Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/21/2002 (2) Minutes of a Regular Meeting February 21, 2002 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Regular Meeting Thursday, February 21, 2002, 6:00 P.M. Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Casey called the Regular Meeting of the City Council to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Casey and Councilmembers Cheng, Fenwick and O'Malley Absent: Councilmember Finn Staff: City Manager Maureen Cassingham, City Attorney Sandy Sloan, Planning Director Carl Cahill, City Engineer/Director of Public • Works Minze Cheng and City Clerk Pat Dowd Press: Liz Cloutman, Los Altos Town Crier 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT The Planning Director reported on the following actions at the 2/14/02 Planning Commission Meeting: Lands of Thurston, 27857 Moody Road: request for a site development permit for an addition and a variance to encroach into the setback — recommended approval; Lands of Poor Clares, 28210 Natoma Road: request for a site development permit for an addition and a conditional use permit for an existing monastery — recommended approval; and Lands of Crown Castle/Metro PCS, 27400 Purissima Road: request for a site development permit and conditional use permit for the location of a 55-foot monopole and 5 equipment cabinets at an existing telecommunications facility—recommended approval. The Planning Commission also discussed conservation easements, driveways and fences and these issues would be agendized for public hearing at a future Council Meeting. February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 1 4. CONSENT CALENDAR Item Removed: 4.2 (Fenwick) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by O'Malley, seconded by Cheng and passed unanimously by all members present to approve the balance of the Consent Calendar, specifically: 4.1 Approved Minutes: February 7, 2002 (Regular Meeting) 4.3 Awarded Certificate of Appreciation: Dottie Harrison-Brown, Los Altos Library Commission 4.4 Concurred with Fast Track Application approved by the Planning Director: Lands of Grant, 27235 Byrne Park Lane: site development permit for a major addition and pool 4.5 Concurred with Fast Track Application approved by the Planning Director: Lands of Hughes, 27035 Old Trace Lane: site development permit for a new residence 4.6 Approved Amendment Number One to lease with Friends of Westwind Inc. —Reso#22-02 4.7 Approved contract for playing fields landscaping—Reso#23-02 4.8 Approved Statement of Support for Measure A on the November 9, 2002 Ballot Item Removed: 4.2 Approval of Warrants: $459,194.35 (1/31/02—2/15/02) Fenwick inquired about the $15,334 quarterly charge for animal control services. He wanted to know what the Town received for these costs and if there were options. The City Manager noted that by law the Town could provide animal control services or contract out for providing them. It was agreed that staff would provide Fenwick with the animal control contract for services as well as the service detail for the last several quarters. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Cheng, seconded by Fenwick and passed unanimously by all members present to approve the warrants in the amount of $459,194.35. February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 2 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 5.1 Update on Mayor's Goals 1) Break ground for a new Town Hall funded by resident donations. Casey and Fenwick met with the architect and the renderings will soon be completed. This project is on target. 2) Complete the building and planning fee study and revise fees in accordance with State law. Maximus has submitted the preliminary results for the planning, building and engineering fees along with a fee comparison survey. Their draft report will be in hand for staff review on or about February 22"d. It is anticipated the final report will be submitted to Council for consideration on March 21Sc 3) Implement a Resident Customer Satisfaction Survey Program. This survey was implemented by the Planning Department on September 1, 2001. Surveys received will be provided to Council with each Council packet. 4) Complete an analysis of all Town codes, policies and ordinances for consistency, relevance and conformance with the General Plan. The issues of conservation easements, fences and driveways will soon be set for a public hearing at a City Council Meeting. Casey also asked the Municipal Code and Policy Review Committee to review the report recently presented by the Site Development Committee at the 2/14/02 Planning Commission Meeting before it was brought to Council for discussion. 5) Have broadband internet access available to all residents PacBell had encountered some scheduling obstacles and Project Pronto,their Town- wide DSL project, should now be completed by the end of 2002. 6) Adopt and implement a town pathway policy which includes a specific five- year program for the new construction of along side the road paths and a plan which improves the maintenance and materials of current town pathways. The Town has retained Mr. Brian Robinson (winner of the Calendar Triple Crown) to walk our known pathways and provide visual observations of their conditions. A study session on this issue is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on March 21 sc February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 3 7) Complete the review of setbacks and height limits and revise town ordinances accordingly. A study session was held at 5:00 p.m. on 2/21/02 on this issue. Council agreed to send a Town-wide mailing prior to the public hearing to receive input. The proposed wording for this notice will be on the 3/7/02 Council agenda for approval. 