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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/21/1998Minutes of a Regular Meeting January 21, 1998 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Regular Meeting Wednesday, January 21, 1998, 6:00 P.M. Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mayor Casey called the Regular Meeting of the City to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Casey and Councilmembers Hubbard and Johnson Absent: Councilmembers Dauber and Siegel 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: None 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS 2.1 Appointment to the Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee Betsy Bertram, 11854 Page Mill Road, stated that she hoped to bring some logic to the Pathways Committee. In her opinion, the Master Path Plan was a wish list which was done a long time ago and presently did not make any sense in certain locations. She further commented that she believed committee members should be heard and their recommendations should be considered by Council. Areas of concern to Mrs. Bertram included the Little League Fields and Byrne Preserve. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously by all members present to appoint Betsy Bertram to the Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee for a two-year term. Council further suggested that Mrs. Bertram listen to the tapes of the Council Meetings at which the Master Path Plan was discussed and also review the letters and minutes related to those meetings. 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT The Planning Director reported that the following items were discussed at the 1/14/98 Planning Commission Meeting: Lands of Godinho, 12250 Menalto Drive: request for site development permit for a new residence and pool - approved; Lands of Silvestri, 13935 La Paloma Road: request for a site development permit for a new residence and pool - approved; Lands of Romer, 28500 Matadero Creek Lane: request for a site development permit for a new residence, second unit, pool house and pool and a modification to the tentative map conditions of approval — modification to conditions of approval sent to City Council for public hearing on 2/4/98 and site development permit request - continued; Lands of Wythe V itu, 13824 and 13826 Moon Lane: requests for site development permits for new residences and pools on each lot and variances to allow grading over property lines - denied. January 21, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting L Casey inquired if it was correct that Planning Commissioner Jinkerson had disagreed during a ` public meeting with the opinion of the City Attorney and Planning Director concerning the role of the Architectural Review Committee of the Matadero Creek Subdivision. Upon hearing that this information was correct, Casey asked Commissioner Schreiner who was in the audience to reiterate to the Planning Commission the positions of the City Attorney and Planning Director on this issue and to further report that Council stated this was inappropriate behavior on the part of Commissioner Jinkerson. Hubbard stated that he wished to appeal the denial of both WytheNitu applications. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR Items Removed: 4.2 (Hubbard) and 4.6 (City Manager) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously by all members present to approve the balance of the Consent Calendar, specifically: 4.1 Approved Minutes: January 7, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting 4.2 Approval of Warrants: $126,067.85 (1/16/98) 4.3 Accepted grant of Storm Drain and Conservation Easements, Lands of Kash, 25500 Burke Lane — Resolutions # 2-98 and #3-98 4.4 Accepted Pavement Management Project CIP 96-97; G. Bortolotto & Co., Inc. - Reso #4-98 4.5 Approved agreement for professional planning services to prepare update to the Town's General Plan — Reso #5-98 Items Removed: 4.2 Approval of Warrants: $126,067.85 (1/16/98) Hubbard inquired about the $4,200 refund to Jim Steiner for sewer charges. Staff responded that it had recently been discovered that Mr. Steiner bad been incorrectly charged for sewers for the past ten years. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously by all members present to approve the warrants in the amount of $126,067.85 (1/16/98) 4.6 Acceptance of Subdivision Improvements, Lands of WytheNitu, 13826 Page Mill — Reso # The City Manager in a follow up to his staff report recommending acceptance of these subdivision improvements, noted that both the Chown/Wythe-Vitu fence and the fence between the Chown and Anderson properties needed to be redone and the applicant would be doing this as part of the subdivision maintenance. In addition the City Manager was working with the fire department on the locks for the gates. January 21, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting Eric Chown, 13822 Page Mill Road, stated that he did not believe the subdivision improvements were complete. He referred to the shoulder of the road which he believed was a safety issue and he referred to the water in their field which reduced their playing area. Valerie Chown, 13822 Page Mill Road, read her letter dated 1/18/98 (on file at Town Hall) which included her reasons why she did not believe these subdivision improvements should be accepted as complete. In part she referred to gating the road, the shoulder and the drainage on their property. In support of these statements she submitted photographs of the area under discussion. She urged Council not to accept these improvements until the developer had restored all damage caused by his project. On another issue she commented that they had received the staff report on this issue the Friday prior to the meeting and too late to include their response in the Council packet. The City Manager stated