Planning Director Elaine Wilkerson said she wasn't sure planning controls would cover the Montrose example, since the grill is on the street. The grilling issue has become a major element of the ongoing battle over the banquet halls, with residents complaining about smoke and odors from the cooking.
The outdoor cooking is currently not legal, but the city hasn't enforced the law while the process of regulating the banquet halls has gone on.
The council finally agreed there would be no regulation of small grills 10 square feet in size, except for the requirement to register with the Air Quality Management District.
Larger grills within 200 feet of residences would need a special conditional use permit, and all larger grills would be monitored for grease controls and hours of operation. The ordinance will come back next week.
In other action, the council decided things will go better with coke at city facilities, as they approved a ten-year agreement to put vending machines in parks and city buildings.
The agreement was with CC Vending and Coca Cola Bottling, and will bring the city an estimated $559,000 in revenue over the next ten years.
Among the sites that will receive machines are the Sparr Heights Community Center, Montrose Library, Montrose Park, Dunsmore Park and Deukmejian Park.
The machines will include waters and juices, the council was assured, and will be "tasteful and aesthetically pleasing."
As part of the agreement, negotiated by Active Network Marketing, the city will get an annual scholarship for a business student, 150 cases of free goods a year, and 20 tickets each to Magic Mountain, Universal Studios and Dodger Stadium.
In another vote, the council agreed to spend $500,000 over the next three years to hire an engineering firm to assist the department of Water and Power in installing and training workers for use of new switching and transmission equipment. The city has a $100 million long-range plan to upgrade electrical service, which has been subject to a number of problems in recent years.