8) Continue to explore alternatives to underground all utilities in Los Altos Hills. Mayor Pro Tem Fenwick, Councilmember O'Malley and the City Manager met to discuss the proposed mailing to residents on undergrounding utilities. This item was on the 2/21 agenda for approval. 9) Adopt a plan for the highest and best use of town property for all town residents. (Los Altos Hills owns 27 parcels totaling 168.04 acres of unused and/or underutilized property.) This project was still on hold pending receipt of the information from Caltrans concerning the O'Keefe property. Staff was also looking into two other properties which might be of interest to the neighbors and/or might be developable. The Mayor noted that when all of the information was available, a study session should be scheduled including the Parks and Recreation Committee and the Finance/Investment Committee to discuss options. 10) Approve a five-year capital spending budget to assure the infrastructure of the Town is sound. Completed An additional goal was added: 11) Joint Meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission A Joint Meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission was conducted on Thursday, December 6t' at 6:00 p.m. This meeting was a Study Session to review planning issues. 12) Data Base for Emergency Emails The Town's computer consultant has installed a program for this data base on the City Clerk's computer. The City Clerk reported that 265 entries had been made. February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 4 5.2 Update on unauthorized import material at Sayar property on O'Keefe next to Knight property on Vista Serena The City Engineer/Director of Public Works reported that information had been received from Mr. Sayar's engineer, Mr. Teng, just before this meeting and staff was still reviewing it. A report would be made at the next Council meeting and in the meantime the information would be shared with Mr. Knight. 5.3 Approval of notification process for undergrounding utilities options Council had before them the draft Town-wide mailing notice as prepared by Mayor Pro Tem Fenwick, Councilmember O'Malley and the City Manager. It was agreed that this mailing would be signed by all Councilmembers and would be sent on Town letterhead to all residents. 5.4 Adoption of Ordinance amending Chapter 1 (Emergency Services) ofritle 4 (Public Safety) of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code (SECOND READING) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Cheng, seconded by O'Malley and passed unanimously by all members present to adopt Ordinance #420 amending Chapter 1 (Emergency Services) of Title 4 (Public Safety) of the Los Altos Hills • Municipal Code. 5.5 Report on pathway easements—on and off road As noted in the update on the goals, a study session on the path issue was scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on March 21, 2002. Ginger Summit, Co-Chairman of the Pathways Committee, read the following letter into the record: As a co-chairman of the Pathways Committee, I am vitally interested in the work that is currently being done by Planning Director MinTze Cheng and her assistant John Chau to inventory both the current status of pathways in the town, and also the easements that have been deeded to the town since its formation. As you are aware, we on the Pathways Committee have volunteered on various occasions to consult with and assist in any way we are able to make this inventory complete and accurate. Nancy Ewald and I met with John Chau to review his identification of pathway easements which he located on the tract maps. His findings have been printed out on a computer-generated map which is extremely useful. However, as we pointed out to John,this material should be considered an excellent beginning, but at this point is by i February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 5 no means complete. In a very brief examination of Grant Deeds which are on file in the Town Hall, I was able to identify more than TEN additional easements which were granted to the town as long ago as 1970, and which do not appear on his map. I am quite certain that with more time, this list can be expanded greatly, using as sources Grant Deeds and other files on microfiche, both in the Town Hall and in the County records in San Jose. I wish to commend John and Mintze for the great number of hours spent thus far in researching this topic. However, we must all recognize the enormity of the task, and realize that the job has just begun. Because the goal is to create a complete and up-to- date inventory of all the easements in the town, you must not lose sight of the importance of ACCURACY, in the haste to finish the task. May I repeat the willingness of members of the Pathways Committee and others in the community who are very familiar with the Pathways System to work with the staff on this job. The task quite huge, with many different sources of information and files that must be researched. I am certain that you will not want to take any action until the inventory data is accurate and complete, and persons who are both new to the town and unfamiliar with the resources available may miss many of the details. Because this job has not been done for many years, may I repeat the necessity of collecting complete and accurate data at this time. We stand willing to help in this task. Nancy Ewald, Co-Chairman of the Pathways Committee, asked