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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/06/1999 Minutes of a Regular Meeting January 6, 1999 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Regular Meeting Wednesday, January 6, 1999, 6:00 P.M. Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mayor Johnson called the Regular Meeting of the City Council to order at 6:05 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Johnson and Councilmembers Casey, Dauber, Finn and Siegel Absent: None Staff: City Manager/City Engineer Jeff Peterson, City Attorney Sandy Sloan, Planning Director Curtis Williams, Public Works Manager Jim Rasp and City Clerk Pat Dowd Press: Carol Tiegs, Los Altos Town Crier 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS • 2.1 Appointment to Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee Since the applicant for the Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee was not present due to illness, it was agreed to continue this appointment to a meeting which she would be able to attend. 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT The Planning Director reported that the following items had been discussed at the 12/9/98 Planning Commission Meeting: Lands of Rabbani, 25630 Darling Lane: approved request for a modification to delete a condition of approval requiring the installation of a fire hydrant; Lands of Patmore and Zarcone, 27690 Central Drive: approved request for a site development permit for a 3,551 square foot new residence (maximum height 21 feet), including parking and storage areas; and recommended approval of an ordinance requiring a minimum of two parking spaces to be enclosed in a garage. The following two items were continued to the 1/13/99 Planning Commission Meeting: Lands of Denny and Ventura, 25400 and 25398 La Loma Drive—request for a lot line adustment and Lands of St.Nicholas School, 12816 El Monte Avenue: request for a site development permit and an amendment to a conditional use permit for additions of 3,688 square feet for a science classroom, expanded daycare and restrooms with a maximum height of 17'9" and a negative declaration. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Siegel and passed unanimously to approve the Consent Calendar, specifically: January 6, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting 1 4.1 Approved Minutes: December 1, 1998 (Special Meeting) December 2, 1998 (Regular Meeting) 4.2 Approved Warrants: $845,966.51 (11/25/98— 12/31/98) 4.3 Adopted Ordinance#397 amending Section 2-6.07 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code regarding Conflict of Interest 4.4 Approved request for amendment of maximum contribution to employee health coverage premiums—Reso#1-99 4.5 Issued Proclamation: Recognizing the contributions of the Indochinese Resettlement and Cultural Center, Inc. and its Executive Director, Loc Vu 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 5.1 Adoption of an Ordinance amending Chapter 2, Section 1.101(a) of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code regarding the regular meetings of the City Council to the Town of Los Altos Hills MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Finn and passed unanimously to adopt Ordinance#398 amending Chapter 2, Section 1.101(a) of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code regarding the regular meetings of the City Council to the Town of Los Altos Hills. It was noted that this change of meeting date from Wednesdays tolhursdays would be effective February 18"'. It was agreed that this change should be put on the web a e and the Town Crier • �'Y �' p p g should be asked to include an article on this change in their paper. 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Request from Millennium Committee for financial support Gunilla Cook, Executive Director of the Millennium Committee,referred to her memo in which they were asking the Town for a$5,000 donation. They were also asking that the Town share in the cost of the required services for the evening such as police. Ms. Cook further explained that the committee hoped to achieve a legacy for the future of approximately $200,000. These funds would be available to groups by way of ongoing grant monies and would provide future benefits to both communities. Council supported the contribution of$5,000 toward the general costs of the evening but questioned using Town money for future grant funds. The question of the cost of the tickets to the event was also raised. Council had heard that the tickets to the black tie dinner might be around$300 and they believed this was quite high. Council agreed that more information was needed on the costs of the event and father agreed that the City Manager should contact the Los Altos Police Chief for more details on the police costs for the evening. 6.2 Policy interpretation regarding repainting of residence contrary to condition requiring compliance with Town Color Board, Lands of Chang, 26228 Scarff Way January 6, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting 2 • The Planning Director reported that in March of 1998 the Chang residence was painted prior to receiving its final inspection. However, in September of 1998 the house was repainted a much lighter color than would have been approved by the Town. This matter was now before Council to determine if the repainting was a violation of a condition of approval for the project. Casey commented that the Town's color board applied only to new homes and major remodels. After a project was done an owner could paint a house any color they wanted. Also anyone living in Town and not going through the permit process for a new home or major remodel could paint their house any color they wanted. She believed the Changs should be treated like anyone living in Town. On the general subject of the color board, Casey