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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/02/1998Minutes of a Regular Meeting September 2, 1998 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Regular Meeting Wednesday, September 2,1998,6:00 P.M. Council Chamber, 26379 Fremont Road CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mayor Johnson called the Regular Meeting of the City Council to order at 6:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Johnson and Council Members Casey, Dauber, Hubbard and Siegel Absent: None Staff: City Manager/City Engineer Jeff Peterson, City Attorney Sandy Sloan, Planning Director Curtis Williams, Assistant Planner C Shaunn O'Connor, and Public Works Manager Jim Rasp and �I Roberta Wolfe Deputy City Clerk, City of Cupertino Press: Carol Tiegs, Los Altos Town Crier 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT The Planning Director reported that the following items were discussed at the August 26 Planning Commission Meeting: 1) Lands of Bowers on Hidden Springs: had been continued for redesign to try to rotate the house to protect some existing trees that were of concern to a neighbor and lower the profile toward a downhill property - approved; 2) Lands of Boissiere and Locker, part of Taaffe Subdivision: addressed concerns about imposing height and second unit proposed, discussed landscaping - approved; 3) Lands of Kamangar: request for a site development permit for a 1,641 square foot addition (20 feet high) and remodel. Commissioner Gottlieb stepped down and addressed her concerns as a resident. Dauber suggested that they agendize for discussion the issue of grandfathering in free basement space. September 2, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting Regarding a Commission or Council Member stepping down and speaking against a project, the City Attorney told Council Members that if they have a conflict of interest they should step down. She said the best thing is to step to the back of the room or leave. However, if they we affected directly (i.e., living within 300 ft.) they have a right to speak on their own behalf, but not on behalf of a client or neighbors. The Planning Director continued his report, stating that the commission voted to continue the project; and 4) Lands of Ernest: proposal for second unit - approved. Siegel asked that staff report back on the issue of having a separate sewer connection for second units. Discussion followed regarding the condition of approval requiring a debris box. The Planning Director introduced Shaunn O'Connor, new Assistant Planner. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR Items Removed: 4.5 (Peterson) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Dauber and kar passed unanimously to approve the balance of the Consent Calendar, specifically: 4.1 Approved Minutes: August 19, 1998 (Regular Meeting) 4.2 Decided Not to Review the following Planning Commission Actions at its meeting on August 12, 1998: 4.2a Lands of Gather, 26990 Taaffe Road: approved request for a Site Development Permit for a new 5,735 square foot, 24 foot high (partial two story) residence and pool 4.2b Lands of Yeh, 24055, Jabil Lane: approved request for a Site Development Permit for a new 5,335 square foot residence, 27 feet in height, gazebo and swimming pool 4.2c Lands of Owen, 13940 La Paloma road: approved request for a Site Development Permit for a 4,700 square foot new residence with two attached garages totaling 1,305 square feet, a 3,070 square foot basement and a swimming pool and spa September 2, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting 4.2d Lands of Nuveen Construction, 27589 Samuel Lane; approved request for a Site Development Permit for a new 4,604 square foot two-story residence with an attached 650 square foot garage, and a maximum height of 27 feet 4.2e Lands of Davison, 26960 Orchard Hill Lane: approved request for a Site Development Permit for a 899 square foot secondary dwelling unit 4.3 Adopted Ordinance #395 amending Section 8-2.02 of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code (utility lines) 4.4 Approved grant of conservation easement, Lands of Meek, 12239 Colina Drive — Reso 472-98 4.6 Approved request for permission to advertise for the LaCresta Landslide Repair Project for competitive bids — Reso #73-98 4.7 Approved request for permission to advertise for the Saddle Court -Berry Hill Storm Drain Project for competitive bids — Reso #74-98 4.9 Approved extension of tentative map, Lands of Rogez, 25561 Fremont Road — Reso 475-98 4.10 Awarded Certificate of Appreciation: Betty Rooker, Pathways, Recreation and Parks Committee Item Removed: 4.5 Approved request for permission to advertise for the Edgerton Road Median Slope Stabilization Project for competitive bids — Reso #76-98 MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously to grant permission to advertise for the Edgerton Road Median Slope Stabilization Project for competitive bids. 5. M 5.1 Approval of resolution authorizing agreement with Carl Mileff and Associates (CMA) for building plan review services. —Reso # 3 September 2, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting The Planning Director said the primary reason for this added review was to gain an additional level of comfort and safety. It would put the Town line with every other community in the State. He said it appears that every year there is more impetus toward making it a requirement. He noted for the record that the additional cost would not be passed on to the applicant but would come out of the building fees. Casey said she would vote no because of the additional expense and there bad been no problems, even with the earthquake. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Dauber and passed 4-1 (Casey no) to adopt Resolution #77-98 authorizing an agreement with Carl Mileff and Associates (CMA) for building plan review services. 5.2 Approval of Memorandum of Understanding with the League of Women Voters regarding the 1998 Election of the Los Altos Hills City Council Carol Watts, President, League of Women Voters said their Board had approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The intent was to serve as a fact finding committee representing the public interest. She asked that the amount in Section 6 of the MOU, Reimbursement, be changed to $500 because the meetings might occur during the dinner hour. MOTION SECONDED: Moved by Casey, seconded by Dauber and passed unanimously to approve the MOU with the League of Women Voters regarding the 1998 Election of the Los Altos Hills City Council, with Section 6 amended to read, ..... up to five hundred dollars .. . Ms. Watts said they wanted to begin the process six weeks prior to the election. She talked about how the complaints would be handled to avoid giving publicity to frivolous complaints. She added that depending on the nature of complaints, it was possible they might ask for certain records. She was informed that the City Clerk was the contact person for that information. Mayor Johnson said he would write letters to the newspapers, including the Examiner and Chronicle, asking for their agreement and cooperation in publishing findings. 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Discussion of policies and ordinances regarding: 1) Chimney Height. 2) La Paloma Corridor, and 3) Carports and Garages September 2, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting 4r La Paloma Corridor The Planning Director explained the rationale for adding the words, "...including but not limited to those parcels delineated in the..." in Section 1 of the policy. Following discussion of the policy, Council directed staff to notify any properties that touch the property and on the same side of the road. Dr. Hill, 13870 La Paloma Road, said he thought it was inappropriate that this matter had gone this far without public notification. Dr. Hill said he thought people within 500' should be notified. He also agreed it is a moot point since the houses had already been built, and did not think notification was necessary. By consensus, Council agreed to have a public hearing at a future Council meeting Chimney Height Mayor Johnson objected to requiring the minimum height. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously that they not make it a policy or ordinance change relative to chimney height, but direct the Planning Commission to look for those situations where chimneys would be obtrusive and affirmed that they already had the authority to reduce the height of chimneys where appropriate. Garages Following discussion, Council agreed that the third sentence of the policy should read, "A minimum of two (2) of the required spaces must be enclosed in a garage." and directed staff to refer the ordinance to the Planning Commission for review prior to final Council consideration. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES. SUB -COMMITTEES, AND COUNCIL MEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES Hubbard said he would be gone the first meeting in October. Siegel said the Fire Commission is finished with the goats at Bryne Preserve for weed abatement and the San Jose Conservation Corps was going to be called in to finish the clean up. September 2, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting 160 8. STAFF REPORTS. 8.1 City Manager The City Manager reported as follows: 1. The pavement management project would begin the following day. One of the big projects was on Esperanza. 2. The La Paloma project would start construction on September 14. 3. Memo from Curtis regarding discussion with a Palo Alto architect regarding visualization and simulation capabilities being used in the planning community for showing sites when they are being reviewed. He wanted to know if Council was interested in looking into this farther and in seeing a demonstration of its capabilities. Following discussion, Council agreed that there should be a presentation at a Council meeting and the Planning Commission and Technology Committee should be invited. 4. The air conditioning compressor is not adequate to cool both buildings. 