if the study session on 3/21/02 would be open to the public and would it be held even if Mayor Pro Tem Fenwick was not going to be there. She also asked Council how many study sessions they planned on having and who would be included in these study sessions. Ms. Ewald also asked if there would be Town-wide public hearings. She suggested that the Town hire a special urban trails and circulation planner to run these study sessions and that community and resident input be well represented including a representative from Bullis School. O'Malley stated that he thought it was important for Council and staff to discuss this issue first amongst themselves and then proceed with the public hearing process and residents input. Casey assured everyone that Town-wide mailings would be sent on this important issue and everyone would have an opportunity to give input. 6. NEW BUSINESS 7. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, SUB-COMMITTEES, AND COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES 7.1 U.S. Conference of Mayors Casey reported that she had recently attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors held in both Washington D. C. and New York. She noted that it was an excellent conference February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 6 and one issue that was greatly discussed was the importance of homeland security. Casey stated that this affected everyone and vigilance was needed. She commended the City Manager for her foresight in working with the County on the Town's emergency plans. 7.2 Community Relations Committee Casey referred to the Newcomers Party and the committee's suggestion that it be held one year in a private residence and the next at Town Hall. Casey did not agree with this. She believed this event was much better in a private residence at least until the new Town Hall was built. She also suggested that the refreshments be more substantive in the future. 7.3 Valley Transportation Authority Cheng reported that she had attended a meeting of the VTA where the issue of bicycle plans was discussed. She noted that Los Altos Hills was the only Town in the County that did not have a bicycle plan and funds were available. She suggested that Council direct staff to look into the financial opportunities for a bicycle plan in Town. Council agreed to defer this direction until after the revised path plan was in place. 7.4 Parks and Recreation Committee Cheng reported that the summer schedule of recreation programs was out and it was an excellent schedule. 7.5 Community Relations Committee Fenwick reported that the Community Relations Committee had recently met and discussed plans for the June Town Picnic. More information would be forthcoming to Council. 8. STAFF REPORTS 8.1 City Manager 8.2 City Attorney 8.2.1 Conflict of Interest Maps The City Attorney reported that conflict of interest maps were now located in the City Engineer's Office. These maps reflected which properties Councilmembers could not vote on due to the 500' regulation. February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 7 .f 8.3 City Clerk 8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence 9. COUNCIL-INITIATED ITEMS 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS 11.1 Appeal of the site development permit for an addition, Lands of Sung, 26450 Anacapa Drive Mr. Sung, applicant, stated that their project was in compliance with the Town's codes and he had attempted to reach compromises with his neighbors the Chens who had appealed his approval. Mr. Sung stated that they had lowered the height in parts to 21 feet, had offered to make the bathroom window opaque and had offered to trim the trees. He also commented that although their project did impact the Chens' view it did so in a very limited way. Mr. Sung further noted that he had spoken with the other neighbors and they did not want trees removed. Mrs. Chen, 26440 Anacapa, stated that the Sung's addition negatively impacted their view and she believed there were alternative locations to put this addition. O'Malley stated that he had visited the site and he believed the Sung's request was reasonable and within the Town's codes. The Chens would lose only about 10 to 15% of their view. He noted that Mr. Sung had offered to take down trees to improve the view. Fenwick concurred with O'Malley. Cheng also concurred but wanted to add a condition of approval that the Sungs trim their trees to lessen the view impact. Casey supported the Sungs' application but not the added condition of trimming trees. MOTION SECONDED AND FAILED DUE TO LACK OF A SECOND: Cheng moved that the appeal of the site development permit for an addition for Lands of Sung at 26450 Anacapa be denied with the added condition that the Sungs trim their trees and make their bathroom window opaque. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by O'Malley, seconded by Fenwick and passed unanimously by all members present to deny the appeal and uphold the approval of the site development permit for an addition for the Lands of Sung at 26450 Anacapa Drive. 