Government Code, Section 835, and appellate case law interpreting these statutes, a"dangerous condition of public property"exists if the following are met: l. The public property was in a dangerous condition at the time of injury; 2. The injury to plaintiff was proximately caused by the dangerous condition; 3. The kind of injury that occurred was reasonably foreseeable and as a consequence of the dangerous condition;and 4. The public entity had actual or constructive notice of the condition a sufficient time before the injury occurred to have taken reasonable measures to protect against the injury;or,the dangerous condition was created by a public employee's negligent or wrongful act or omission within the scope of his/her employment. The City of Huntington Beach has been provided both actual and constructive notice. of the ongoing conditions of and activities occurring at the Overlook Public Property, The City(and County) directly, and/or through joint use or other cooperative agreements, controls the Overlook Public Property through ownership, use, maintenance, and public safety jurisdiction. Both the doctrines of cumulative and joint/several liability exist and are applicable to dangerous condition cases,thus both the of ir.-70-7)004 0q:3B 949 553 8753 95% P.03 Rug 30 04 10: 13a EDP Systems 949 553 8753 p, 4 Honorable Members of the City Council City of Huntington Beach December 5,2003 Page Three City and County are exposed to potential liability. The City must exercise reasonable diligence, and work with the County of Orange, to control the dangerous condition and activities that occur at Overlook Drive and the adjacent County open space. We direct your attention to and review of the past four (4) years of police calls to the City's non-emergency (and emergency) police dispatch lines. We are concerned about the real potential for serious injury or accident occurring on Overlook Drive or the adjacent County open space due to uncontrolled access to this public property. We realize there are, and have not been, sufficient police resources to provide ongoing extra patrol to this area; therefore, there is a resulting lack of enforcement or intervention to correct the conditions that invite and facilitate criminal and/or dangerous conduct. The permanent closure of Overlook Drive and the addition of proper signage advising users of prohibited conduct, along with patrol and enforcement of existing laws, related to (i)speeding, exhibition of speed, reckless driving, off-road driving, (ii) alcohol consumption, (iii)use or possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, (iv)discharge of firearms or fireworks, (v) illegal dumping; and (v) flying model aircraft, paragliding/parachuting will lessen the City's exposure to expensive tort liability and litigation. We attach additional letters and information prepared by other owners in The Bluffs community, including a petition signed by the majority of the owners urging permanent closure of Overlook Drive to vehicular access. We are happy to meet with City staff or any Councilmember to provide additional information and evidence of the ongoing conditions and activities at the Overlook Public Property. Thank you in advance for your careful consideration of this issue and the steps you will take to correct or lessen the dangerous condition of public property existing at the City's Overlook Drive and the adjacent County open space. Very truly yours, THE BLUFFS HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATION A / Don Galitzen,Board Member Enclosure cc: Ray Silver, City Administrator William P. Workman,Assistant City Administrator Kenneth W. Small, Police Chief Jennifer McGrath,Esq., City Attorney Andrew Pieter,Board Member David Stauffer,Board Member Jeff Arcuri, Board Member AUG-30-2004 09:3e 949 553 8753 95% P.04 FV- I� CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH City Council Interoffice Communication To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members From: Gil Coerper, Council Member Date: September 20, 2004 Subject: Overlook Park Attached are photos of Overlook Park and the intersection of Garfield and Seapoint. They relate to my Item H-2A on tonight's agenda. They include ■ The gate at the entrance to the parking lot ■ The gate at the end of the parking lot ■ The intersection of Garfield and Seapoint just outside the entrance to the parking lot, and ■ The playground a short distance down Seapoint from the parking lot. .�, c o a o-; O a)CD N s � C7 S+ D Corner of Seapoint and Garfield and Overlook Park Entrance Ak ism IN V�����M" Lf!-h•'?°^� 4 � ` M w�`1h+a:^`+ +G k <�'7y`"4"'�h.t. - E'r era. •x,� � ., r 4 f Z++- Behind homes • • _. S d { 0 Far End of Parking Lot (� (Opposite Views) _ ENp s Tex xt?2z ''� a�� e✓; �; _. � �wr3 '� q a • �� -.� '� -d '^ice a --- - �5fc:vavy �4 �Yy uverlook Park Playground -- 1 /3 Mile �• �� f�'� �� � _,it - mum ti _..