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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/30/1997�%. Minutes of an Adjourned Regular Meeting July 30, 1997 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Regular Meeting Wednesday, July 30, 1997, 5:00 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 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Casey and Councilmembers Dauber, Hubbard, Johnson and Siegel Staff: City Manager/City Engineer Jeff Peterson, City Attorney Sandy Sloan, Planning Director Curtis Williams and Public Works Manager Jim Rasp. Press: None 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS - None. 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT The Planning Director reported that the following issues were discussed at the July 23`d Planning Commission Meeting: Lands of Jansson and Sessions on Anacapa Drive, conditional development lots denied after having redesign from a previous meeting, will be scheduled for appeal hearing at August 20 meeting. Lands of Sachs on Berryhill Court, new residence on vacant lot, approved with condition to lower overall height of the house by four ft. through a combination of methods available to the applicant. Applicant has inquired about possibly appealing; if appealed it would also be on August 20 agenda. Lands of Scifres at the corner of Palo Hills Drive and Fremont Road, demolition of existing residence and construction of a new residence, approved with some minor conditions, one of which had to do with a front walkway being deleted and something about skylights. Lands of Urbach on Magdalena almost up to Blandor, flag lot, neighbors expressed concerns regarding visibility and impacting of their views, requested redesign to bring it down the hill and lower the roof pitch to minimize the visual impact, will come back at next Planning Commission meeting. Lands of Mozart on Templeton Place at end of cul de sac; new residence on 3 plus acres is about 10,000 sq. ft. and there are 2 Inge detached garages, approved unanimously with some conditions to slightly realign driveway July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting out of setback and to lower the chimneys by a couple of feet. Kerns project on Francemont, has a long road and driveway up to the ridgeline next to open space area, continued to the next meeting for additional information on driveway in particular and to re look at house and guest house which is on a different level than the main residence. 20 acres total. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR Item Removed: 4.4 (Dauber). MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously to approve the balance of the Consent Calendar, specifically: 4.1 Approval of Warrants: $99,219.24 (7/15/97) 4.2 Grant of Storm Drain Easement on Lands of Lombard, 13841 Robleda Road; Grant of Storm Drain Easement, Lands of Moos, 25661 Fremont Road; and Grant of Storm Drain Easement and Execution of an Agreement for Temporary Construction Easement, Lands of Lopez, 25541 Fremont Road — Resolutions #53456 4.3 Adoption of additional Town of Los Altos Hills Bench Marks — Reso #57-97 4.5 Recommendation for the acceptance of release, compromise, and settlement agreements with John and Lauren Lopez of 25541 Fremont Road; and Shirley Searfoss and Bums Searfoss of 25531 Fremont Road — Resolutions #60 and #61 Items Removed: 4.4 Award of contract for the Robleda Drainage Basin Storm Drain Improvement Project FY 96-97 and amendment to the Capital Improvement Budget FY96-97 — Resolutions # Dauber expressed concern on the time frame of this item. The City Manager answered questions about the liquidated damages clause in the contract and said the contractor is ready to start depending on when he can get his pipe. He said Fish and Game has a drop dead date of October 15 when they need to get out of the creek and the Rogers are in the process of recycling construction demolition. He said Mr. Roget has signed the easement and it is notarized. Mrs. Roger has been out of the country and has signed via fax but the intent is there. They could start at other end of project, but it would be a little risky. The City Manager explained that the project had come in higher than anticipated because no one bid on the cheaper alternative for cast in place pipe. He said this was the widest advertisedjob the Town had ever done. July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting �kw MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Siegel and passed unanimously to award the contract for the Robleda Drainage Basin Storm Drain Improvement Project FY 96-97 and amendment to the Capital Improvement Budget FY 96-97 - Resolutions 458 and 459. Casey moved the agenda to Item 11.1. 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS 11.1 Request for modification to approved site development permit regarding exterior color and walkway width and surfacing, Lands of Butt, 24708 Voorhees Drive Casey asked for staff direction regarding the fence and conservation easement on the side of the property near 280, and regarding the dirt in the back yard. The City Attorney asked the Planning Director if there was a condition about the conservation easement that there be no fences or a certain kind of fence. He noted it is drainage easement and there can be no alteration within the easement. The issue is the dirt that's been placed in the easement and the Butts have been requested to remove it and redraw the landscaping plan to show the dirt out of there so they can process it. He said the Butts would have to request a {, variance to build a six foot solid fence at the property line. The City Attorney said the items before Council at this hearing are the exterior color and walkways. The dirt in the drainage easement is more of an administrative issue that staff would handle. The Planning Director answered questions about the paint color, noting that one of conditions of approval is that prior to painting a residence they were to select a color and get it approved by staff. The Butts failed to follow that condition which was clearly in writing. He pointed out that since the time this was approved Council enacted a somewhat different condition on color which requires the color to be selected before issuance of a building permit. Casey opened the public hearing at 5:20 p.m. Mrs. Butts thanked Council for the opportunity to present her case and discussed three issues: • Exterior color - Talked about reflectivity