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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/05/1997Minutes of a Regular Meeting November 5, 1997 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Regular Meeting Wednesday, November 5, 1997, 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 6:05 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, Public Works Manager Jim Rasp and City Clerk Pat Dowd Press: Carol Tiegs, Los Altos Town Crier 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT The Planning Director reported that the following applications were discussed at the 10/22/97 %' Planning Commission Meeting: Lands of Loughmiller, 25309 La Loma Drive, request for a site development permit for a new residence, a lot merger, variances to allow grading within ten feet of a property line and to exceed the allowable development area and a request for annexation - continued; Lands of Karimi, 26290 Elena Road, request for a site development permit for a major addition and remodel of an existing residence - approved; and Lands of Breitbart, 11991 Hilltop Drive, request for a site development permit and a conditional development permit for a minor addition and a variance to exceed the maximum floor area and a variance for parkin continued. The Planning Director noted that the only issue scheduled for the December 10 Planning Commission Meeting was the application for a school at the Morgan Manor site on Stonebrook. Hubbard noted that Planning Commissioner Jinkerson was stepping down from review of projects within 2,500 feet of his home. Hubbard stated that Council was not doing this and he did not agree that Planning Commissioners should be following this course. In his opinion if this lack of participation was followed, applications would be seriously delayed. He did of course acknowledge that if specific financial gain could be gained from a neighboring project then one of course would not vote on it per Fair Political Practices regulations. Council asked the City Attorney for a status report on her request for an opinion on this issue from the Fair Political Practices Commission and she responded that she was joining neighboring cities such as Atherton and Woodside to file a joint letter to the FPPC. It was agreed that the Planning Director would relay Council's comments on this matter to Commissioner Jinkerson. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR November 5, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting Items Removed: 4.1 - 10/15/97 minutes (Hubbard), 4.10 (Siegel) and 4.12 (Hubbard) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously to approve the balance of the Consent Calendar, specifically: 4.1 Approved Minutes: September 30, 1997 (Regular Meeting) 4.2 Approved Warrants: $606,368.92 (10/29/97) 4.3 Volunteer Awards Luncheon - December, 1997 — Approved request for payment of costs for staff to attend ($20 per person) 4.4 Accepted grant of pathway easement, Lands of Lyman, 13770 Wildflower Lane — Reso #83-97 4.5 Accepted dedication of road right of way, Lands of Chambers, 12421 Barley Hill Road — Reso #84-97 4.6 Accepted grant of conservation easement, Lands of Arias, 10460 Albertsworth Lane — Reso #85-97 4.7 Accepted grant of conservation and sanitary sewer easements, Lands of Janssen and Sessions, 24615 Australia Drive — Resolutions #86-97 and #87-97 4.8 Accepted grant of conservation easement, Lands of Fitzpatrick, 25311 Fremont Road — Reso 988-97 4.9 Accepted Page Mill Road Retaining Wall Project, CIP 96-97, Valentine Corporation — Reso #89-97 4.11 Adopted Ordinance #391 amending Chapter 1 (Zoning) of Title 10 (Zoning and Site Development) of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code to amend the section on setback lines Items Removed: 4.1 Approval of Minutes: October 15, 1997 (Regular Meeting) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously to approve the minutes of the October 15, 1997 City Council Meeting with the following corrections: Page 8, change Councilmember Hubbard's vote on the motion from Noes to Abstain; Page 9, Item 11.3, first paragraph, second sentence should read: "He was quite concerned because it had included several misleading comments although he felt it was a well intentioned effort to inform the residents.'; and Page 10, third sentence should read as follows: "Hubbard supported minimizing intrusion into setback areas but the ordinance before them allowed for so many exceptions and encouraged garages facing the street contrary to the design guidelines that he supported the Planning Commission's recommendation to allow turnarounds in setbacks." November 5, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting 4.10 Acceptance of Robleda Drainage Basin Storm Drain Improvement Project CIP96-97, Pfister Excavating, Inc. — Reso # Siegel asked who was responsible for repairing the damage to Fremont Road as a result of this project and was advised by staff that the contractor was responsible. In addition the Town would be including this section of Fremont Road in a future paving project. Siegel recommended that the contractor be made responsible for temporary improvements to Fremont as it was one of the Town's major roads. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Dauber and passed unanimously to adopt Resolution #90-97 amending the 1997-98 Capital Budget and Resolution #91-97 accepting as completed the work of the "Robleda Drainage Basin Storm Drain Improvement Project, CIP96-97", authorizing final payment concerning such work and directing the City Clerk to file Notice of Completion. 