11.2 Request to vacate a 20-foot wide portion of Stonebrook Avenue right of way, Lands of Laura Court Associates, 28008 Laura Court • February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 8 Mark Tersini, applicant, stated that he was making this request because of possible future liability issues. Mr. Terry Szewczyk, applicant's engineering representative, noted that if this area ever was subdivided it would be conservation easement. He also noted that his client was unable to fence in the property at this time and commented that even after vacation of this 20 feet there would still be good access to the Silver property. Mr. Silver stated that he was opposed to the vacation of this 20 feet as he believed this was an access to his property. Mr. Silver believed this vacation directly affected his property and its possible uses such as subdivision, conservation easement, etc. Nancy Ewald, Co-Chairman of the Pathways Committee, commented that this road right of way easement would link into a path easement under discussion. The committee supported the vacation of this 20 feet. Casey stated that it made no sense not to approve this request. This right of way would never be used as a road and there was no road there now. Stonebrook would not be opened up for traffic from a potential Silver subdivision to the quarry subdivision. Fenwick commented that if this 20 feet was vacated there would still be 20 feet left which was ample space for emergency access. This access would never be more than that. O'Malley did not see any good reason to approve the vacation of 20 feet and Cheng concurred with the Planning Commission's denial of this request. MOTION SECONDED AND FAILED: Moved by Fenwick, seconded by Casey and failed by the following roll call vote to approve the request to vacate a 20 foot wide portion of Stonebrook Avenue right of way for Lands of Laura Court Associates at 28008 Laura Court. AYES: Mayor Casey and Mayor Pro Tem Fenwick NOES: Councilmembers Cheng and O'Malley ABSENT: Councilmember Finn MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved b Case seconded b Fenwick and Y Y� Y passed unanimously by all to continue this request to vacate a 20-foot wide portion of Stonebrook Avenue right of way, Lands of Laura Court Associates, 28008 Laura Court for review by a full Council. 11.3 Request for a site development permit and a conditional use permit for the placement of six panel antennas on an existing pole and ten equipment cabinets within an existing telecommunications facility and a negative declaration, Lands of Foothill College/Metro PCS, 12345 El Monte Road • February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 9 Julie Walker, representing Crown Castle, commented that the Town's Codes were clear on these applications and they were in compliance with the Town's Codes. She noted that these antennas would be'flush mounted and landscaping and screening would be added. Ms. Walker did note however that they were unable to screen to the top of the pole because they needed to be able to receive signals. Sandra Humphries, 26238 Fremont Road, noted that this pole had originally been put up by Foothill College without permit from the Town. She also wondered why the Town could not say no to antenna locations in Town if the college could say no to certain locations for antennas on their property. The following residents spoke in opposition to this application: Fred Mueller, 26075 Duval Way; Miriam Malcolm, 26045 Duval Way; Al and Mary Jackson, 26088 Duval Way; and Joe Wilczak, 26121 Duval Way. They noted that this pole had been put in by Foothill College without permit from the Town; they cited health concerns and asked if this application was in compliance with the State Education Code. In addition they stated that this had a negative visual affect on their properties. Fenwick commented that regarding health issues cell phones were more of a concern than antenna poles. He also noted that this addition did not increase the visual impact. Casey supported this application. She noted that they were in compliance with Town Codes; the Town encouraged telecommunication facilities in Town; and they were • improving the visual impact of this pole. MOTION SECONDED AND FAILED: Moved by Fenwick, seconded by Casey and failed by the following roll call vote to approve the request for a site development permit and a conditional use permit for the placement of six panel antennas on an existing pole and ten equipment cabinets within an existing telecommunications facility and a negative declaration, Lands of Foothill College/Metro PCS, 12345 El Monte Road. AYES: Mayor Casey and Mayor Pro Tem Fenwick NOES: Councilmembers Cheng and O'Malley ABSENT: Councilmember Finn MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Fenwick and passed unanimously by all members present to continue this application for a public hearing by the full City Council. 11.4 Request by the Santa Clara Valley Water District for an agreement for assignment and assumption of storm drain easement on Lands of Rogez at 15617 Fremont Road February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 10 11.5 Request by the Santa Clara Valley Water District for an easement over a portion of W. Edith Park (Town of Los Altos Hills) for environmental mitigation purposes, Fremont Road and West Edith Avenue Council discussed both of these applications together as one public hearing. Mr. Rogez, 15617 Fremont Road, introduced Mitchell Swanson, President of Swanson Hydrology and Geomorphology. Mitchell Swanson, President of Swanson Hydrology and Geomorphology, presented his report on the Adobe Creek Alternative Enhancement and Flood Control Plan. He noted that this report had been prepared at the request of Mr. Rogez because of his concerns over the environmental impacts of the Reach 5 (between West Edith Avenue and Foothill Expressway) $2.5 million flood control channel project in 2002 by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Mr. Rogez hired SH&G to review the environmental impact report and project design plans to determine whether they were consistent and to verify