of colors. She had obtained signatures of about 100 people in the area who thought the color was pretty. She said they thought they were in compliance with the ordinance and that the choice of color was a personal matter. • Walkway - Explained that they had the walkway built at this width and of this material because of her husband's physical condition. She said there are many walkways in the neighborhood that are as wide or wider than the required 4 ft. and are built of cobblestones. July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting Landscaping - Said because of her daughter's illness they need to have clean air. She said they have moved the dirt more than once and asked that Council let her know what she should do with the dirt for once and for all. The Planning Director repeated that removal of the dirt is not holding up the landscaping plan, but staff has asked in writing on more than one occasion that the plan be redrawn to show the dirt out of the swale. The applicant's options are to remove the dirt from the site or have a civil engineer draw up a drainage and grading plan that would keep it far enough from the swale to allow for appropriate drainage and would be acceptable by the Town's engineer. He said because of the special circumstances regarding health issues, some allowances had been made and some things had been done differently. Dauber said the Town has a review process which everyone should follow. Mrs. Butts said they did not wish to be treated differently than others but had overlooked the need for approval of the color. Siegel said it was unfortunate the house is as light as it is and while he would like to see the color brought into compliance with the color board, it seemed there ought to be some give and take. He said he would like to see the color in compliance within five years. Randoph Fung, 11688 Dawson, commented that Mrs. Butts' technical presentation about reflectivity was very impressive. He said he drives by the house every day and sees nothing strange or absurd about the color. He expressed surprise that they are having such difficulty with this color. Bill San, 12444 Robleda, said he had been robbed at gun point on his property. The Butts property is unique in that it is next to the freeway and El Monte Road, a very busy intersection. He asked that they speed up the review process so the Butts can build their fence and landscape the property to give a sense of security and safety. Mrs. Sun, 12444 Robleda, said she was impressed with Mrs. Butts' expert presentation. She said she did not see anything wrong with not complying with the ordinance and that Mrs. Butts had not been informed by staff about the color board. She said newcomers need to see the color board before they apply for a permit. Casey said the condition was in writing and Hubbard pointed out that it was condition 7. Theresa Vidovich, 151 Mountain View Avenue, a student at St. Nicholas School, said she thought this house matches the land and other areas because of its color. She had noticed other houses that are much brighter than that one and thought it looked beautiful. Casey closed the public hearing at 6:05. July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting Johnson said the Town has a well defined ordinance and the new system will prevent this situation from happening again. He described his visit to the Butts property and said the house up the hill at the comer of Clauson and Voorhees appeared from a distance to be exactly the same color. He said there was a good case for leaving the house way it is and request that the next time they paint they get it into compliance. MOTION AND SECOND: Moved by Johnson and seconded by Casey to allow house to stay the same color. Siegel agreed but suggested an agreement that they would paint house in compliance with the color board at the time of sale or at a certain period of time, whichever is sooner. Dauber said she could not justify supporting the rules for one person if you say the ones who don't read the rules don't have to follow them. She said she was willing to let the paint color of the house go, but objected to the garage door being painted white. She said this was also against the condition of approval regarding white trim areas. Hubbard said he had many of the same sentiments as Dauber. From a personal standpoint he did not feel the color was offensive. He expressed willingness to be flexible on the color, and asked that the garage doors be repainted and leave the rest as is. Casey said she would like Council to revisit the reflectivity and color board as it is too restrictive, and thought this house had brought that to their attention. She said she thought there should be flexibility and that the Butts had made a conscientious effort. She did not find the color offensive, but would consider saying the Butts have to have a color approved from the color board when they repaint their house. Johnson said if the house were an outrageous eyesore he would have no compunction about voting to have it repainted; however, he felt justified in allowing the color to stand. The motion was defeated by the following roll call vote: AYES: Mayor Casey and Mayor Pro Tem Johnson. NOES: Councihnembers Dauber, Hubbard and Siegel. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed by the following roll call vote to leave stucco paint as is but that garage doors have to conform to the color board, perhaps as suggested by staff (green to match trim or a darker gray). AYES: Mayor Casey, Mayor Pro Tem Johnson and Councilmember Hubbard. NOES: Councilmembers Dauber and Siegel. July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting The Planning Director explained that the walkway should be four feet in width within the setback area and built of gravel or a railroad tie/gravel combination. The City Manager said the Town's rationale has to do with the transition between materials and they try to keep expensive materials out of the public right of way since it is expensive to replace it if it has to be removed because of a construction operation. The Planning Director said the steps are in the right of way and utility easement The City Manager said the steps are in the easement now so one way of doing it would be to transition the gravel area a little farther onto the lot and put steps on the lot, not in the easement The Planning Director said the right of way encompasses the steps and goes onto the property. If they added fill