asked if the Town wanted a color board at all, if so what colors would it include, etc. She believed a public hearing should be scheduled on this subject with notification made to all residents so that public input could be obtained. Dauber stated that the purpose of requiring softer tones was to lessen the impact of new homes and major remodels. However, she agreed that the ordinances should not be a punishment and needed to make sense. The ordinance addressing painting and colors needed to be clarified. Siegel concurred with Dauber. He noted that certain colors were imposed on new homes and major remodels because they were more exposed until the landscaping was matured. He too agreed that the ordinance needed to be clarified, including a statement on why the Town was controlling or not controlling colors. He also suggested including a statement that the color must not be changed for at least four years after final inspection and/or not until the landscaping had taken hold. Johnson agreed that the Changs had not violated the conditions of approval but also noted that the ordinance needed to be clarified. Finn referred to his experience of building his home at which time he was told that he could repaint after final inspection any color he wanted. • Mr. Chang, 26228 Scarff Way, commented that he and his wife were embarrassed by this whole issue. They had repainted their house because the original paint job was not correctly done. He noted that he would work with the neighbors and plant additional trees, etc. to lessen the impact on them. MOTION SECONDED AND FAILED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Dauber and failed by the following roll call vote to instruct staff to reword the condition for'new residences relating to painting to say,with the approval of the City Attorney,that the owner must conform with the approved paint color for a period of three years after the final inspection. AYES: Mayor Pro Tem Dauber and Councilmember Siegel NOES: Mayor Johnson and Councilmembers Casey and Finn MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Siegel and passed unanimously to direct the Planning Director to come back to the Council with revised wording for the following condition to clarify its intent and also to include his reasons for the condition: `Paint colors shall be chosen by the applicant and approved by staff in conformance with the Town's adopted color board, and shall exhibit a light reflectivity value of 50 or less. Roofs shall use materials which have a light reflectivity value of 40 or less. White trim area should be minimized,particularly on large surfaces such as doors, columns,railings, and trellises. A color sample shall be submitted to the Planning Department for approval prior to painting of the exterior of the residence. All applicable structures shall be painted in conformance with the approved color(s)prior to final inspection.' It was further agreed the issue of the Town Color Board would be discussed at a later date. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Johnson and passed • unanimously to state that the Changs repainting of their house at 26228 Scarff Way did not comprise a violation of the conditions of approval for their project. January 6, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting 3 7. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, SUB-COMMITTEES, AND COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES 7.1 Council Appointments to Committees, Subcommittees and Outside Agencies PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To approve the following appointments: Committee Liaison Community Relations William Siegel Environmental Design and Protection Steve Finn Finance Toni Casey/Elayne Dauber Pathways, Recreation and Parks Steve Finn Safety Bob Johnson Technology Improvement Committee Youth Commissioner Mayor Exhibit Curator Mayor Town Historian Mayor Volunteer Awards Bob Johnson Appointments to Outside Agencies ABAG William Siegel 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 William Siegel (alternate) Los Altos Hills County Fire Protection District William Siegel Commission Sid Hubbard Los Altos Senior Coordinating Council Ramona Chown North County Library Authority Elayne Dauber Joint Powers Authority Library Board Elayne Dauber Valley Transportation Authority Policy Advisory Board William Siegel Santa Clara County Library Commission Roger Summit 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 • January 6, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting 4 Santa Clara County Cities Bob Johnson Association Elayne Dauber(alternate) 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 General Plan Committee To be determined/Not currently active Council Sub-Committees: Newsletter Elayne Dauber William Siegel Solid Waste Toni Casey Steve Finn • Website Bob Johnson William Siegel Casey recommended disbanding the current Technology Improvement Committee as it had basically completed its tasks and creating a new committee to oversee utilties such as cable t.v., including a specific sub-committee on the undergrounding of utilities in the Town and other issues such as airport noise. It was agreed that this suggestion would be agendized for Council discussion. 8. STAFF REPORTS 8.1 City Manager 8.1.1 Report on request for the installation of a four-way stop at the intersection of Altamont,Byrne Park Lane and Taaffe Road MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Dauber and passed unanimously to direct staff to install the necessary signs and pavement markings at the intersection of Altamont Road, Byrne Park Lane and Taaffe Road to create a four way sop sign controlled intersection. 