that the applicant had submitted a $26,000 warranty bond to cover certain items in the improvement list. One of these items was the regrading of the lower field. He further noted that the Chowns and the applicant had mutually agreed not to seal the road at this time but to wait until it had dried out. Regarding the statements made concerning water on Moon Lane, the City Manager stated that this had always been the case and was not a problem caused by this subdivision. The City Manager referred to the drainage issues raised by Mrs. Chown and noted that in fact this was a natural drainage swale on their property which had been filled without permit. He also referred to the photographs submitted by Mrs. Chown and stated that they were several months old and did not at all depict the current condition of the area. On the subject of notification, the City Manager noted that the staff report was made available to the Chowns when all Council staff reports for a meeting are available - the Friday prior to a Council Meeting. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously to adopt Resolution #6-98 accepting subdivision improvements related to parcel map, Book 679 of Maps, pages 41 through 44, Lands of Wythe/Vitu. S. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 5.1 Response to letter from Mr. and Mrs. Conrad, Becky Lane, concerning sewer issues Council had before them the Public Works Manager's report on the Conrad's drainage situation on Becky Lane. This report included the following summary: 1) The Town had offered to install a backflow preventer on the Conrad's private sewer lateral contingent upon them maintaining their lateral and backflow preventer; 2) The Town had the roots removed from the downstream sanitary sewer mainline from the Conrad's home; 3) The Public Works Department had prioritized this line for tv inspection and chemical root control treatment; 4) The Town had discussed the need for better communication with the City of Los Altos Public Works Department and for a more aggressive maintenance program; 5) It was not wise to commit to a maintenance procedure to a resident because it restricted improving or changing the maintenance approach; and 6) It was not wise nor practical to commit to blanket liability for sanitary sewer problems without knowledge of the circumstances. The report also included the recommendation that the initial offer from the Town remain to install the back flow preventer as a good faith measure only if the Comads would be responsible for it and to further note that the Town would focus on this portion of the sanitary sewer system to ensure proper maintenance. January 21, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting Mrs. Conrad, 25360 Becky Lane, addressed the Council with the history of sewer problems on their property. She noted that seven years ago there had been a sewer backup which their insurance company had paid for ($6,000) and last February there had been another incident paid for by their insurance company. In March another sewer backup occurred at which time the City of Los Altos responded by removing the root blockage in the mainline sanitary sewer. The Town immediately authorized the clean up and restoration of the damaged part of the Comads' home at a cost to the Town of $11,000. Mrs. Conrad thanked the Town staff for responding so quickly to their problem but also stated that she and her husband were very anxious to reach a solution which would prevent the problem from happening again. They did not agree with the option of them being responsible for the maintenance of the backflow preventer. They actually had no idea how to conduct such maintenance. She further commented that they would have to disclose such sewer problems at time of sale of their home, if and when they decided to sell, and this certainly would have a negative impact on the value of their property. The City Manager, City Attorney and Public Works Manager supported the recommendation that the Comads maintain the the back flow preventer. They expressed concern about potential liability in the future and logistical problems if the Town were to maintain the equipment. Johnson noted that the problem occurred in the main sewer line which was not on the Comads' property and he questioned whether there was not another solution. He mentioned a continuous seal plastic pipe with no backflow preventer. Hubbard cautioned against this precendent setting situation of assuming responsibility for private property sewer situations. He believed the owners should be responsible. Casey commented that this was a public easement and was therefore not concerned about liability. She was much more concerned about the thousands of dollars being paid to correct these sewer problems. She did not believe the Comads should have to pay since it was not the lateral which had broken down. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously by all members present to direct staff to arrive at a solution to the Comad's sewer problem which would eliminate the root problem. This may or may not include a continuous seal plastic pipe. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To continue to offer to install a backflow preventer on the Comads' property if they agree to maintain it. 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 FY 97-98 Goals and Objectives — Second Quarter Status Council thanked the City Manager for his well done status report on FY97-98 Goals and Objectives. 6.2 Request from the Alpha Omega Program to use St. Nicholas School — June 13, 1998 - July 11, 1998 MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously by all members present to approve the request from the Alpha Omega Program to use St. Nicholas School from June 13, 1998 for their program participants. 7. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, SUB -COMMITTEES, AND COUNCILMEMBERS l ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES January 21, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting 7.1 Santa Clara County Cities Association Johnson reported that there was currently a County Charter Review Committee and Siegel was a member of this committee. Johnson commented that this committee was considering reinstating the Intergovernmental Council (IGC) and he asked Siegel to report on this issue to the Council when information was available. 8. STAFF REPORTS 8.1 City Manager 8.1.1 Meeting on Airport Noise The City Manager reported that Marjorie Evans was unable to represent the Town at the 1/22/98 meeting on airport noise being coordinated by the Mayor of Menlo Park. 8.1.2 Volunteer Dinner The City Manager noted that since the invitee list for this dinner had been expanded to include the ham radio operators and the neighborhood coordinators, it was going to be necessary to increase the approved budget for this event. He noted that there were almost twice as many volunteers being invited. He asked that this item be added to the agenda as an urgency item. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously by all members present to add consideration of budget increase for the volunteer dinner to the agenda as an urgency item. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously by all members present to authorize an additional $3,000 for the 1998 Volunteer Dinner. 8.1.3 Solid Waste The City Manager reported that he had attended the 1/20/98 meeting of the Los Altos Hills County Fire Protection District. At that meeting it had been agreed that they would enter into a one year contract with the Los Altos Garbage Company to provide two drop off days a month at Foothill College at a cost not to exceed $100,000. Any disposal costs over and above this amount would be paid by the Town. 8.2 City Attorney 8.2.1 Solid Waste The City Attorney referred to the solid waste issue and noted that this would be a three-way contract between the Fire District, the Town and Los Altos Garbage Company. She asked that Council waive any potential conflict of interest since she was the attorney for the Town as well as the Fire District. January 21, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To direct the Mayor send a letter to the City Attorney waiving any potential conflict of interest concerning the City Attorney preparing the contract between the Town, the Fire District and the Los Altos Garbage Company for solid waste services. 8.3 City Clerk 8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence The Mayor noted that the City Manager was going to prepare a response to the letter from Jonathan Chang on construction/traffic issues. 8.4 Public Works Manager 8.4.1 280 - EI Monte The Public Works Manager reported that 280 and EI Monte had been resigned to clarify speed limits, etc. 8.4.2 Memorial Bench for Mary Stutz The Public Works Manager reported that the bench in memory of Mary Stutz would be on display at the next Council Meeting. 9. COUNCIL -INITIATED ITEMS 9.1 Discussion of providing assistance to residents in accessing tapes of meetings (Mayor Casey) Casey raised the issue of easier access to the public of the tapes of City Council and Planning Commission Meetings. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To direct the City Manager to purchase a duel cassette machine for copying tapes and to further direct the City Clerk and Planning Secretary to make copies of tapes available upon request at a charge only to cover the cost of the tapes. Council further directed the City Manager to evaluate the entire microphone system in Council Chambers. 9.2 Quarry Hills Subdivision (Mayor Casey) Casey inquired about the status of the Quarry Hills Subdivision and the concerns raised by resident Michael Lyons. The City Manager responded that he had spoken with Mr. Lyons and addressed his concerns. Further it was tentatively scheduled for the Quarry Hills Subdivision to be agendized for the 2/18/98 City Council Meeting. 9.3 Magdalena and Stonebrook Path (Mayor Casey) Casey inquired about the status of this pathway. The City Manager stated that he had spoken with the owner at the north end of this path and they were discussing exact location of path and cost. Concerning the south end of the path, Caltrans had agreed to cooperate on this project and the City Manager would be sending a letter. January 21, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting 9.4 Community Relations Committee Greeter (Councilmember Hubbard) Hubbard thanked the Community Relations Committee for beginning their program of sending a "Greeter" to Council Meetings and he welcomed Barbara Lamparter who was tonight's greeter. 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Richard Aurelio, 25320 La Loma Drive, addressed the Council concerning his application for the Planning Commission. He stated that he planned on staying in Town and believed that he could make a contribution by serving on the Planning Commission. He noted that he had an engineering background, had built two homes and could schedule his time to attend meetings. He believed there were site by site differences but the Town should be careful; variances should be cautiously granted to protect the Town's zoning. He believed that the decisions made by the Town today were forever. Mr. Aurelio commented that people he had spoken to found the process for small projects to be complicated and aggravating. He recommended simplifying the planning process especially for small tasks. (Casey noted that Mr. Aurelio's comments were being heard at this meeting as he was unable to attend the 2/4/98 Council Meeting at which time interviews for Planning Commission were scheduled.) Karen Lew -Tom, representing Assemblymember Ted Lempert's office, distributed a copy of an overview of the 1998-99 Governor's Budget for Council's information. She specifically noted that this budget did not include ERAF return. 