at the front of the lot it would be a significant amount of fill and would require a variance. The City Manager explained why the first several feet of the connection from a driveway to the public street is required to be asphalt instead of concrete or cobble. Casey pointed out that this was no different than a circular driveway and they allow them all over Town. She said there are several other homes, including one right across street, that have wide steps coming right to the street. The Planning Director noted that the one immediately adjacent had pavement all the way to the street and the Town had required them to remove and narrow it. Casey said the applicant had a case for an exception on width. Dauber expressed concern about the process and the plans for the pathway and walkway not being submitted to the Town. The Planning Director said the walkway was shown on the site plan but it did not specify materials or show the steps. Dauber said the approved plan was not clearly marked. The Planning Director said staff should have questioned the materials and been more specific. Mrs. Butts described her discussion with staff regarding the walkway. July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting Johnson expressed sympathy for Mr. Butts' condition but said he did not find the argument that the walkway was needed for medical reasons very compelling. Dauber commented that she would consider a variance or approving a wider walkway if it hadn't already been put in. She added that she could see a good finding for a variance on the fence. Johnson said he saw Dauber's point but variances have been applied for after the fact in the past. He agreed that this is a subject for a variance and he would certainly think about granting it if it were applied for. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Siegel and passed by the following roll call vote to uphold the Planning Commission decision requiring the applicant to reduce he width of the walkway to 5 ft. as was submitted on the plans and to remove hardscape from right of way. Mrs. Butts talked about why the walkway was built prior to approval and said it was not done on purpose. AYES: Mayor Pro Tem Johnson, Councilmembers Dauber, Hubbard and Siegel. NOES: Mayor Casey. 5.1 Request for direction regarding contract negotiations for proposed backyard yard waste collection program and extension of five year franchise agreement for solid waste services with the Los Altos Garbage Company The City Manager reviewed the staff report and added the following details: • Options regarding maximum number of containers - staff has reached agreement with Bill Jones, LAGCo General Manager for six 32 -gallon containers every two weeks, alternating with the recycling pickup. • Option of bundling yard waste. - he thought it would be easier and more efficient to pick up 32 gallon containers. He said this proposal anticipates reducing the quarterly cleanup days from four to three times a year. One of reasons is that it saves about $10,000 a year. He talked about the proposed contract with Zanker Road under which the dumping fee for yard waste would be reduced from $29 to $25 per ton. He said Council was not voting on that contract now, just the cost structure. • Startup date of yard waste and mixed paper pickups - he said it was important that there be good notice to residents. LAGCo will have to modify their trucks or get a different kind. • Construction debris recycling program. July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting `. Hubbard asked what staff anticipated happening with regard to the fee structure. The City Manager said the way they see the numbers right now, the yard waste and mixed paper programs could be added without any additional cost to residents. Siegel stressed the need to notify the public about closure of the yard waste center. He said it was also important that the agreement contain a performance standard relative to bill collections Casey said she thought the LAGCo survey showed that about 20% of the residents use the yard waste program so 80% me going to have a greatly enhanced service. Also, a lot of the cuttings brought by gardeners to the yard waste center are from outside the community. Hubbard repeated he thought it was very important that the community notification process be well done. The City Manager said he recommended that there be correspondence from the town and LAGCo, as well as notices in the newsletter and the Crier. Casey said there could also be a hewing. Hubbard stressed the need for community input prior to signing an agreement. The City Manager said staff anticipates they will be ready for a hearing at the first meeting in September. The staff report recommends that Council give staff direction to negotiate and come up with a contract that they would bring back to Council, so if they have a successful negotiation during August they would be ready. Dauber said they need Town wide mailing on this issue and it is important to inform residents. The City Manager responded to questions about curb side yard waste program perhaps excluding some of the uses that exist now, for example larger diameter tree limbs, etc. He said we need to ask ourselves if this is what the program was intended for. Yard waste tonnage has been high. Hubbard said Los Altos Hills has a lot more shrubbery and trees and the yards are at least an acre so a lot of yard waste is produced. Also, it is a fire hazard if it stays so we need to handle as much of that as possible. The City Manager said staffs recommendation would be that if a resident were doing a major cleanup or had a tree go down, they could pay for a special service such as a dumpster or debris box. He said his feeling was that the program be designed for the average user and average use, and for extreme cases there would be special orders. July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting Hubbard said construction waste is a major part of the waste stream out of this community which he thought should be paid for separately by the person generating it. The City Manager suggested keeping the disposal fee the Town charges for debris boxes at least $34 a ton, perhaps higher, and then offer a construction recycling program that has a lower cost so there's an impetus for people to recycle. The construction debris program could pay for the construction recycling program to a certain extent. Those two issues need to be looked at the same time. Dauber said they should not accept yard waste into the garbage trucks because of what it does to AB 939 and that information should be provided up front. She said Council needed the information from a survey that had been done on driveway and private road length before they can set rates. Discussion followed regarding a rate for a half can. The City Manager said they would have to subsidize a half can program in order to make it successful. Dauber said she wanted a half can rate. Everyone should be aware that if everybody in town went to one garbage can with the existing contract as proposed, rates are going to go over $30 a can for one can because there is a fixed cost of driving through the town twice a week which won't go away even if the garbage goes away. Unless recycling becomes much more lucrative C it's going to be harder to lower the rate with this kind of contract Regarding bundling of yard �w waste, she said it was her feeling that if something can be reasonably lifted and placed into the toters it would be acceptable. Hubbard said they should offer the alternative of using black plastic bags. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously that Council approve Staff's recommendation to review the proposal and direct Staff and the Council Subcommittee on Solid Waste to finalize negotiations for a five year contract with the Los Altos Garbage Co. for providing solid waste services. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Casey and passed unanimously to direct Staff to prepare a contract with Environmental Planning Consultants for the administration of the competitive bidding process for solid waste services in the event that agreement on final proposal and contract cannot be reached with LAGCo by August 25. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously that Staff be directed to return to Council at their first meeting in September for adoption of the appropriate contract, and that there be a public hearing with notification of that hearing sent to all residents. July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting l J Casey requested an update from staff at the next meeting on where they are in negotiations. Dauber said this gives the Town the flexibility to work with the Fire District. 6.1 NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Discussion of street design of the Vidovich Subdivision The Planning Director mentioned that Councilmembers Hubbard and Siegel are within 2500 ft. of this property and it may be appropriate for them to make disclosures. Councilmembers Siegel and Hubbard said they did not believe there would be a financial impact on their houses. The City Manager reviewed the staff report, noting that the Town's construction standards are out of date. The City Manager talked about the difference in water carrying capacity between 3 ft. and 4 ft. curb depth. He said his concern was that with a 4 ft. curb on both sides of the street, it will look fairly urban. The engineers had suggested using lamp black (a coloring agent) in the concrete so it would blend with asphalt curbs. He said it might be possible to narrow the lane width a little if the edge of the asphalt was paved over the top of the curb. Hubbard expressed concern that the wider improvements make the Town look more and more urban. He suggested a planting strip between the curb and path to break up the development concept. He said he liked the idea of a narrower lane. He said he thought the water carrying capacity of the street, not so much drivers entering driveways smoothly, was the important factor. The City Manager pointed out that the way most streets are designed is that if the curbs can't carry the water then it starts moving out into the street. As a storm recedes water moves back into the curb so there is still the carrying capacity, but there may be an inconvenience during the heaviest portion of a storm Dauber expressed a preference for cut and rolled curbs and would be against blackening the concrete. The curb should look separate from the street. She liked the idea of separating the path from the road. John Vidovich said he knows the Town prefers a rural look. He was been promoting the concrete curb because it would preserve the drainage in the roadway and that's why cities put 10 July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting them in. He asked for it to be 4 ft. because of his experience in going up rolled curbs and they are hard on a car. He said it is more expensive to go out 4 ft. but it achieves the same effect a little more expensively and he thought they could narrow down the road. Hubbard said he was not opposed to concrete curbs, just the 4 ft. width. He said he would prefer going back to 3 ft. as long as engineers say that it carries the same amount of water. Siegel said he had no problem with the 4 ft. curb and liked the asphalt overlay. Mr. V idovich said the problem with putting asphalt on cement is that it has a tendency to unravel and look bad. The Public Works Director observed that the water carrying capacity can be accommodated in the street whether it's 3 or 4 ft. He said from his perspective as an engineer Council's choice was more a matter of aesthetics as opposed to any engineering considerations as to water carrying capacity. Discussion followed regarding alternative coloring agents for the concrete and whether to use them. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: Council agreed to allow the use of three foot wide concrete rolled tow curbs. `9 7. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, SUB -COMMITTEES, AND COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES —None. 8. STAFF REPORTS —None. 9. COUNCIL -INITIATED ITEMS — None. 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR—None. Councilmembers discussed possible changes in the sound system and use of microphones during meetings. 12. CLOSED SESSION: PERSONNEL: PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54957.6 Public Employee Performance Evaluation—City Manager The City Council adjourned to a Closed Session on Personnel at 7:45 p.m. and reconvened at 8:15 p.m. 11 July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting ':9 13. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Roberta Wolfe Deputy City Clerk City of Cupertino The minutes of the July 30, 1997 Adjourned Regular City Council Meeting were approved at the September 17, 1997 City Council Meeting. 12 July 30, 1997 Adjourned City Council Meeting