WHAT HAPPENED: The City Council denied...

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City Council denied an appeal by Step by Step Daycare for a

conditional-use permit, upholding the decision handed down by the

Planning Commission.

WHAT IT MEANS:

Step by Step Daycare will not be able to open an 88-child day-care

facility at the southeast corner of Brookhurst Street and Adams

Avenue in an existing shopping center. The Planning Commission denied

Step by Step Daycare’s original request for a conditional-use permit

on Aug. 13. The child-care center had planned to open in the shopping

center and create an outdoor play area that would have meant a loss

of 28 parking spaces at the center. Both City Council members and the

Planning Commission cited the inconvenience to nearby homeowners as

one of the reasons for denying the request.

WHAT HAPPENED:

The City Council approved a law that will require low-income

residents who do not pay for trash collection services to begin

paying half of the cost for services. The law was first introduced by

Councilman Ralph Bauer at a budget study session as a means of making

money.

WHAT IT MEANS:

Currently, low-income seniors who have a gross income of $25,000

or less do not pay for the cost of garbage collection. The new law

will bring in a much needed $42,414, according to city officials.

Council members said they felt it was necessary in light of the

city’s current budget problems. All households who do not pay for

trash service will now have to do so. City staff has also been

instructed to confirm the income level of all city residents who

request an exemption to the garbage collection fee.

WHAT THEY SAID:

“If we’re giving them a $16-a-month break, we can continue to do

that,� said Councilwoman Connie Boardman, who argued against the law.