5. Direct deposit of paychecks is now possible. 8.2 City Attorney The City Attorney discussed an article regarding campaign violations in Woodside. obw 8.3 City Clerk 8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence Letter from Pezzolo — The Public Works Manager said he would respond. The City Manager said this is a case where there is confusion with the council accepting the improvements as complete, and people thinking it is a right of way acceptance. Discussion followed regarding a letter from Mr. Heitel, 11523 Summit Wood Road, requesting that it be declared a public street. The City Manager said he and the City Attorney would discuss how this could be done. He said this was a very complicated case and would take a lot of staff time. Council agreed that the Mayor would send a letter to the people named in the letter telling them that it was the will of the Council to accept the street as a public road. Dauber received a letter about a city/school forum asking for representatives. She suggested sending a representative from each school district. The Mayor will contact Peggy Esberg. September 2, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting 4 Dauber reported that the Santa Clara Valley Water District had agreed to go ahead with engineering for the Reach 5 improvements even though they don't have all the approvals from the State and Federal levels. Regarding the letter from the Pathway Committee, the City Manager said staff told them they think it was unenforceable to have a footpath exclusively for one group. The City Manager suggested that Council let the Committee know they should not send out letters such as this. COUNCIL -INITIATED ITEMS 9.1 Request to trademark Town Logo (Mayor Johnson). MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Dauber and passed unanimously to direct the City Attorney to take action to trademark the town logo at the State level. 9.2 Los Altos Community Foundation (Mayor Pro Tem Dauber) Dauber reported that the Los Altos Community Foundation was looking for period furniture and suggested loaning them the furniture stored in the attic. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: Council agreed to loan the Los Altos Community Foundation the furniture the Town had stored. 9.3 Arastradero Road Landscaping (Mayor Pro Tem Dauber) Dauber said the Arastradero landscaping project done with the State should be evaluated so we don't make the same mistakes on future projects. 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS 11.1 Request for a Site Development Permit for a new residence and variances to exceed allowable height and floor area and to encroach into the side setback. Lands of Lambert, 24700 Olive Tree Court The Planning Director outlined the three variances which were for height, setbacks, and floor area. He said the driveway did not function adequately according to the City Engineer. September 2, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting 40 The Planning Director noted that he had distributed the minutes of the February 19, 1997 Council meeting where they had discussed the interpretation of non -conforming structures. He described the direction staff had provided to the applicant for over two years in a way that they thought allowed quite a lot of development on the property. He noted that staff had indicated they would support very extensive variances to move the project forward. Dr. Elaine Lambert, applicant, showed a photograph of the former house and presented the background of the project. She said their initial plan was not to need variances. She described how Mr. Lambert had visited Frank Lloyd Wright homes all over the country in order to try to build a FLW home in Los Altos Hills. She said they were willing to look at the concerns about the driveway; however, fire trucks had no difficulty during the fire. Regarding the carport, they were willing to clear the hill out and reduce the grade if necessary. They were also willing to address the turnaround, and to remove the redwood tree if necessary. She pointed out that only six neighbors can see the house. She said neighbors were at the meeting and they had 35 signatures in addition to the ones in the packet. She said they thought this design kept within Town guidelines and that they could improve on the old house. Larick Hill, architect, addressed the recommended findings including relocation of the carport, lowering the downhill roof, and increasing the width of the driveway. He showed some of the materials they proposed to use including rock and granite, and said their intention was to make it as natural as possible. Rex Upp, 1330 S. Bascom Ave., Ste. B, San Jose, 95128, said he was a consulting engineering geologist and soils engineer. He characterized the area as steep narrow ridges separated by valleys. He described why the house was stable and said the existing foundation was on piers and the proposed addition would be on piers well into sandstone. He said encroachment moved the house toward the stable ridge. Nigel Endersby, 250 Margarita Court, said the Lamberts have gone to a lot of expense