Norwalk Council Denies Variance for Check-Cashing Business

By Andrew Perry

After an odd request from a check-cashing business, the Norwalk City Council voted against its opening a location in Norwalk at its Aug. 18 meeting.
Norwalk has had an ongoing moratorium on check-cashing/ payday loan businesses since April 15, 2008. Advance America, a check-cashing business, previously had a business in Norwalk and wanted to re-open its business. However, at the time of the council meeting, the company has indicated that it is no longer interested in opening its business at the proposed location, but was interested in what the city council would have voted, and so opted to keep the item on the council’s agenda.
“Why are we even voting on this?” asked Mayor Cheryl Kelley. The property owner Huey Byrne explained that “we are here on a forethought. While the business has since rescinded its interest, it wanted to look at the possibility of a variance based on the fact that the tenant was a previous business owner in the city.”
“If the city is interested, then they’re interested,” said Byrne.
The Council voted 4-0 against Advance America’s request.
In other news, the council voted to increase parking fees for the Civic Center, in an effort to offset revenue losses associated with the Norwalk Superior Court’s scheduled furlough and increasing costs of maintenance. The last fee increase for the Civic Center was in August 2006.
The council also adopted a resolution for additional funds to be put toward the purchase of nine hybrid buses. According to the staff report, the procurement of the hybrid buses is 90 percent funded from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) from a capital grant, and 10 percent from Proposition 1B’s. Six 40-foot buses will cost $3,734,497 and three 35-foot hybrid buses will cost $1,866,970.
This procurement has no fiscal impact to the city’s general fund, as the cost is covered by other sources.
The Council also voted to enter into an agreement with Central Basin Small Water Producers Group. From 2006 to 2008, Central Basin and West Coast Basin developed a framework for groundwater storage.
The Central Basin Group wishes to do an economic analysis of the impacts of the developed framework on small water agencies before supporting it.
The agreement with Norwalk allows the city to participate in the analysis, and contribute towards the legal costs involved with the court submittal process.
The fiscal impact is determined to be $15,000. Ten thousand of this money has already been budgeted, and the resolution t the council voted on appropriated the remaining $5,000.