8.1.2 Schedule Date for Volunteer Dinner PASSED BY CONSENSUS: Council agreed to set the date of February 25"'for the Volunteer Dinner. January 6, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting 5 • 8.2 City Attorney 8.3 City Clerk 8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence Dauber asked for the status of the letter from Mrs. Pezzolo on Colina as a public street and the City Manager stated that he would be doing an assessment of Colina. 9. COUNCIL-INITIATED ITEMS 9.1 Los Altos Recreation Department(Councilmember Casey) Casey referred to the City Manager's memo which in summary indicated that he had spoken with the Los Altos City Manager about the Town's participation in the recreation programs in Los Altos. He did not see any change in the policy whereby Los Altos residents, who paid the taxes, got first preference for the recreation programs. Council discussed other options so that the Town's residents could participate in recreation programs for their children. One option was a recreation assessment district using other locations such as Hidden Villa and Foothill College for the programs. It was agreed the City Manager would continue discussions with the Los Altos City Manager on the various options available. 9.2 Y2K Compliance and Computer Backup Testing (Mayor Pro Tem Dauber) Dauber asked if the Town was prepared for the year 2000 and also asked if testing had been done • on the computer backup system. Staff confirmed that the Town was ready to start testing. 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Larry Hooser, 24688 Olive Tree Court, addressed Council concerning an erosion issue on their property around the storm drain which was negatively impacting their driveway. He was requesting that the Town provide conduit along the area of erosion. He had contacted Town Hall but had received no response. The City Manager stated that staff would contact Mr. Hooser and a report would be given to the Council. Casey asked that the issue of storm drains be agendized for Council discussion. Sharyn Brown, 27673 Lupine, expressed her concerns about litter in the Town. She thought it was disgraceful and personally spent a lot of time picking up trash. The public needed to be made aware of this ongoing and worsening problem. She suggested articles in the Town Crier, the Town Newsletter and the Palo Alto Weekly. Ms. Brown also submitted a recent article from the San Jose Mercury on this subject. She also suggested that a trash can be placed near the water fountain at Purissima and Arastradero and a trash can be put in the car park at Page Mill. Sandra Humphries, 26238 Fremont Road, stressed the importance of enforcing conditions imposed on new homes, especially those conditions protecting trees. She referred to the project at Edith and Fremont and noted that the fence was too close to the drip line around the oak tree and on the Maurer property on Fremont the redwoods were dying. Dauber suggested that the Building Official check on the tree conditions when he made his inspections. Mr. Fallah, 12374 Priscilla Lane, reported that in September of 1998 he had received approval of a minor addition on this house. One of the conditions of approval for this permit required that a • January 6, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting 6 • sewer plan prepared by a registered civil engineer for the extension of the sewer main from the existing manhole be approved by the City Engineer prior to acceptance of plans for building plan check. Mr. Fallah asked that this condition be deleted and the sewer issue be addressed separately from the building permit. In response to Casey's request that this matter be agendized for discussion, Council agreed that the City Manager would provide them with a report and if, after reading it,they wanted to agendize the matter they could let him know. Jack Elmberg, 26731 Taaffe Road,referred to the status of his subdivision. It was almost complete but there was one condition requiring removal of trees for a future pathway that he did not want to do at this time. He wanted to leave the trees there until the path was actually put in. The City Manager noted that Mr. Elmberg had been given the option of removing the trees or paying $1,000 to the Town for future removal. It was necessary to do one or the other to complete this subdivision. Council agreed that Mr. Elmberg needed to comply with the conditions of his subdivision. Lalla Carsten, representing the Civic Association, asked that the public hearing on the circulation element be continued to the next Council meeting so that they could notify their membership in the newsletter which was being mailed this week. 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS 11.1 Draft Circulation and Scenic Roadways Element of the General Plan, including proposed policies and implementation measures regarding: maintenance and dedication of private roadways; right-of-way widths; the aesthetic design of roadways; road capacities and traffic levels; regional traffic problems; roadway • safety measures; emergency access routes; standards for drainage; reducing impacts of regional traffic; bicycles and other altenate transportation modes; and coordination with the Town's Pathways Element and pathway network; and proposed Negative Declaration(continued from December 2, 1998 meeting) Council discussed the request from Ms. Carsten for a continuance of this public hearing. Dauber did note that this hearing had been included in a Town Newsletter. Council concurred with the request to continue but also agreed that they would discuss the draft element at this meeting and make technical but not philosophical changes to the document. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously to approve the following changes to the draft Circulation and Scenic Roadways Element of the General Plan: page 1, change the word `thought' to `throughout';page 2, second paragraph, amend third sentence to read. . . . . .during peak morning and evening commute hours.';page 3, include the downtown Los Altos business section and show the Quarry Hills Subdivision as developed; page 4, first paragraph under Roadway Classifications, amend second sentence to read: ". . . .emergency access to and from residential areas." and amend the last sentence to read: ". . . .and accommodate paths and drainage utilities.";page 11, first paragraph should read: ". . . .minimum widths required and maximum grades allowed may be . . . ."; page 16, in second objective change "cutoff'to "cut off' and in the fourth policy change "cutoff'to "cut off';page 18 include in the section on Bus Service that the Palo Alto School District provides bus service for elementary and middle school children; page 20, add the following under Implementation Measures: add bus stops at the Park and Ride lot at Page Mill and 280 and also at Magdalena and 280, and encourage better utilization of Deer Creek Road to ease Page Mill Road traffic; page 22, change references to Gerth January.6, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting 7 Lane to Old Page Mill Road; and on page 24, change reference to Gerth Lane to Old Page Mill Road and replace the photo with a better example of a path along a road(possibilities include Finn Lane, La Loma Drive or Taaffe Road). The following suggestions were made by Dauber but it was agreed that they were philosophical and would be discussed on the 20''': page 13, include a policy that stated new development along 280 shall be designed so sound walls are not needed;page 20, rewrite the following policy for better wording: `Bicycle traffic shall be accommodated by discouraging auto traffic and providing adequate road shoulders; bike lanes shall not generally be preferred. The pathway system should provide for off- road bicycle connections between roads where needed and for safe school sites.'; and on page 24 add safer bicycle passage to the following implementation measure `Work with State (Caltrans) and County officials to improve the capacity of the Page Mill Expressway and 1-280/Page Mill Expressway interchange.' MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Finn and passed unanimously to continue the public hearing on the draft Circulation and Scenic Roadways Element to the January 20`h Council Meeting. 11.2 Review of landscape screening plan for a new residence and pool, Lands of Chao and Pang, 25701 Lomita Linda Court Keith Willig, representing the applicants, explained the landscape screening plan for the new residence and pool at 25701 Lomita Linda Court. Brian Carrie, 25655 Fernhill Drive, stated that he believed the plan as presented by Mr. Willig addressed the concerns he had raised in a recent letter about this landscaping project and • potential impact on his home. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Finn, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously to approve the landscape screening plan for 25701 Lomita Linda Court, subject to the recommended conditions of approval. Dauber complimented Mr. Willig on the design he presented for a landscape screening plan. 11.3 Introduction of Ordinance amending Section 10-1.601 (off-street parking) of the Town's Zoning Code to require a minimum of two parking spaces to be enclosed in a garage; and proposed negative declaration(FIRST READING) The Planning Director noted that the ordinance before Council would require that at least two of the four required parking spaces on a site be enclosed in a garage. He further-noted that the Council had considered this issue in September of 1998 and had directed staff and the Planning Commission to review such an ordinance. Linda Brownrigg, 13040 Alta Tierra,noted that if a garage were required on their home, it would totally ruin the design of the house. She questioned the need for this ordinance. Dot Schreiner, Planning Commissioner, noted that applicants could get more floor area by using a car port rather than a garage. Fred Osterlund, 26238 Fremont Road, asked how this ordinance would impact secondary dwellings. • January 6, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting 8 The Planning Director responded that a new secondary dwelling would problably trigger a need to upgrade the property to include a two-car garage. Casey stated that she did not understand what the problem in Town was that would warrant such an ordinance. All new homes had garages anyway. This ordinance would only create non- conforming lots. Dauber commented that one issue was an applicant using the maximum floor area including a car port and then coming back at a later time for a variance to enclose the car port because it was neater. Johnson noted that this ordinance did not provide any exceptions for smaller lots. Finn too questioned how many non-conforming lots would be created and thought this ordinance unnecessary and too burdensome. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Finn, seconded by Casey and passed by the following roll call vote to not introduce the ordinance requiring a minimum of two parking spaces to be enclosed in a garage. AYES: Mayor Johnson and Councilmembers Casey and Finn NOES: Mayor Pro Tem Dauber and Councilmember Siegel 12. CLOSED SESSION: LITIGATION: PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956.9(b) -Excposure to Litigation—one case Council adjourned to a Closed Session regarding litigation at 10:45 p.m. and reconvened at 10:55 p.m. Council returned to open session to report, if necessary, any action taken. 13. ADJOURNMENT • There being no further new or old business to discuss,the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 11:00 p.m. Res ectfully submitted, Patricia Dowd City Clerk The minutes of the January 6, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting were approved at the January 20, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting. January 6, 1999 Regular City Council Meeting 9