HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/15/2000 Minutes of a Regular Meeting
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June 15, 2000
Town of Los Altos Hills
City Council Regular Meeting
Thursday, June 15, 2000, 6:00 P.M.
Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road
1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Mayor Dauber called the Regular Meeting of the City Council to order at 6:05 p.m. in the
Council Chambers at Town Hall.
Present: Mayor Dauber and Councilmembers Casey, Cheng, Finn and
Johnson
Absent: None
Staff: Acting City Manager/Public Works Manager Jim Rasp, City
Attorney Sandy Sloan, Acting Planning Director Carl Cahill,
• Finance Director Carol Ferrell and City Clerk Pat Dowd
Press: Chuck Carroll, San Jose Mercury
LA. REORGANIZATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Dauber and
passed unanimously to appoint Steve Finn as Mayor for a one year term.
Finn recommended appointment of Casey as Mayor Pro Tem. Johnson disagreed and
suggested that Cheng be appointed Mayor Pro Tem. He referred to the traditional
rotating system which had been used in the past and believed it should be followed now.
Casey had already served as Mayor; Cheng had not. Cheng thanked Johnson for his
support and was honored but she believed it was more appropriate for Casey to be Mayor
Pro Tem.
MOTION SECONDED AND FAILED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Dauber and
failed by the following roll call vote to appoint Emily Cheng as Mayor Pro Tem.
AYES: Councilmembers Dauber and Johnson
NOES: Mayor Finn and Councilmembers Casey and Cheng
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MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Finn, seconded by Cheng and
passed by the following roll call vote to appoint Toni Casey as Mayor Pro Tem for a one
year term.
AYES: Mayor Finn and Councilmembers Casey, Cheng and Dauber
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: Councilmember Johnson
Johnson stated that he abstained because he was a strong supporter of the traditional
rotating system.
Council presented Dauber with a gift for her contributions as Mayor during the past year
and thanked her for her accomplishments. Dauber commented that she was pleased to
note that several of the goals and objectives for the past year had been met and she highly
praised staff for their hard work and professionalism.
1.13 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Finn commended staff for the outstanding job they were doing and noted that he was
looking forward to working together in the coming year. Finn listed his top ten goals for
the new fiscal year: 1) strengthen the Town's management team by hiring a city manager,
a planning director and head engineer; 2) remodel or rebuild town hall; 3) begin annual
• council/staff weekend retreat; 4) encourage residents to build sewers throughout the town
by creating a template which will facilitate and make the process of creating
reimbursement districts understandable and easy to implement; 5) improve maintenance
of roadside paths with better materials and develop an aggressive capital improvement
plan to add miles of new paths each year alongside the road where no paths now exist; 6)
determine the feasibility of undergrounding utilities throughout the town by fully
supporting the Utility and Information Systems Committee with staff support,
professional consultants and budgeting $50,000 for outside expert fees; 7) reduce
bureaucracy by bringing plan check in house, eliminating outside double check for soils
engineering, civil engineering and structural engineering; 8) direct the Planning
Commission to evaluate the town's ordinances, policies and design guidelines for
objectivity, consistency and relevance to the town and residents' lifestyle in the new
millennium; 9) review all planning and building fees; and 10) complete the town survey.
Finn further commented that residents' interaction with Town Hall should be a pleasant
experience. They were indeed customers. He also noted how successful the fast track
process had been and believed this process allowed the Planning Commission time to
look at the big picture and review ordinances and policies and not get involved in
micromanaging.
Since there was insufficient time to discuss the goals and objectives, Council agreed to
continue this item to the next meeting.
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i 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS
2.1 Presentation on Televising Council Meetings
Evan Wythe, member of the Utility and Information Systems Committee, presented an
overview of the committee's review and recommendations for televising Council
Meetings. He also introduced Jack Sanford of VMI who had submitted a proposal for
this project. The total cost for the video system, audio system and automated control
system was $87,000. Dr. Wythe addressed various aspects of this project including the
use of vhs tape, digital tape, delayed broadcast on cable tv and video on demand. He also
addressed staff time and commitment and their recommendation that this project would
require about a 1/a or 1/3 position per week. In addition Dr. Wythe commented on the
broadcast expense, equipment upkeep and the maintenance and labeling of the tapes.
Toward the successful implementation of this project, he noted issues that needed to be
addressed which included: problems with the current cable company, staff time and
personnel and the bid process.
