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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/04/2000 • Minutes of a Regular Meeting g May 4, 2000 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Regular Meeting Thursday, May 4, 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 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Dauber and Councilmembers Casey, Cheng, Finn and Johnson Absent: None Staff: City Manager Mark Miller, City Attorney Sandy Sloan, Planning • Director Curtis Williams, Public Works Manager Jim Rasp and Pat Dowd, City Clerk Press: Clyde Noel, Los Altos Town Crier MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Finn and passed unanimously to add an urgency item to the agenda for a Closed Session to discuss the performance evaluation of the City Manager, the hiring of a Planning Director and a possible lawsuit involving the Town. Dauber reminded everyone of the Great CHAC Duck Race being put on May 6t' by the Community Health Awareness Council. This was an excellent organization that helped many through difficult times and Council urged everyone to support this major fundraiser for the organization. 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS 2.1 Presentation by Sun Country Cable David Kinley, President — Sun Country Cable, reported that the owners of Sun Country Cable, Pacific Sun Cable Partners, were in the process of selling Sun Country as part of the sale of all of its assets. USA Media had purchased the other cable systems, located primarily on Oregon and s May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 1 Washington. The deadline for accepting bids had been extended to allow conversations to take place at an upcoming conference in New Orleans. Mr. Kinley apologized to the Council for any inconvenience. He noted that they had to turn the system over to someone who had the financial capability to expand and upgrade the cable system. In response to comments by Council on complaints received regarding service, Mr. Kinley stated that they were indeed still responsible for maintaining the service and were responding to service requests. He asked Council to forward to his attention the names and phone numbers of anyone filing a complaint concerning cable services. 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT The Planning Director reported on the following application discussed at the 4/26/00 Planning Commission Meeting: Lands of Birnbaum, 27760 Edgerton Road: request for a site development permit modification requesting deletion of a condition of approval which required the installation of a IIB path adjacent to Edgerton Road — directed staff to work with applicant and Pathway Committee to determine location of path. In addition an ordinance was discussed prohibiting irregularly shaped lots and this matter was scheduled to be heard by the City Council at a public hearing on June 1St. An ordinance on constrained lots was also discussed and the Planning Director asked for direction on when Council wanted to schedule this public hearing and what notification they wanted done. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Finn and passed unanimously to schedule a public hearing on the ordinance concerning constrained lots for the • June 15th Council Meeting, to send a notice to all residents, to include a notice in the Town Newsletter and to send press releases to both the Civic Association and the Hills 2000. It was further agreed that the Planning Director would email a copy of the proposed notice to the Council for comment. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR Items Removed: 4.1 —3/16/00 and 4/6/00 minutes (Casey), 4.3 and 4.6 (request from applicants to continue to next meeting), 4.5 (Dauber) and 4.6 (removed from agenda—request withdrawn) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Finn and passed unanimously to approve the balance of the Consent Calendar, specifically: 4.1 Approved Minutes: March 22, 2000 (Special Meeting) March 31, 2000 (Special Meeting) 4.2 Accepted Investment Report for the Quarter ended 3/31/00 4.4 Approved request for a lot line adjustment, 26401 and 26411 Eshner Court, Lands of LeFevre and Yanez • May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 2 Items Removed: 4.1 Approval of Minutes: March 16, 2000 (Regular Meeting) April 6, 2000 (Regular Meeting) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Finn, seconded by Dauber and passed by the following roll call vote to approve the minutes of the March 16, 2000 City Council Meeting with the following corrections: page 2, Item 4.1, change the word `need' to `should' in the last sentence; and on page 9, Item 10, add the following to Dauber's comments: ". . .working on this issue and the County had resolved the issues with the unions." AYES: Mayor Dauber and Councilmembers Casey, Finn and Johnson NOES: None ABSTAIN: Councilmember Cheng MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Finn, seconded by Dauber and passed by the following roll call vote to approve the minutes of the April 6, 2000 City Council Meeting with the following corrections: page 3, Item 6.1, motion made by Cheng not Casey, page 4, Les Earnest referred to the lift station on O'Keefe not Elena, and page 5, third paragraph, insert the following sentence: "Finn and Cheng stated their preference that a separate committee on recreation be formed and its charges be drafted by Cheng and brought to the next Council meeting for review." • AYES: Mayor Dauber and Councilmember Cheng and Finn NOES: None ABSTAIN: Councilmembers Casey and Johnson 4.5 Approval of site development permit for new residence and pool, Lands of Owen Companies, 26208 Maurer Lane (Fast Track) Dauber noted that the present house was being torn down and she questioned the recycling of the demolition materials. Staff noted that a condition of approval was included that addressed the recycling of such materials. Betsy Bertram, 11854 Page Mill Road, commented that there were organizations that would take materials that the Los Altos Garbage Company would not take and she would get this information to the Planning Director. The Public Works Manager noted that he had handouts available from the Integrated Waste Management Group on recyclable materials. -MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously to approve a site development permit for a new residence and pool for Lands of Owen Companies, 26208 Maurer Lane (Fast Track) May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 3 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 5.1 Update on Proposal for Council agreement to accept a proposed sanitary sewer lift station as public The City Manager gave an oral report noting that the consultant had been hired to work on getting the information on this issue Council had requested but to date a written report had not been received. Council requested a complete report on this issue at the next meeting including any difficulties with lift stations presently in place. Dauber suggested that the neighbors of the current lift stations be asked to comment on any problems, etc. 5.2 Statement of Council Policy on Roadside Paths Casey believed that obtaining paths in Town on a piecemeal basis was wasteful and a better use of the Town's resources would be to obtain in lieu fees and put in the entire path at one time. She also believed it was the responsibility of the Town to maintain its paths. Casey referred to the Quarry Subdivision as a clear case of the path policy making no sense. The paths that were required of the subdivision and put in were never used and now as the homes were being built the paths were being replaced. Finn suggested giving residents the option of putting in the path if they wanted to rather than paying the in lieu fee. Casey and Cheng did not agree with giving the option, referring to the problem of maintainence of the paths once they were constructed. Finn • also suggested looking at the Town's main arteries as priorities and committing the budget to getting a certain number of paths done a year. Council agreed that the in lieu fee at the present level of$7 per linear foot of road frontage was too low and needed to be increased. Betsy Bertram, 11854 Page Mill Road, agreed that paths on the entire street should be in place before the path was put in and in lieu fees should be obtained. She further commented that easements should be obtained however so that the Town would have the option when the path was needed. Alan Goldsoble, Miranda Road, supported organized attainment of paths. Nancy Ewald, 26131 Altadena, recommended raising the in lieu fees. Ginger Summit, 13390 Lenox Way, suggested getting in lieu fees from those who would not be getting a path on their side of the street. She felt this was a fairness issue. Also, getting the paths and putting them in when available acted as place markers. If it was not done this way then residents quite possibly would put in landscaping which would have to be removed when a path was put in later. She did not think this would be well received. Scott Vanderlip, 13851 Fremont Pines Lane, recommended continuing with the policy in place. He believed it was a safety issue in that one could walk on the paths at least part of the time and be off the roads. May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 4 Mr. Ewald, 26131 Altadena, did not think this issue could be addressed unless Council agreed to commit the money necessary to put the paths in and maintain them and to accept the fact that they will never get 100% compliance. Sandy Humphries, 26238 Fremont Road, stated that the maintenance of the current paths needed to be much better. She also requested that Council hold a public hearing on this matter before any decision was made. Carol Gottlieb, 24290 Summerhill, noted that her area of Town did not get any maintenance done on their paths and she believed that all areas in Town should be treated equitably. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously to agendize for the 5/18/00 Council Meeting a more accurate report on what the in lieu fees should be to adequately cover costs; to schedule a public hearing on this issue; and to allow applicants to decide if they want to put in paths or pay an in lieu fee while Council is deciding what changes to make to this policy. 5.3 Consideration of formation of new standing committee on recreational programs in Town of Los Altos Hills Casey, Cheng and Finn supported the establishment of a separate recreation committee and appointing Patty Radlo, Rebecca Hickman and Jane Kawasaki as members. Dauber supported • the establishment of a separate committee but objected to making appointments at this meeting rather than going through the process of advertising for members. She supported this ad hoc committee of parents to continue working with the Pathways Committee on their summer programs while a new separate committee was being established. Patty Radlo, Rebecca Hickman and Jane Kawasaki each addressed the Council concerning the programs they had described at the last Council Meeting for summer recreation programs in the Town. While suggesting that they move forward at this time as an ad hoc committee on recreation issues, they agreed to accept official appointment to a newly established committee so that their planned programs could move forward. Council noted that they had agreed at the last meeting to provide the liability insurance for these events, contribute $1,500 for start up expenses and establish a new recreation committee. Scott Vanderlip and Diane Barrager, Co-Chairmen of the Pathways Committee thanked the Council for their interest in recreation programs. They recommended continuing these recreation programs under the umbrella of the Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee at this time and evaluating the recreation programs. They felt it was a duplication of efforts at this time to stop and establish a separate recreation committee. Betsy Bertram, 11854 Page Mill Road, commented that the Town was a rural, agriculture zoned community and it made sense for these programs to be a part of the Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee. She also suggested the involvement of 4-H programs. May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 5 • Taylor Goldsobel, 14415 Miranda Ct. commented that the formation of a new recreation committee seemed like a great idea and she did not understand why the Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee did not agree. Evan Wythe, 13828 Moon Lane, suggested clearly defining the boundaries of these two committees. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Finn, seconded by Casey and passed by the following roll call vote to establish a Recreation and Parks Committee that shall consist of a minimum of three and maximum of seven members. The committee, whose members should be parents, shall serve as an advisory body to the Council on matters related to year round recreational programs and activities. All the programs will be approved by the City Council. The committee will work with the Board of Westwind Barn and Byrne Preserve on recreational activities. AYES: Mayor Pro Tem Finn and Councilmembers Casey, Cheng and Johnson NOES: Mayor Dauber Dauber objected to forming this committee in such a prescriptive manner. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Finn, seconded by Casey and passed by unanimously to appoint Patty Radlo, Rebecca Hickman and Jane Kawasaki to the Recreation and • Parks Committee for four year terms. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Finn, seconded by Casey and passed by the following roll call vote to modify the description and charges of the Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee as follows: delete reference to recreation and parks; delete the following phrase in section (d)(i): including whenever feasible, residents involved in recreational activities and orgranizations and school parents associations; delete section (d)(g) and delete the word `parklands' from section(d)(i). AYES: Mayor Pro Tem Finn and Councilmembers Casey, Cheng and Johnson NOES: Mayor Dauber Dauber disagreed with deleting parks from this committee. She believed it was too much to add parks to the new recreation committee. 5.4 Discussion of status of ownership of Almaden Court The following residents addressed the Council with their request for the Town to accept Almaden Court as a public street and furthermore for the Town to repair the street: Joe Arnold, 26951 Alamaden Court, Greg McCandless, 26777 Almaden Court, Rudy Cazanjian, 26920 Almaden Court, Adrian and Claire Mandel, 26929 Almaden Court and Paul Stashower, 26993 Alamden Court. They referred to the damage done to the road as a result of the Liu project and the large 0 May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 6 . number of trucks that removed dirt from the Liu property. They strongly believed that the damage to their road was a direct result of this project and believed it was the Town's responsibility to repair this damage. They did not agree with the City Engineer's report that in his opinion the damage that had been done by the Liu project had been repaired and that Almaden Court had experienced groundwater problems before the Liu project. The City Engineer furthermore did not believe a case could be made that construction issues related to the Liu project resulted in special circumstances which were necessary for the Town to undertake the repairs at this time. Council commented that the Town might consider accepting responsibility for some of the damage caused by the Liu project but acknowledge that some of the road damage was the result of normal wear and tear over 35 years. The project should be one of shared costs. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To continue this item directing staff to bring back a report on the costs involved to bring Almaden Court up to accepted standards and to report on the percentage of costs related to the truck traffic from the Liu project. 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Presentation by residents of Mora Drive of a Mora Drive Sewer Extension Request Mr. Hal Feeney addressed the Council on behalf of the residents on Mora Drive who were • requesting a sewer extension. He noted that a group of about 30 neighbors had formed a neighborhood committee with the purpose of installing a sewer line. Presently they were all on septic systems which were in varying stages of disrepair. The participating neighbors would privately fund this project. They were before the Council because this area was in the Town's Sphere of Influence and Urban Service Area. They were proposing to connect to an existing sewer line in Los Altos and at the connection point the sewer line was in the County. The County Local Agency Formation Commission,the organization which would be considering this application,had indicated that it would be helpful if the Town acknowledged that it might at some time in the future be willing to annex this area. Mr. Enrique Klein also addressed the Council on this issue stating that they would be preparing all the necessary documents and would pay all Town expenses related to this request. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Casey and passed by the following roll call vote to approve the request to support an out-of-agency proposal to LAFCO on behalf of the Mora Drive Sewer Project with the statement that the Town had no plans to annex this area at the present time but may sometime in the future. In addition Council stated that all expenses related to this application would be paid by the applicant and they would also prepare all the paperwork thus requiring minimal staff review time. May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 7 AYES: Mayor Pro Tem Finn and Councilmembers Casey, Cheng and Johnson NOES: Mayor Dauber Dauber stated that she voted no because she believed this procedure violated LAFCO policy and furthermore the Town's staff had other priorities rather than serving County residents. 6.2 Council Appointments to Committees, Sub-Committees and Outside Agencies PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To approve the following appointments to Committees, Sub- Committees and Outside Agencies: Committee Liaison Community Relations Emily Cheng Environmental Design and Protection Steve Finn Finance Elayne Dauber Pathways, Recreation and Parks Toni Casey Safety Bob Johnson Utility and Information Systems Committee Toni Casey and Steve Finn Youth Commissioner Mayor Exhibit Curator Mayor • Town Historian Mayor Volunteer Awards Steve Finn Appointments to Outside Agencies ABAG Emily Cheng Elayne Dauber (alternate) Community Health Awareness Council Rory Kaplan (CHAC) City Selection Mayor Emergency Preparedness Council Mayor League of California Cities -Peninsula Elayne Dauber Division Los Altos Hills County Fire Protection District Bob Johnson Commission Sid Hubbard Los Altos Senior Coordinating Council Ramona Chown North County Library Authority Elayne Dauber Dottie Harrison-Brown • May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 8 • Joint Powers Authority Library Board Elayne Dauber Valley Transportation Authority Policy Advisory Board Emily Cheng Santa Clara County Library Commission Barbara Lamparter Dottie Harrison Brown Santa Clara Valley Water Commission Elayne Dauber Santa Clara Valley Water District Elayne Dauber Northwest Flood Control Advisory Jim Rasp (alternate) Committee Santa Clara County Cities Toni Casey Association Elayne Dauber(alternate) Santa Clara County Cities Toni Casey Association Legislative Task Force Santa Clara County Housing and Community Gloria Shiff Development Citizens Advisory Committee • Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network Toni Casey Council on Tax and Fiscal Policy City/Schools Breakfast Forum Peggy Esber Bicycle Advisory Committee, Santa Clara Les Earnest County Transportation Authority Los Altos Sister Cities Bill Sun General Plan Committee To be determined/not currently active Council Sub-Committees: Newsletter Elayne Dauber Bob Johnson Solid Waste Toni Casey Steve Finn Website Bob Johnson • William Siegel May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 9 Review of Design Guidelines Booklet Toni Casey Elayne Dauber 7. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, SUB-COMMITTEES, AND COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES 7.1 Safety Committee 7.1.1 Request for an increase in committee membership from seven to eight MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Finn and passed unanimously to approve the request to increase in the membership of the Safety Committee from seven to eight. 7.1.2 Request for direction to proceed with conducting research on neighboring emergency preparedness programs PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To authorize the Safety Committee to proceed with conducting research on neighboring emergency preparedness programs. 7.2 Pathways Committee • Scott Vanderlip, Co-Chairman of the Pathways Committee, referred to the upcoming Town Newsletter and asked that a copy of the recreation guide and a copy of the Town's pathway map be included with this newsletter. Council noted this request was not on the agenda and agreed to add it as an urgency item. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Finn and passed unanimously to add the request from the Pathways Committee requesting that a copy of the recreation guide and a copy of the Town's pathway map be included with this newsletter to the agenda as an urgency item. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To authorize mailing a copy of the Town's pathway map (full size if possible) with the newsletter and to authorize including with the newsletter an article and guide on recreation opportunities in the Town. The article was modified somewhat to delete references to the Pathways Parks and Recreation Committee and to refer instead to the Pathways Committee and the newly established Recreation and Parks Committee. 8. STAFF REPORTS 8.1 City Manager 8.1.1 Tentative Council Budget Workshop scheduled for Friday, May 26th 10:00 a.m. to noon May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 10 i PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To schedule a Budget Study Session for 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 1St 8.2 City Attorney 8.3 City Clerk 8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence 9. COUNCIL-INITIATED ITEMS 9.1 Restatement of Council Policy on Planning Commissioners speaking on applications at Council Meetings (Councilmember Casey) PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To restate the policy adopted on November 20, 1996 stating that Planning Commissioners should not speak at Council Meetings as Planning Commissioners. If they wanted, they could identify themselves as a resident and speak to an application. However, it was the preference of the Council that unless they had stepped down from the discussion at the Planning Commission,they not speak at Council Meetings on a particular issue. 9.2 Bay Area Water Users Association Symposium(Councilmember Cheng) Cheng reported on a 4/14/00 meeting she had attended at which the Water Supply Master Plan • was discussed. She noted that this symposium was sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Area Water Users Association and it was hoped that the Town would support this agency's work. Cheng noted that she would keep Council advised of ongoing reports on this subject. 9.3 City Action Days—Sacramento (Councilmember Casey) Casey requested authorization to attend a two day session in Sacramento as part of her participation on the Santa Clara County Cities Association Legislative Task Force. Council suggested that the Cities Association would probably pay the expenses but if they-did not the Town would for Councilmember Casey to attend these sessions. 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Betsy Bertram, 11854 Page Mill Road, noted that a mural done by students at Bullis School was on display in downtown Los Altos. She believed that these students should be recognized by the Council since Bullis was in Los Altos Hills and that the mural should be on display in the Town. John Harpoothian, 26435 Anacapa, recommended that the Town broadcast their Council Meetings on the local FM station at Foothill College (89.7). He understood this could be implemented in one to two months. This was referred to the Utility and Information Systems Committee. • May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 11 • Alan Goldsobel, 14415 Miranda Court, raised the issue of deposits in the amount of approximately $9,000 being held by the Town on his projects. He first questioned a $2,500 deposit for damage done to the road when in fact this road was going to be repaved by the Town anyway as a part of one of its projects. Secondly, he questioned a $4,000 deposit for a path in front of his property. On his street three out of thirteen homes had paths. He stated he would be glad to put in this path if it went someplace. He believed that path system in Town needed to be addressed in a more orderly fashion. Dr. Bob Rutner, 10632 Magdalena, referred to a sewer line project he was working on and asked for clarification of the permit fees being required by the Town. He believed the fees were excessively high for a project that he was doing Council agreed that staff would bring reports on both of these issues to the May 18th Council Meeting. Cyrous Gheyri, 27400 Elena Road, criticized staff for the amount of time it had taken to work on his project. He stated that the Planning Director had imposed unfair and prejudiced requirements on his project and that new conditions were imposed after his project had been approved. Mr. Gheyri stated that he would sue the Town if he encountered any more obstacles with his project. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: Council directed Cheng and Finn to review the file on Mr. Gheyri's application and to work with staff and Mr. Gheyri toward resolving this issue and bring a report back to Council. • Luis Yanez, 26879 Moody Road, referred to extending a sewer line on his street and he was requesting information from the Town on what costs would be involved so he could discuss it with his neighbors. It was agreed the City Manager would send Mr. Yanez this information. Sylvia Leung, member of the Community Relations Committee, reminded everyone to come to the Spring Picnic on May 21St 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS 11.1 Request for a conditional use permit review for existing construction equipment and vehicle storage yard at 12060 Elsie Way,Lands of Taaffe MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously to find that the applicant was in substantial compliance with the conditions of approval for a conditional use permit for existing construction equipment and vehicle storage yard for Lands of Taaffe at 12060 Elsie Way, with the deletion of the section in condition #6 requiring the applicant to install permanent toilet facilities. 11.2 Request to subdivide a 2.27 acre parcel into two lots and a proposed negative declaration, 14350 Manuella Road, Lands of Barth • May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 12 Susan Roberts, Giuliani & Kull, stated, in response to an inquiry from Casey, that a topographic survey had already been done on this project and it did not appear that any additional survey work would need to be done. Dauber inquired about the trees on the property and it was determined that this was a site development issue. Dauber also asked about the drainage from Lot 2 exiting onto Lot 1. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To amend condition of approval#19 to read as follows: "Access to Lot 2 from Manuella Road shall be prohibited." and to add a condition stating that "The energy dissipater for the approved residence on Lot 1 shall be relocated to avoid impacts on Lot 2, to the satisfaction of the City Engineer,prior to issuance of a building permit for Lot L" MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Finn and passed unanimously to adopt the proposed negative declaration and approve the request for a two lot subdivision of a 2.27 acre parcel for Lands of Barth at 14350 Manuella Road, based on the findings as determined by the Planning Commission and the conditions of approval as recommended by the Planning Commission and amended by Council. 12. CLOSED SESSION: PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54957: 12.1 Public Employee Performance Evaluation—City Manager 12.2 Public Employment—Planning Director • The City Council adjourned to a Closed Session regarding personnel at 11:40 p.m. and reconvened at 12:50 a.m. Council returned to open session to report, if necessary, any actions taken. The City Attorney reported that the Council took the following action: Mayor Pro Finn and Councilmember Casey would be interviewing the final two candidates for the Planning Director position. 13. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 1:00 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Dowd City Clerk • The minutes of the May 4, 2000 City Council Meeting were approved at the May 18, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting. May 4, 2000 Regular City Council Meeting 13