to accommodate what they thought the Town wanted. He said the driveway was adequate for fire trucks and asked Council to vote to let them begin to build. Richard Winkelman, 24692 Olive Tree Court, next door neighbor, said he had inspected the plans and was most supportive of them. He thought it would be a vast improvement over the house that burned and that it improved the neighborhood. He felt the Planning Commission had been unduly restrictive in denying the application. He did not see why they needed a wider driveway, as the fire trucks had no trouble. He disagreed with staff's statement that the house was highly visible. He had a letter from David Anderson, another neighbor, supporting the proposal. September 2, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting CJ James Lockhart, M.D., 24860 Olive Tree Lane, said his wife, Virginia, was also at the meeting and they were impressed with the Lamberts' dedication to putting up something compatible with the environment. He felt this was a very environmentally friendly proposal. Shirley Hooser, 24688 Olive Tree Court, said she thought this was much better than the prior house. Mr. Yo, 24708 Olive Tree Court, said he had moved to his home after the fire. He had looked at the plans and was impressed with the efforts of planting trees and trying to develop a project that conformed with Town rules and regulations. He said he hoped they would vote in favor of the project. Carol Curran, 128 No. EI Camino Real, #105, San Mateo, CA 94401, said she had gone with Mr. Lambert to show the plans to neighbors and talk about them. She said the neighbors were enthusiastic about the proposed concept. Belinda Shoemaker, Stonebrook Drive, said a lot of people who were totally supportive of the proposal could not be at the meeting. Dr. Lambert said there was landscaping built into the house. At each level there we planters so there is greenery coming out of the house itself. Discussion followed regarding the impacts of moving the house into the setback. Mayor Johnson said at the February, 1997, meeting, most Council Members expressed confidence in the Planning Commission's opinion that this was a project that would be best handled using the variance procedure. He said the original house looked out of tune with the neighborhood. Regarding visibility, he said that by Los Altos Hills standards, this was a small house, He said the property was unique and 46 neighbors had given the proposal a vote of confidence. Casey said she thought the home was beautiful and commended the applicant, architect and designer. She said the plans should be approved as submitted. Dauber said the Town generally wanted to avoid cantilevering over steep slopes. She did not see any attempt to pull the house back and thought the architect could be asked to try to step the house with the land. Dauber said she was open to the variance in setback because she was opposed to the house being any farther out over the slope than the previous house. She suggested asking the Open Space District about the possibility of a lot line adjustment. September 2, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting 0 Siegel said he would like to see one or two turn accesses built into the driveway. He believed the owners should be given the freedom to locate the house in the side yard to whatever degree they thought was necessary to reduce cantilevering. He had no problem with the floor area variance. The Planning Director said he was not sure to what extent the easement was necessary or utilized. He said staff could get letters from the utilities allowing encroachment. Hubbard said the visibility of the house could be reduced significantly by using the side hill. Hubbard suggested that the engineers review the turnaround and size of retaining walls as he would like to see the impacts of those things. Mr. Lambert said they were accepting of Council and Staff's suggestions to move the house, but had not examined that. He also said they could live with any reasonable conditions. They would comply with the suggested turnaround cuts and the additional parking spaces, and would like the variances approved. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard and seconded by Siegel and passed 4-1 (Dauber voting no) to continue this item for the applicant to address those issues raised at the meeting by a majority of Council, subject to the Town Engineer's review of the driveway prior to resubmittal, as well as have the fire department review the driveway situation as far as turnouts that may be required and the turnaround area that may be required if the house was shifted. Dauber said she voted no because she felt the application should go back to the Planning Commission. 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 10:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Roberta Wolfe, Deputy City Clerk City of Cupertino for Patricia Dowd, City Clerk The minutes of the September 2, 1998 City Council Meeting were approved at the October 21, 1998 City Council Meeting. September 2, 1998 Regular City Council Meeting 10