Council thanked Dr. Wythe and the committee for their hard work and commitment
regarding this project. Considering the costs involved as well as other issues, they agreed
that more review was needed at the staff level and input should be obtained from the
residents.
• Luis Yanez, 26879 Moody Road, concurred with Council's recommendation for a
conservative approach to implementing this program.
Dot Schreiner, 14301 Saddle Mountain, suggested finding out how many requests are
received for copies of the tapes of the Council and Planning Commission Meetings.
PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To refer this issue to the Acting City Manager for his
review and recommendation. Council further noted that this would be a good question
for the Town Survey(options and costs of televising meetings).
2.2 Report from the Airport Noise Subcommittee and Proposed Response to
Airport Monitor Environmental Assessment
Jim Abraham, member of the Airport Noise Subcommittee, asked the Council to send a
letter to the Federal Aviation Administration and congressional representatives
expressing the view that the draft Environmental Assessment for the Simultaneous Offset
Instrument Approach/Precision Runway Monitor Project dated March 20, 2000 was
flawed in at least section 4.1 on noise. He further recommended that the Town request a
full Environmental Impact Statement that addressed the true noise impact on Los Altos
Hills, specifically to consider the flight path over the ground, aircraft speed control,
aircraft altitude along the flight path, aircraft types and peak and average noise levels.
• The City Attorney noted that San Jose was taking the lead for the cities in the County on
this issue.
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• MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Johnson and
passed unanimously to direct the City Attorney and Acting Planning Director to prepare a
letter as requested by Mr. Abraham.
2.3 Interviews and Appointments to Planning Commission
Council had received four applications for the two seats on the Planning Commission:
Eric Clow, Fred Fallah, Sandra Humphries and Janet Vitu.
Janet Vitu, 13826 Moon Lane, stated that she had lived in Town for five years and had
gone through the subdivision and building process so she was familiar with the issues.
She also noted her background in business administration and mechanical engineering.
Concerning her land use philosophy, Ms. Vitu supported upholding the majority opinions
and stated that she believed the ordinances should be objective and consistently
administered. She also believed that educating everyone involved about the ordinances
was important.
Sandra Humphries, 26238 Fremont Road, commented that she was serving on the
Environmental Design and Protection Committee and had regularly attended both
Planning Commission and City Council Meetings. She noted that her land use
philosophy included upholding the values of open space and natural habitats for trees,
plants and animals. Ms. Humphries believed in enforcing the ordinances but also in
clarifying these ordinances so there would be less questions raised.
Eric Clow, 27660 Red Rock Road, stressed consistency as the critical element of a
smooth planning process. He believed this included for steps: consistent ordinances and
policies, consistent staff, consistent Planning Commission and consistent Council. He
also supported the rustic nature of the Town, the one acre minimum zoning and the
pathways. Mr. Clow believed the ordinances needed to be enforced and this was essential
if the ordinances were consistent.
Fred Fallah, 12374 Priscilla Lane, wanted to contribute to an environment that was
sustainable. He believed the ordinances should be enforced and consistency and
education were important.
MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and
passed unanimously to appoint Eric Clow and Janet Vitu to the Planning Commission
each for four year terms ending June 30, 2004.
2.4 Appointments to Community Relations Committee and Recreation and Parks
Committee
Karen Emerzian, 11670 Dawson Drive, expressed her interest in serving on the
Community Relations Committee.
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MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Cheng and
passed unanimously to appoint Karen Emerzian to the Community Relations Committee
for a two-year term.
Shelley LeFevre, 14850 Manuella Road; Valeri Stitt, 25703 Lomita Linda Court; and
Valerie Metcalfe, 12933 Tripoli Court each addressed the Council on their interest in
serving on the Recreation and Parks Committee. They each stressed the importance of
new recreation programs for the families in Town. Council also had received
applications from Mary Calderon and Karen Bergh who were unable to attend this
meeting due to previous commitments.
MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Johnson and
passed unanimously to appoint Shelley LeFevre, Valeri Stitt, Valerie Metcalfe, Mary
Calderon and Karen Bergh to the Recreation and Parks Committee; to increase the
membership of this committee to eight; and to invite Mary Calderon and Karen Bergh to
a later Council Meeting to meet the Council.
3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT
The Acting Planning Director reported on the following actions at the 6/14/00 Planning
Commission Meeting: Lands of Au, 12870 Robleda: request for a site development
permit for a new residence and pool—approved; Lands of Askarinam, 27830 Elena Road:
• request for a tentative parcel map for a three-lot subdivision and negative declaration —
recommended approval; Lands of Nair, 24680 Prospect Avenue: request for a site
development permit for a new residence — continued; Lands of Nijenhuis and Broering,
12175 Hilltop Drive: request for a site development permit for a new residence —
continued; and proposed ordinance amending the Zoning Code to prezone properties to
R-A (residential — agricultural) — 24460 Summerhill, 24480 Amigos Court, 24490
Amigos Court and 24510 Amigos Court — recommended approval. Both Lands of
Askarinam and the ordinance will be scheduled for public hearings at the 7/20/00 Council
Meeting.
4. CONSENT CALENDAR
MOTION SECONED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and
passed unanimously to add the following item to the consent calendar as an urgency item:
Approval of contract for Interim City Manager.
Items Removed: 4.1 — June 1, 2000 Regular Meeting Minutes (Dauber), 4.13 (Dauber)
and 4.17 (Casey)
MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Finn and
passed unanimously to approve the balance of the consent calendar, specifically:
4.1 Approved Minutes: May 18, 2000 (Regular Meeting)
May 26, 2000 (Special Meeting)
June 1 ,2000 (Special Meeting)
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• 4.2 Approved Warrants: $223,752.62 (5/25/00—6/6/00)
4.3 Awarded Certificate of Appreciation: Patrick Neal, Youth Commissioner
4.4 Approved grant of conservation easement, Lands of Burger, 25850 Westwind
Way—Reso#35-00
4.5 Approved Investment Policy
4.6 Adoption of Resolution ordering and calling a General Municipal Election to
be held in the Town of Los Altos Hills on November 7, 2000; requesting the
services of the Registrar of Voters; requesting consolidation of elections and
providing for giving Notice of the Election—Reso#36-00
4.7 Adoption of ordinance#407 amending Section 10-1.501 (minimum parcel
size) of the Zoning Code and Section 9-1.604 (lot size and requirements) of the
subdivision Code with regard to the shape of parcels
4.8 Approved Site Development Permit for a new residence with pool and cabana,
Lands of Owen, 24905 La Loma Court(Fast-Track)
4.9 Approved appointment of Carl Cahill as Acting Planning Director—Reso#37-00
•
4.10 Rejected Claim—Maidena McLerran
4.11 Rejected Claim—Jennifer Malkin
4.12 Approved Site Development Permit for a new residence with pool,
Lands of Yanez, 26171 Moody Road (Fast-Track)
4.14 Authorized out-of-class pay for employees appointed as Acting City
Manager—Reso#38-00
4.15 Approved agreement for contract planning services—Susan Stevenson
Planning Consultant—Reso#39-00
4.16 Approval of contract for contract planning services—Debbie Pollart
Consulting—Reso#40-00
4.17 Approval of Contract for Interim City Manager—Reso #41-00
Items Removed:
4.1 Approval of Minutes: June 1, 2000 Regular Meeting
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•
MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Casey and
passed unanimously to approve the minutes of the June 1, 2000 City Council Meeting
with the following corrections: page 7, Item 9.5 should state opposition rather than
support and under Item 11.3 move the second motion on page 11 to the beginning of this
discussion on page 9.
4.13 Approval of Site Development Permit for a new residence with an attached
garage,pool and gazebo, Lands of Giakoumis, 12368 Priscilla Lane
(Fast-Track)
Dauber noted that a neighbor had raised some concerns about this project and she asked
that it be reviewed at the next Council Meeting.
4.17 Approval of agreement for computer consulting services -Aleuron Systems
Reso#_
Casey stated that she removed this item from the consent calendar because she had some
questions about the webpage. She suggested that the entire packet of information for
Council Meetings be included on the web page. Johnson, representing the Council
subcommittee on the webpage, noted that he would be glad to meet with the Acting City
Manager and computer consultant on this suggestion.
• MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and
passed unanimously to adopt Resolution #42-00 approving an agreement with Aleuron
Systems for computer consulting services.
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
5.1 Review of encroachment permit fees for construction of a sanitary sewer
main extension project as requested by Mrs. Peggy Rutner
Dr. Rutner, 10632 Magdalena, was available to answer any questions Council might
have on their request for review and waiver of encroachment permit fees for construction
of a sanitary sewer main extension project they were undertaking. They did not believe
these fees were equitable and also believed that the Town should be assuming some
responsibility for the street repair.
MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and
passed unanimously to accept the staff's recommendation as follows:l) Reduce the Town
encroachment permit fees for the Rutner sanitary sewer main extension project to $21,966
which covers an estimate of the Town costs and the impact to the public streets associated
to trench construction of the project; 2) Refund encroachment permit fees in the followng
amounts for the Mozart ($8,600) and Cefalu ($14,932) sanitary sewer main extension
projects; 3) Establish encroachment permit fees as follows until a study can be completed
Is
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establishing appropriate encroachment permit fees for the variety of encroachment
conditions encountered: project review $300, plan check - $150 per drawing or sketch -
$150 minimum, construction inspection- $1.76/feet of trench- $176 minimum, and street
impact - $4.80/feet of trench - $60 minimum; and direct staff to investigate and
recommend to the City Council an appropriate method to collect fees for construction in
the public right of way to include Town costs and the impact of construction in public
streets.
5.2 Discussion of path in lieu fees
PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To continue this discussion to the next Council Meeting.
Casey did note that the fees should covers the costs and Dauber recommended the
residents be given the option of putting in the path if they wanted to.
6. NEW BUSINESS
6.1 Approval of General Plan Survey Questions
Paul Crawford, representing Crawford Multari Clark & Mohr, commented that it had
been a pleasure working with the Land Use Committee and staff on the survey project
• before Council at this time. He also commented in general on the number of questions
that should be included in a survey to encourage a willingness to participate. In general
this is no more than four pages.
Johnson thought this was an excellent questionnaire but believed some of the questions
were duplicates of those asked in the census and were of no use to the Town. These
questions included those referring to age, gender, race and income. Casey believed it was
important that the terminology used should be understandable to the residents. For
example a resident may not understand what was meant by outdoor lighting, off-road and
on-road paths and basements as these terms were used by the Town and in the survey.
Dauber believed current policy and how it was implemented needed to be distinguished.
She also suggested a cross reference between the primer and the survey.
Council thanked the consultant for his work on this survey. They thought it was a good
start but needed more review and comment and modification before finalized.
MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and
passed unanimously to send the community survey to the Planning Commission for
review and comment and report back to the Council. Council further directed that the
consultant did not need to participate in this level of review by the Planning Commission.
In addition it was agreed Councilmembers would send their comments on this issue to the
Planning Commission.
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• 7. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, SUB-COMMITTEES, AND
COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES
8. STAFF REPORTS
8.1 City Manager
8.2 City Attorney
8.3 City Clerk
8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence
9. COUNCIL-INITIATED ITEMS
9.1 Request for opposition of SB 1816 (Councilmember Casey)
PASSED BY CONSENSUS: Council stated their opposition to SB 1816.
9.2 Request for support of Fair Competition and Taxpayer Savings Act
(Councilmember Casey)
• PASSED BY CONSENSUS: Council stated their support of the Fair Competition
and Taxpayers Savings Act
9.3 Request for volunteers for the Joint Volunteer Award Luncheon
(Councilmember Johnson)
It was agreed the City Clerk would advertise for volunteers for this committee.
9.4 Letter from Mr. and Mrs. Epstein requesting support of an out-of-agency
Proposal to LAFCO on behalf of the 11490 Old Ranch Road Sewer Project
(Councilmember Casey)
Mr. Epstein, 23828 Ravensbury, addressed the Council with his request that the Town
support an out-of-agency proposal to LAFCO (Local Agency Formation Commission) on
behalf of the 11490 Old Ranch Road Sewer Project. He commented that they needed to
get on sewer and were willing to undertake this project. This was the first step in the
process. He also stated that they would agree with a deferred annexation agreement.
The City Attorney noted that this sewer would connect to a Town sewer whereas the
Mora Drive connection which Council recently considered would connect to a Los Altos
sewer.
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Dauber commented that Mora Drive was not one of the Town's streets nor was .the
project on the Town's sewer. However, this was a County street and on our sewer. The
Town would have no method of getting sewer fees since this was in the County and the
Town would also have no control over the construction project. Dauber believed this was
precedent setting.
MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Cheng and
passed by the following roll call vote to approve the request from Mr. Epstein that the
Town support an out-of-agency proposal to LAFCO (Local Agency Formation
Commission) on behalf of the 11490 Old Ranch Road Sewer Project.
AYES: Mayor Finn and Councilmembers Casey, Cheng and Johnson
NOES: Councilmember Dauber
9.5 Retention of Records (Councilmember Johnson)
Johnson asked that the retention of records issue be agendized for Council discussion. He
believed there should be a Town policy on the preservation of certain Town documents.
9.6 July 4th Picnic (Councilmember Dauber)
Dauber reminded everyone that a Los Atos/Los Altos Hills picnic was scheduled for July
• 4th at Shoup Park.
9.7 Emergency Managers Meeting(Councilmember Dauber)
Dauber noted that she had attended an Emergency Managers Meeting and the RIMS
project was discussed. She inquired about the Town's level of participation in this
emergency program and was given an update by the Public Works Manager.
9.8 Santa Clara County Cities Association(Councilmember Johnson)
Johnson reminded everyone that the next Cities Association Meeting was scheduled to
take place in Los Gatos at the bocce courts.
9.9 Goals and Objectives (Councilmember Dauber)
Dauber referred to the Mayor's goals and objectives discussed earlier in the meeting and
asked that the discussion of the Council's goals and objectives be agendized for the next
meeting.
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9.10 Path Issue (Councilmember Cheng)
Cheng referred to the issue of a pathway being blocked on her property and the former
City Manager's report that this had been reviewed and there were no violations. She
asked that the Pathways Committee receive copies of this report as there still seemed to
be some who were saying violations existed.
10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Rick Hyman, Summerhill Avenue, asked Council to enforce the Town's Noise
Ordinance. He was having a problem with his neighbor and her rooster waking him at all
hours and although there was an ordinance in place he was not getting any resolution to
the problem.
MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and
passed unanimously to add this item to the agenda as an urgency item.
Staff advised Council that they were working with the parties involved and hoped
agreement could be reached. A notice of nuisance abatement had been filed and if
mediation did not resolve the problem, a public hearing would be scheduled for the July
20`x' Council Meeting.
• Mr. Hyman further noted that they would try mediation again but he wanted the nuisance
abatement process to proceed in case mediation did not work.
Council assured Mr. Hyman that the process would continue. They also asked staff to
obtain another noise meter reading from the Sheriff's Department if the matter went to a
public hearing.
Jim Steiner, 14195 Wild Plum, thanked Dauber for all of her work as Mayor during the
past year.
Luis Yanez, 26879 Moody, referred to the Mayor's goals as stated at the beginning of the
meeting. He concurred with these goals and further suggested that the building permit
fees be eliminated for residents building sewers. Mr. Yanez also supported bringing plan
check in house as he believed this would eliminate redundancy.
11. PUBLIC HEARINGS
11.1 Adoption of proposed Town Budget for the fiscal year 2000-01 and the
Appropriations Limit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001 and amending
the Town's Compensation Schedule for Fiscal Year 2000-1 --
Resolutions#
•
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• MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Cheng, seconded by Johnson and
passed unanimously to adopt Resolution #43-00 adopting the Town budget for fiscal year
2000-01 and the appropriations limit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001 and
Resolution#44-00 amending the Town's compensation schedule for Fiscal Year 2000-01
11.2 Introduction of proposed ordinance of the Town of Los Altos Hills amending
Sections 10-1.501(b), 10-1.502(c) and 10-1.503(c) of the Zoning Code with
regard to development area, calculations for fire department turnarounds and
driveway width, and with regard to allowable development area and floor area
on constrained lots (FIRST READING)
Jim Abraham, 12831 Viscaino Road, recommended not changing Section 10-1.5030. He
believed regulations were onerous enough without reducing the allowed amount of floor
area. He did not agree with the proposed reduction from 4,000 to 3,500 square feet. He
also believed relaxing the rules on slope lots as he believed these regulations were the
basis for a lot of the confusion and problems.
Al Whaley, 26925 Taaffe, did not support this proposed ordinance. Ordinances should
come from a set of principles and first values and he did not believe this ordinance did.
This appeared to be subjective. He believed that Council had to accept that ratios may be
off of house to land on smaller lots just so people could have space to live. More
homework needed to be done on this ordinance. Drainage, aesthetics and views need to be
• worked into an understandable set of principles which were more mathematical and based
on principles rather than subjectivity.
Dot Schreiner, Planning Commissioner, presented an historical background. First, she
corrected the Planning Commission vote as stated in the staff report. The vote was
unanimous, not four to one that the ordinance be passed. She supported 6,000 square foot
floor area and 15,000 square foot development area be included for a one acre lots as
endorsed by the Town because this was the concept that the Town started from and set the
tone for any changes to constrained lots. Presently 4,000 maximum floor area (MFA) and
5,000 maximum development area(MDA) were allowed on constrained lots at .50 luf and
over. These were artificial numbers and had no reference to the slope ordinance that the
rest of the Town had to follow. 4,000 MFA in most cases was 25% higher than what was
allowed for flat lots of one acre. The most a flat lot was allowed was 6,000 square feet. A
.50 luf would result in a figure of 3,000 and we are allowing 4,000. Conversely, the MDA
allowed was 5,000 which was too small. It was impossible to have a 4,000 square foot
house with a driveway a turnaround, etc. unless you reduced the floor area and no one
wanted to do this. Therefore variances have been requested. The proposed ordinance
followed the same principles of the slope density ordinance and if the garage was included
as part of the floor area,part of the problem would be solved.
Scott Tilley, 26217 Dori Lane, did not think the Section 10-1.5030 should be changed.
The restrictions were already onerous enough. He also did not think this would decrease
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• the number of variances but may even increase these requests. They were hoping to
increase their home from about 2,300 to 4,000 and found the planning and permit process
difficult. Rules can be confusing as exemplified by the fact that he could not find out if
this ordinance would apply to their lot or not.
Ken Olcott12950 Brendel Drive believed the ordinance needed morep unch. Incentives
should also be in place. For example, staff should be allowed to give people options such
as allowing them to use turf block. He supported helping people minimize the non-
countable space.
Kaiman Lee, 26799 Magdalena Road, stated that he had bought a 1 and '/2 acre lot with a
.7 luf in 1989. He had been waiting to proceed with his plans for a variety of reasons
including financial and if the rules were changed now he would be very upset.
Furthermore, if the carport was now included, his numbers would be reduced even more.
Even if there was a grace period, he would still feel pressured to complete his project
quickly. Mr. Lee highly recommended making the rules easier to understand for the
public.
Tom Larch, 11640 Summitwood Road, questioned the proposed reduction from 4,000 to
3,500 square feet. He did not get a sense that this was a real problem in Town and people
were saying that the 4,000 square foot homes were too big. Concerning quarter and half-
acre lots, he believed that the Town may just have to treat these as exceptions and deal
with them that way.
Council agreed that more work needed to be done on the ordinance and the following
issues also needed to be looked at: intent of slope density ordinance, 60' road right of way,
the counting of decks in the development area and 14' driveways instead of 10'. Dauber
suggested forming a subcommittee of two Councilmembers and two Planning
Commissioners to work on this ordinance but Casey disagreed stating that in her opinion it
was the job of the Planning Commission to review such issues.
MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and
passed unanimously to send the proposed ordinance amending Sections 10-1.501(b), 10-
1.502(c) and 10-1.503(c) of the Zoning Code with regard to development area,
calculations for fire department turnarounds and driveway width, and with regard to
allowable development area and floor area on constrained lots back to the Planning
Commission for additional review and recommendation and.a report back to the Council at
a future meeting. It was further directed that this Planning Commission Meeting would be
noticed to the residents.
11.3 Request for a site development permit for a new residence, Lands of Vidovich,
28080 Laura Court
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John Vidovich, applicant, raised four issues he wished the Council to consider: the paint
color restriction, the conservation easement, the fire sprinkler system and grading before
soils testing. He questioned if the paint restriction was a standard condition; did not agree
with the additional conservation easement; preferred using hydrants rather than
sprinklers; and wanted to grade before final soils testing.
Sandra Humphries, member of the Environmental Design and Protection Committee,
questioned the applicants the grading request and expressed her concerns about disturbing
the oak trees.
Johnson noted that there had been no neighbor complaints on this project. The house was
being built in just about the only place it could be and had been lowered five feet. Dauber
noted that this was a nicely designed house and she believed Council should give staff
discretion to work with applicant on color after framing to determine if it was visible.
Dauber also supported retaining the foliage on the hillside.
MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and
passed unanimously to approve the request for a site development permit for a new
residence at 28080 Laura Court, Lands of Vidovich with the following notations:
condition #1 on paint colors may be waived if the Planning Director determines at the
time of framing that the structure is not visually prominent; condition #4 on the
conservation easement is deleted; condition #21 on the fire sprinkler system may be
• waived if the Fire Department determines that other fire protection measures (e.g. fire
hydrant) are acceptable substitutes; and applicant will work with staff on his request to
grade before final soils testing.
13. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was
adjourned at 11:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia Dowd
City Clerk
The minutes of the June 15, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting were approved at the
July 20, 2000 City Council Meeting.
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