technical assumptions and to develop an alternative to the Santa Clara Valley Water District's plan that reduced impacts and/or improved the environmental quality of the project. SH&G had prepared an environmentally superior flood control alternative to meet the following objectives: 1) Develop a sound engineering project that met the Santa Clara Valley Water District's flood control objectives and resulted in a stable, low maintenance channel; 2) Incorporate and maximize environmental enhancements within the channel while meeting flood control objectives; 3) Develop a plan that was consistent with the Towns' conservation easement and riparian corridor ordinances; 4) Provide transitions from residential backyards to creek habitat, encouraging higher habitat wildlife values, such as the use of native plants and trees in residential landscaping; and 5) Design for maximum habitat and aesthetic values immediately after construction. Mr. Swanson described in detail the technical aspects of the proposed alternative including specific design comparisons between their alternative and that offered by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Illustrations included in part plan views of the proposed channel alignment for Reach 5, vegetation communities and planting elevations, comparison of performance criteria, water surface and channel bottom profiles and a comparison of the revegetation plan species list. Mr. Timothy Tosta, Steefel, Levitt & Weiss, addressed the Council on behalf of his client, Mr. Rogez. Mr. Tosta referred to his 2/21/02 letter to the Santa Clara Valley Water District. In this letter Mr. Tosta states that the SCVWD was attempting to proceed with a project that may have significant effects on the environment along Reach 5 of Adobe Creek. These significant effects had not been adequately addressed because the documents prepared for the project were either the inappropriate February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 11 documents or in violation of CEQA. In order to remedy the deficiencies in the environmental documents the SCVWD must prepare a supplement to the final project environmental impact report that adequately addressed all the significant impacts of the project. Legally, SCVWD cannot proceed with any further discretionary approval of the project until these flaws were addressed. Mr. Tosta also noted that the SCVWD had informed neighboring property owners that if the project was not allowed to proceed as currently proposed they would no longer pursue the project. Mr. Tosta stated that Mr. Rogez had sought to work amicably with the SCVWD to conceive of a design that would allow the SCVWD to proceed with its flood control measures yet would also be the environmentally superior design. Richard Moll, Los Altos, urged the SCVWD to look at the proposal by Swanson Hydrology as an alternative. Jennie Micko, Santa Clara Valley Water District, requested Council to grant both easements, the one on the Rogez property and the one at Edith Park. She noted that if these easements were granted then the projects could go on as scheduled for this summer. However, if they were not this project could be given a new priority and she could not guarantee it would be a high one. Ms. Micko noted that the SCVWD had been requested by Los Altos and Los Altos Hills to pursue the Reach 5 project and the process for proceeding with the project had been undertaken. Paul Lippe, Los Altos, urged parties to compromise toward reaching a mutually • agreeable solution. Sandra Humphries, 26238 Fremont Road, thanked the Santa Clara Valley Water District for their work on this project but also commended Mr. Rogez for his presentation of an excellent alternative and one that protected that natural habitat. Kathy Ward, Seven Acres Lane, commented that her property was falling into the creek. She asked if a compromise could be reached as she was in desperate need of a solution. Peter Astiz, 13901 Fremont Road, commented that he had bought the property in 1997 and discussions with the SCVWD were now underway regarding the placement of his house as related to the SCVWD easement. O'Malley commented that the Santa Clara Valley Water District and Swanson Hydrology and Geomorphology had differing expert opinions on this issue. He also noted that Reach 5 helped the Los Altos neighbors but did not do anything for flooding at Edith and Fremont. O'Malley suggested going downstream and helping those neighbors and leaving the Rogez property alone for now. Casey believed Mr. Rogez had presented an excellent alternative and she wanted the SCVWD to review it and bring their comments back to Council. Fenwick commented that he hoped the Santa Clara Valley Water District would show flexibility and review the Swanson proposal and thus work toward a mutually acceptable solution. February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 12 MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by O'Malley and passed unanimously by all members present to continue this item with the request that the Santa Clara Valley Water District review the Adobe Creek Alternative Enhancement and Flood Control Plan as presented by Swanson Hydrology and Geomorphology and report back to the Council on why this plan would or would not work better than the plan they presented. 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Dowd City Clerk The minutes of the February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting were approved at the March 7, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting. • February 21, 2002 Regular City Council Meeting 13