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS 11.1 Request for a two -lot subdivision and proposed negative declaration, Lands of Zatparvar, 26170 Fremont Road Nader Zatparvar, applicant, raised three issues he had with the recommended conditions for his subdivision. First, he did not agree with one driveway for both of the lots. He thought this was a safety issue and two driveways would be a better option. Second, he preferred a two-story house over the condition limiting the height to 23'. Presently there was an old home on the property which was two story and most of the homes on Fremont were two stories. Furthermore, he noted that this was the low part of the valley and no one's view would be impacted by a two-story home. Third, he referred to the drainage improvements and questioned the requirement for a conservation easement. Mr. Zatparvar also referred to the required setbacks but was advised by Council that variances could not be granted at this time. If he wished to request a variance it could be considered at the time of site development. The Planning Director noted that condition #11 which in part stated that "A conservation easement shall be granted to the Town over the width of the drainage channel" was required by the Santa Clara Valley Water District to protect against concrete channels and to require native plantings along drainage channels. Dave Pefley, 26169 Maurer Lane, referred to the height issue and noted that the La Paloma Corridor had one story homes. It was the other side of Fremont Road which had two-story homes. He also noted that the old home presently on the property was indeed two story but it was about 1,500 square feet and could hardly compare with the size of the new two story which January 21, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting would be built on the property. Concerning the drainage issue, Mr. Pefley commented that this matter had been under discussion for a long time and the applicant was well aware of the drainage concerns when he bought the property. Mr. Fred Osterlund, 26238 Fremont Road, commented that he was not against development but the La Paloma Corridor had stated a preference for one story homes. He agreed with the comments made by Mr. Pefley. Gary Campi, 14190 Bolen Ranch Road, commented on the uniqueness of Los Altos Hills and did not believe that homes should all be one story or two story. He also noted that common driveways could cause problems. Luis Yanez, owner of 26242 Fremont Road, stated that he currently had a one story home approved on this lot but in 1989 a two story home had been approved for this same lot by unanimous vote of the Council. He believed good design was the important issue, not whether or not a house was one or two story. Sandra Humphries, 26238 Fremont Road, commented that aesthetics were important. She believed that the aspects of the house and the environment should fit together. Ms. Humphries further noted that the La Paloma Corridor had chosen to have one-story homes and in her opinion neighborhood input was a vital aspect of the Town. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Casey and passed by the following roll call vote to delete condition #25 which read as follows: The tentative map shall be revised to: 1) relocate the access to the site to a point at least ten feet east of the redwood trees; 2) show the driveway as a joint access driveway to both lots, and 3) reconfigure the lots to assure that the provisions of the Town's codes regarding the lot size and lot unit factor are met. Revised worksheets shall be provided showing the maximum floor area and maximum development area and shall be reflected on the tentative map. The revised tentative map must be submitted for approval by the Planning and Engineering Departments prior to submittal of the Final Map. AYES: Mayor Casey and Councilmember Johnson NOES: Councilmember Hubbard ABSENT: Councilmembers Dauber and Siegel MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously by all members present to amend Condition # 14 to read as follows: The applicant shall construct on-site storm drainage improvements, for the benefit of the subdivision, to the satisfaction of the City Engineer. These drainage improvements shall be constructed or bonded for prior to recordation of the Final Map. The applicant shall pay all of the costs associated with the drainage channel and appurtenances within the subdivision. The design, survey and inspection costs shall be based upon the length of the system crossing the subdivision in relation to the entire system from the inlet on the east side of La Paloma Road to the outlet at Fremont Road. The remainder of the design survey and inspection costs shall be paid for by the developer of 13935 La Paloma Road and the Town using the same criteria. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed by the following roll call vote to keep Condition #32 as recommended by the Planning Commission (limiting height to 23 feet). AYES: Mayor Pro Tem Johnson and Councilmember Hubbard ` NOES: Mayor Casey fir' ABSENT: Councilmembers Dauber and Siegel January 21, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting IW MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously by all members present to approve the request for a two -lot subdivision and proposed negative declaration for Lands of Zatparvar, 26170 Fremont Road, subject to the conditions of approval as recommended by the Planning Commission and amended by Council. 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was adjoumed at 9:10 p.m. Re ctfully s , Patricia Dowd City Clerk The minutes of the January 21, 1998 City Council Meeting were approved at the February 4, 1998 City Council Meeting. January 21, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting