Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/18/1999 (2) Minutes of a Special Meeting November 18, 1999 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Special Meeting Thursday,November 18, 1999, 5:00 P.M. Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mayor Dauber called the Special Meeting of the City Council to order at 5:05 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Dauber and Councilmembers Casey, Finn, Johnson and Siegel Absent: None Staff: City Manager Mark Miller, City Attorney Sandy Sloan,Planning Director Curtis Williams and City Clerk Pat Dowd Press: Leslie Martin, Los Altos Town Crier Mayor Pro Tem Finn and Councilmember Siegel stepped down from consideration of the public hearing on Lands of Finn. 2. PUBLIC HEARING: REQUEST TO AMEND AN APPROVED SITE DEVELOPMENT PERMIT AND VARIANCE FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A SCHOOLHOUSE, TO ALLOW GRADING OF TERRACES AND RETAINING WALLS, LANDS OF FINN, 12000 FINN LANE Casey stated that she appealed the Planning Commission's denial of this project because she attended that Commission Meeting and felt that they ignored the substance of what improvements Mayor Pro Tem Finn had made to his property. Steve Finn, applicant, addressed the Council concerning his project. He stated that the originally scheduled Planning Commission Meeting date had been changed and he was unable to attend on the new date. He sent his landscape architect, Ken Schoppet,to represent him but unfortunately Mr. Schoppet did not have all the information. Finn referred to his 12/2/98 meeting with the Planning Director, Curtis Williams. Finn stated that they discussed his project at this meeting and he left with an understanding that he could proceed with his plans for the property. Finn further commented that over the years he had dealt at a staff level with several aspects of his property(such as adding the November 18, 1999 Special City Council Meeting 1 iwidow's walk,moving the swimming pool, and increasing the height of the carriage house) and had received approval to proceed at the staff level. Concerning the variance, he noted that this was to move 103 square feet from one lot to the other to fit in the development area of the schoolhouse. Finn stated that a pre-meeting for a final inspection had been conducted by the Associate Planner and the Associate Engineer and everything was fine with the project. He was then advised that indeed it did have to go to the Planning Commission but the Interim City Manager at that time, Bill Norton, stated that he would be receiving a favorable recommendation from the Planning Director. Because of this he had not attended the Commission Meeting. Had he known his project was not going to have a favorable recommendation from staff, he would have asked for a postponement so he could be present. Finn also addressd the issue of grading and tree removal. He believed minimal grading had taken place and no healthy trees had been removed. The Planning Director stated that his recollection of the December 2nd meeting included a discussion about election issues and policies in general but no specifics about Finn's project. No approvals were given at this meeting. The Planning Director reported that in 1997 Finn had received a site development permit and a variance to allow increased floor area to accommodate the rebuilding of an old schoolhouse. In August of 1999 staff inspected the project and determined that substantial grading had taken place and retaining walls constructed that were not in the approved conditions. It would be necessary for the applicant to request an amendment to the approved site development • permit from the Plannning Commission. At the 10/27/99 meeting the Planning Commission voted to deny the requested amendment. Barbara Arden, 24911 Prospect, stated her support of the Finn project. She also referred to a petition signed by the neighbors of the work he had done. She stated that the estate was beautiful and a wonderful addition to the Town. Mrs. Shabnam Jain, 28510 Matadero Creek Lane, supported the Finn project and stated that she believed it was a case of micromanagement by the Town. She further noted that they had had many misunderstandings with staff when doing their project. Sandra Humphries, 26238 Fremont Road, questioned the landscaping on this property and the negative affect on it due to the excessive work that had been done. Betsy Bertram, 11854 Page Mill Road, questioned the issue of process and asked if she too could get a verbal approval for work she wanted done. Mary Calderon, 12200 Kate Drive, commented that she had gone to the Finn property and you could not see anything unless you actually drove onto the property. She noted that one of the Planning Commission's findings was the increased visibility of the project. She did not understand this since it was not visible at all. She further noted that it had the support of all the neighbors. Mrs. Calderon believed it would be a waste of Town money • to require this project be changed which would result in road repair. She believed the Town should move on. November 18, 1999 Special City Council Meeting 2 Michael Scott, 27856 Black Mountain Road, referred to his issue of the pond and commented that he thought the Town was entering rather absurd areas of review. Mildred Gallo, 25720 La Lanne Court, commented on the rural atmosphere of the Town. She believed that to retain this atmosphere everyone, especially Town officials, needed to follow the rules. Jim Steiner, 14195 Wild Plum Lane, stated that the most important principle was that the laws of the Town should be obeyed. Casey questioned the process noting that nothing built on Finn's property was a violation of the Town's Codes. The Planning Director pointed out that building without a permit was a violation. Casey questioned staff regarding others who had done work on their property without permit who were able to apply for and get a permit after the fact. To her knowledge this was the Town process when the work done was not a code violation as in the Finn site development permit application. Dauber questioned Finn about the original plans for the project and the findings as prepared by Finn for the variance. In particular the finding that the placement of the schoolhouse would require minimal grading, when in fact much grading was done. Johnson stated that he agreed with everything he had heard. The screening of this work was not an issue but doing the work without permit was. Johnson believed compromise, consistency and fairness were important. Johnson referred to the A Wong case when the Council had determined to allow a certain period • of time to allow him to correct the violations. Johnson believed that set a precedent and the same should be done in this instance. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Casey and passed by the following roll call vote to continue the application for Lands of Finn; to request the applicant to work with the Planning Director on correcting the violiations and to direct staff to bring this matter back to the Council in sixty days with a report. AYES: Mayor Dauber and Councilmembers Casey and Johnson NOES: None ABSTAIN: Mayor Pro Tem Finn and Councilmember Siegel Dauber stated her concern about a perception for the entire Town that might be seen from this discussion. She wanted it to be very clear that one should not get the idea that work could be done without permits and then permits could be obtained after the fact. This was not the way the process worked. Betsy Bertram, 11854 Page Mill Road, commented that she thought the Wong and Finn incidents had set a precedent in the Town that one could get a permit but do what they wanted and it would be allowed. Mildred Gallo, 25720 La Lanne Court, asked if Wong and Finn were being treated the same for their violations would Finn also be required to step down if his violations were not corrected by a certain date. November 18, 1999 Special City Council Meeting 3 3. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR 4. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss,the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Dowd City Clerk The minutes of the November 18, 1999 Special City Council Meeting were approved at the December 2, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting. • November 18, 1999 Special City Council Meeting 4