4.12 Adoption of Resolution presenting the Town's position on future land uses at Moffett Field — Reso # Dauber suggested amending the resolution before them to include the suggestion that Moffett could be used as the new site for the United States Geological Survey facility. Casey and Johnson however did not agree that the Town should get involved with making such a recommendation. MOTION SECONDED AND FAILED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Johnson and failed by the following roll call vote to amend the resolution concerning uses of Moffett Field to include the option of using as the new site for the USGS facility. AYES: Councilmembers Dauber and Siegel NOES: Mayor Casey and Mayor Pro Tem Johnson ABSTAIN: Councilmember Hubbard MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Johnson and passed by the following roll call vote to adopt Resolution #92-97 presenting the Town's position on future land uses at Moffett Federal Airfield. AYES: Mayor Casey and Councilmembers Dauber, Johnson and Siegel ABSTAIN: Councilmember Hubbard Hubbard believed the Town should abstain from voting on this issue. He did not support issuing a resolution stating the Town's opposition to air cargo use at Moffett Field. Los Altos Hills had not been asked to participate in the study group on this issue and he thought it was insulting to Mountain View and Sunnyvale to adopt such a resolution without studying the entire issue. Hubbard understood there might be a budget shortfall for NASA to stay and limited flights might be necessary to keep NASA at Moffett. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 5.1 Select date for Joint Meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission Council suggested February 5" as the date for the next Joint Meeting with the Planning Commission. The Planning Director stated that he would bring this date to the next Planning Commission Meeting for their comment. November 5, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Request for proposal for General Plan Update Council had before them the Planning Director's report on the General Plan Update. In it he noted that $45,000 had been included in the 1997-98 Planning Department Budget to provide for a consultant to begin work on the General Plan update, with a similar amount to be budgeted in the 1998-99 fiscal year. The request for proposals would be sent to about six planning consultants with final selection to be made in January. It was hoped that the Circulation Element would be completed by the end of this fiscal year and completion of the entire General Plan Update by June of 1999. Staff was asking for Council comment on the timeframe for this project, the selection criteria and the level of committee review and public input. Hubbard suggested that it might be a good idea to do a Town mailing on this issue and furthermore it was possible a survey could be done in conjunction with the update of the General Plan. Dauber concurred with Hubbard's comments. She also commented that there had been a long learning curve when the design guidelines booklet was prepared. Council needed to know what questions they wanted to ask. Casey believed this should be two separate efforts. A survey could be done the first half of 1998 and the results of the survey could be given to the General Plan consultant. She believed a consultant could be hired to formulate the survey. Casey strongly supported doing a survey next year in order to provide the Planning Commission with direction. She also suggested reactivating the communications subcommittee to work on a list of survey questions. The City Manager questioned whether such survey questions would relate more to the land use element and he reminded Council that one of their goals was to give the circulation element the highest priority. Staff needed to be advised if this goal was being changed. On this subject Siegel suggested that an outline of the circulation element issues to be covered should get Council approval before the consultant went forward. On the Housing Element issue which was scheduled for the November 19" Council Meeting, it was noted that an article on this was included in the last newsletter. In addition Council agreed that a boxed ad should be put in the next issue of the Town Crier highlighting the issues of the Housing Element to be addressed on the 19" and furthermore the meeting on the 19' would be informational with final approval to be agendized for a subsequent Council Meeting. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To authorize staff to release the request for proposals for the General Plan Update and to continue discussion of the process and public input required to the next Council meeting for discussion. 7. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, SUB -COMMITTEES, AND COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES 7.1 Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee 7. 1.1 Request for authorization to send a letter to the County Interjurisdictional Trails Committee This item was continued. STAFF REPORTS 8.1 City Manager November 5, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting `r. 8.1.1 Emergency Operations Center The City Manager reported that Town Hall would be closed from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 7" for the staff to conduct a meeting on emergency operations procedures. 8.1.2 Los Altos Garbage Company The City Manager reported that additional information should be forthcoming from Los Altos Garbage Company on Thursday, November 6"'. 8.2 City Attorney 8.2.1 Private Road/Pathway Easement Issue The City Attorney responded that this was a difficult issue and there really were no definite answers. It was agreed that she would prepare a memo on this for Council. 8.3 City Clerk 8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence Council referred to the letter received from Assemblyman Ted Lempert concerning airport noise from San Francisco International. It was agreed the Mayor would send a thank you note to Assemblymember Lempert and a copy of his letter would be sent to Marjorie Evans for her comment. 8.4 Public Works Manager 8.4.1 Emergency Access Roads The Public Works Manager commented on the Fire Department's priority list for emergency access roads which included Central and Sherlock. 9. COUNCIL -INITIATED ITEMS 9.1 Request for a Town -wide Survey (Mayor Casey) This item was discussed under Item 6.1 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Lalla Carsten, 13761 La Paloma, stated that she was on the steering committee for the Los Altos Hills Civic Association and adddressed the issue of the recent postcard mailed by the association on the driveway issue. She did not agree with a letter to the editor of the Town Crier sent by four of the five Councilmembers stating that the card was a disservice to the residents. As a result of the mailing there was a large turnout at the October 15" Council Meeting and the Council actually reversed an earlier decision on driveways. She believed the residents were interested in the issues and she recommended that the communications subcommittee be activated and a Town survey be mailed. Ms. Carsten also referred to a Town survey conducted by the civic association from which they got 77 responses. These responses supported notifying residents of significant changes to Town building ordinances and policies and also supported a Town -wide survey. November 5, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting Sandra Humphries, 26238 Fremont Road, stated that she did not receive a survey. She further believed that those present at the October 15" meeting had been involved with the civic association. Ms. Humphries thought it was important that both sides of an issue be stated in such a survey. Hubbard reiterated that he thought the information stated in the postcard had been incorrect and it was important that the Civic Association clarify issues. Casey stated that she would hope the Council would agree to send out such mailings so that the information would definitely be correct. 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS 11.1 Request to either relocate or abandon a pathway easement and public utility easement, Lands of Korman/Fink, 26157 Altadena Drive The City Attorney gave a brief history of this area. In 1913 Lowell Lane was dedicated to the County in its entirety. In 1996 the Town abandoned the northerly 163' of Lowell and in 1977 the southern portion was accepted by the Town as a road. In 1988 the southern portion was vacated but pathway and utility easements were reserved. Mr. Korman, 26157 Altadena, explained to the Council his request for abandoning the pathway on Altadena and relocating the path to Kingsley. He noted that for years people had crossed his property but in the past year or so the traffic had dramatically increased. Part of the problem was the use of his property by four-wheel drive vehicles. In addition people were rude and it was becoming increasingly uncomfortable for his family. He would certainly upgrade the path on Kingsley which he believed was the best all-weather connection to Esther Clark Park. In addition he would improve the entrance to the park at the top of Kingsley. Rosemary Bittman, 14350 Manuella, and Marilyn McCian, 25619 Darling Way, presented a petition which supported two natural, undeveloped pathways be retained as acess to Esther Clark Park. One path would he located along the western edge of the Korman property to Esther Clark Park and the other would connect Kingsley Avenue to Esther Clark Park by way of a short pathway easement at 14412 Kingsley Avenue. Ms. Bittman urged protection of the off-road path system and the quality of life enjoyed by those using the path system. Nancy Ewald, 26131 Altadena, stated that she was both a horseback rider and a resident of this neighborhood. She asked for clarification of the proposed path on Kingsley. Nancy Footlik, Los Altos, commented that she was originally from Los Altos Hills and she supported the path system. Les Earnest, Chairman of the Pathways Committee, stated that the path map of this section of Town was almost ready for review by the Council. Catherine Combs, 26640 Snell Court, supported the abandonment of the off-road path over the former Lowell Lane that connected Altadena Drive to Esther Clark Park. She believed this path was redundant to the one on Kingsley and was also generally unusable in wet weather. November 5, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting Bill Hofing, 26045 Torello Lane, supported the petition submitted by Rosemary Bittman. He thought Kingsley was quite narrow and believed the four-wheel drive issue on the Korman property should be addressed by the Town. Casey believed this was a privacy issue and supported the abandonment of the path on Altadena and relocating it to Kingsley which also afforded and entrance to Esther Clark Park Dauber believed that the Kingsley path needed to be improved as well as the access to Esther Clark Park. She further commented that this should be a high priority on the Town's crew schedule and the Town should work with Palo Alto on the entrance to the park. Siegel and Hubbard stated their support for the abandonment of the path on Altadena and relocating it to Kinglsey. Council further concurred with the City Manager's recommendation to keep a storm drain easement on the Altadena path so that the Town could continue maintanence. MOTION FAILED DUE TO LACK OF A SECOND: Moved by Dauber to work on upgrading Kingsley Path immediately as well as a good entrance to Esther Clark Park; to put a log across the the current easement at the Snell Lane connection; and to continue the discussion on abandonment to the time when the entire path system for this neighborhood is agendized. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Johnson and passed by the following roll call vote to determine that the pathway located along Kingsley Way was the best all-weather connection to Esther Clark Park and to initiate the process to abandon the off-road path over the former Lowell Lane that connects Altadena Drive to Esther Clark Park, subject to the installation of the rest of the Type IIB path along Kingsley Way to the connection at Esther Clark Park. In addition the storm drain easement shall be maintained and the entrance to Esther Clark Park off Kingsley shall be improved. AYES: Mayor Casey and Councilmembers Hubbard, Johnson and Siegel NOES: Councilmember Dauber Dauber supported the improvement of the Kingsley path but did not think it was appropriate to abandon the path over the former Lowell Lane without review of the entire neighborhood path system. 11.2 Request for a Site Development Permit for a new residence, Lands of Hill, 13870 La Paloma Road Dr. Hill, applicant, stated that he had appealed the Planning Commission's denial of his project. He stated that his project required no variances and conformed with the Town's codes. He did not believe the La Paloma policy of not allowing two story homes was fair especially since it was not written down and he had had no knowledge of it when he purchased the property. In addition there were five two-story homes near his lot. He did suggest that his understanding of the policy had actually been achieved in that the homes along La Paloma were one story. On the other hand his proposed home was 440' off La Paloma and could not be seen. Concerning the ridgeline issue, Dr. Hill did not believe this applied to his project. There was a grove of trees behind his property which provided more than enough mitigation of the home. Dr. Hill stated that in his preplanning meetings with staff he had been advised that if a two story home could be mitigated it might be approved and staff said nothing to him about height. Von Haws, the applicant's designer, reiterated his client's request for a one and a half story home and further commented that this proposed project was a football field and a half from %W La Paloma. November 5, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting The following residents addressed the Council in support of Dr. Hill's project: Hugh March, 13101 La Paloma; Bart Nelson, 26052 Fremont Road; Lalla Carsten, 13761 La Paloma; Jim Abraham, 12831 Viscaino Road; and Mr. Ryan, 26970 Orchard Hill Lane. They believed the Hill project conformed to the Town's codes and should not be subject to an unwritten policy. All residents should be treated equally. The following residents did not support the Hill project: Fred Osterlund, 26238 Fremont Road; John Glathe, 13801 La Paloma; Bill Whitney, 13890 La Paloma; Dave Mooring, 13791 La Paloma; and Carol Seeds, 13801 La Paloma. They addressed the drainage issue in the La Paloma area and some stated the house was massive and would negatively impact their view. Mr. Mooring stated that consistency was important and for six yews it had been clear in the La Paloma area that 23' was the height limit. The Planning Director referred to the Town's codes and the design guidelines. He further noted that the La Paloma policy was a consistent interpretation for the La Paloma area. He stated that he had met with the applicant and the applicant's previous designer and had advised them that the proposed house did not comply with the policy for the La Paloma area. Casey stated that this La Paloma policy had never been discussed by the residents in the area. She supported the Hill application stating that one could not see the house because it was set so far off La Paloma and there was a grove of trees. She further believed that a two story house actually had a smaller footprint. Johnson stated that there had been quite a bit of resident input when the Nelson subdivision was being discussed on La Paloma. He referred to the ridgetop rule and emphasized the importance of consistency. The house should have a 23' height limit. Hubbard stated that consistency in the La Paloma Corridor was important and the applicant had been advised of this policy. Dauber also believed consistency was important and also mentioned that the sheds should be moved out of the setback areas. Siegel concurred that this was a highly visible project. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Hubbard and passed by the following roll call vote to uphold the Planning Commission's denial of the request for a site development permit for a new residence on Lands of Hill at 13870 La Paloma Road, based on the findings approved by the Planning Commission on September 24, 1997 and amended by Council to include the following statements: La Paloma Road is considered to be a view corridor and generally homes have been limited to one story and 22-23 feet in height and to reference page 14 of the Design Guidelines and Section 10- 2.701 of the Town's Site Development Code. AYES: Mayor Pro Tem Johnson and Councilmembers Dauber, Hubbard and Siegel NOES: Mayor Casey 11.3 Request for a site development permit for a detached garage, minor additions and a major remodel of an existing residence, Lands of Ferrari, 12500 Corbetta Lane This item was continued to the next Council Meeting at the request of the applicant. 11.4 Discussion of Master Path Plan: Southwest Section of Town — Offroad Paths November 5, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting Casey recommended that the process be changed to include sending a letter to each affected resident as well as putting a notice in the Town Newsletter. Furthermore, the Pathways Committee should meet with the neighbors before the issue comes to Council and site visits should be planned for the Pathways Committee and the Council prior to the advertised hearing at the Council Meeting. Dauber stated that it should be made clear that the 1980 Master Plan Plan was really a wish list on the Town's part for a workable path system. Les Earnest, Chairman of the Pathways Committee, commented that the process was determined by the Council and the Council had already preliminarily reviewed these paths at an earlier meeting. The following residents addressed the Council stating their opposition to the off-road paths near their homes: Joe Siudrinski, 27150 Moody Court; Steve McReynolds, 27110 Moody Court; Eric Clow, 27660 Red Rock Road; Kit Gordon, 27625 Red Rock; Hill Reiser, 27640 Red Rock; Kerstin Jansson, 27440 Sherlock Court; Harold Wachs, 27450 Sherlock Court; Carol Wilkins, 26776 Almaden Court; Marge Mueller, 27860 Via Corns; Pauline Navarro, 12374 Melody Lane; Connie Yu, 12981 La Barranca; Michael Elliott, 27089 Traffic Road; Douglas Pedersen, 26910 Dezabara Way; Alice Mansell - representing Gary Whitehouse, 12345 Page Mill Road; Katy Servanti, 26884 Dezahara Way; Don Laub, 28140 Page Mill Road; Dave Yewell, 20885 Taaffe Road; Rudy Cazanjian, 26920 Almaden Court; Jack Elmberg, 26731 Taaffe Road; and Pauline marion, 27844 Black Mountain Road. These residents expressed their concern about safety, privacy issues and increased traffic through their property. In many cases they said the paths did not connect to anything and some commented that they believed it provided an unnecessary pathway map for outside users. These residents also expressed concerns about the notification process. They believed the residents in the affected neighborhoods should make the decisions regarding pathways and questioned whose goals were being reflected in the Master Path Plan. The residents supported removing all proposed off road paths from the Master Path Plan to avoid confusion and to re -look at the entire process. The comment was also made that the Town had 96 miles of paths and it was not possible to maintain what was already in place. Art Lachenbruch, 11820 Buena Vista, referred to the criteria used to decide if a proposed path was good or not. He also commented that the nexus should more closely match the size of the project. Katherine Stella, 27975 Via Ventana, stated that she was on the Pathways Committee and commented on the process. The committee was a recommending body to the City Manager and City Council. She believed the open, rural atmosphere of the Town was for everyone to share and she personally supported and enjoyed the pathway system. However, she had no intention of meeting one on one with residents in adversarial situations. Nancy Ginzton, Natoma Road, stated that she had lived in the Town for a long time and she was very supportive of the pathway system. Dot Schreiner, 14301 Saddle Mountain Drive, noted that she was presently a Planning Commissioner and had long served on the Town's Pathway Committee. She believed there was a fundamental misunderstanding about the Master Path Plan. The original 1980 Master Path Plan had been accepted by the Council and was the guiding document for the Pathway Committee. This map was now being revised and updated and it was a charge of the Pathway Committee to accomplish this task. Carol Gottlieb, 24290 Summerhill, stated that the pathway system had been a fundamental part of the Town from the time of incorporation. She referred to Nancy Ginzton's mother, Artemas, who had been very involved in the pathway system not only for the Town but also for Santa Clara County. Ms. Gottlieb further reported that when the Master Path Plan was originally discussed it was reviewed for years by the Pathways Committee, staff, the Planning Commission and finally approved by Council. y November 5, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting Lou Casey recommended not putting any of these paths on the map and undertaking the process she suggested at the beginning of this hearing. Hubbard commended the Pathway Committee for their recommendations but obviously there was no support for off-road paths in this area of Town. Hubbard further stated that the Pathway Committee worked at the direction of the Council as a whole and they did not deserve many of the comments from residents that had been made at this meeting. Hubbard stated that if residents had any comments to make they should be directed to Council. Johnson commented that this pathway review was obviously a flawed procedure. Government should not be telling people what to do in cases like this. Siegel noted that some sections of Town welcomed off road paths more than others. This Master Path Plan was long range but these paths could not be imposed on this neighborhood. Dauber stated that this was indeed a very sad meeting. She strongly supported the open space pathway system and believed this indicated the end of the Town's pathway system. If one neighborhood said they did not want paths, others would follow. She believed the paths were what made and the Town special and Council should give a lot of thought to what they decide to do. Council agreed that they would agendize a review of this pathway process after the first of the year. Mayor Casey said that she would bring forth a recommendation. Dauber suggested ajoint meeting with the pathway committee but it was agreed that prior to that Council should decide on what direction should be given to the Committee. 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 12:50 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Patricia D� City Clerk The minutes of the November 5, 1997 City Council Meeting were approved at the November 19, 1997 City Council Meeting. 10 November 5, 1997 Regular City Council Meeting