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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/19/1995 (2)Minutes of a Regular Meeting April 19,1995 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Meeting Wednesday, April 19, 1995, 6:00 P.M. Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Dauber called the Regular Meeting of the City Council to order at 6:15 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Dauber and Councilmembers Casey, Hubbard, Johnson and Siegel Absent: None Staff: City Manager Jeff Peterson, City Attorney Sandy Sloan, �Ar Assistant City Attorney Tom Murtha, Assistant Engineer Sheryl Kolf, Assistant Planner Suzanne Davis and City Clerk Pat Dowd Press: Clyde Noel, Los Altos Town Crier 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS 2.1 Appointment of Exhibit Curator Ethel Blank, 26877 Nina Place, introduced herself to the Council and commented on her interest in serving as the Town's Exhibit Curator. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously to appoint Ethel Blank at Exhibit Curator for a two year term. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously to approve a budget of $500 for the remainder of 1994-95 and to request Mrs. Blank to prepare a budget for 1995-96. April 19, 1995 Regular City Council Meeting �w n qu 2.2 Presentation by Los Altos Mediation Program Ralph Vetterlein reported that the Los Altos Mediation Program was in place and in the first month eighteen calls had been received and three cases heard. The program covered a variety of issues including disputes between neighbors, tenant/ landlord, merchant/ customer and employee/employer. Mr. Vetterlein urged everyone to share the information that this service was available. 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT 4. CONSENT CALENDAR MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johnson, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously to add the following item to the agenda as an urgency item at the request of the City Manager: Request for authorization to purchase a four- wheel drive truck for the Town's maintenance department. Items Removed: 4.1 Regular Meeting (Hubbard) and 4.4 (Casey) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously to approved the balance of the Consent Calendar, specifically: 4.1 Approved Minutes: 4.2 Approved Warrants: 4.3 Issued Proclamation: March 15, 1995 (Adourned Regular) $ 72,633.33 (3/10/95) $248,850.85 (3/31/95) $ 75,395.79 (4/11/95) Vietnamese Human Rights Dav -- April 30, 1995 4.5 Accepted Final Map, Lands of Fremont Hills Country Club, 12889 Viscaino Place -- Reso #23-95 4.6 Awarded contract for Miscellaneous Street Legends and Striping Project, 1994-95 -- Reso #24-95 4.7 Awarded contract for Tree Planting Grant Project, 1994-95 -- Reso #25-95 4.8 Awarded contract for Asphalt Berm and Interceptor Ditch Project, 1994-95 -- Reso #26-95 April 19, 1995 Regular City Council Meeting 11br 4.9 Accepted dedication of right of way adjacent to Elena Road, Lands of Grunewald, 27040 Elena Road -- Reso #27-95 4.10 Introduced Ordinance to repeal and amend certain sections of Los Altos Hills Municipal Code 4.11 Accepted radar survey and the establishment of speed limits on certain streets -- Reso #28-95 4.12 Awarded contract for supply of trees for tree planting grant project -- Reso #29-95 4.13 Approved request for authorization to purchase a four-wheel drive truck for the Town's maintenance department. Items Removed: 4.1 Approval of Minutes: March 25, 1995 Regular Meeting) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Johhnson, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously to approve the minutes of the March 25, 1995 Regular City Council Meeting with the following correction: page 8, last motion include roll call vote as follows: Ayes — Siegel, Casey and Johnson and Noes -- Dauber and Hubbard. 4.4 Denied Claim: Mr. and Mrs. Scarampi Casey asked if the Scarampis had been notified that this item was on the agenda. Since they were not present, she asked that this time be continued. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To contact the Scarampis and continue this item to the next Council Meeting. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 5.1 Proposed interpretation of code sections relating to tennis court development area, grasscrete development area/use, etc. from Council Subcommittee 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 False Alarm Charges for Schools and Public Agencies April 19, 1995 Regular City Council Meeting Council discussed the report on false alarm charges prepared by the Finance Officer �A„ and the request for clarification regarding a reduced rate for public agencies and private schools located in the Town. No action was taken on this issue and the matter was tabled. 6.2 Request for removal of stop sign on Stonebrook at Priscilla Lane Walter Gregorwich, 12370 Priscilla Lane; Charles Sykes, 12374 Priscilla Lane and Bob SLMartin, 12362 Priscilla Lane each addressed the Council in support of keeping the stop sign on Stonebrook at Priscilla Lane. They strongly stated safety concerns and urged that the stop sign remain in place. Council took no action on the request to remove the stop sign on Stonebrook at Priscilla Lane 6.3 Request for interpretation of the Site Development Ordinance relating to Site Development Permit Review. Council had before them the Assistant Planner's report on a request for interpretation of the site development ordinance relating to site development permit review. She noted that the present practices and the Town's Code were not in compliance. According to the code Site Development was comprised of two Planning Commissioners, City Manager and City Engineer or designee. The Current %, practice included a Site Development Committee of representatives from the Environmental Design and Protection Committee, the Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee and the Engineering and Planing Departments. Council discussed what applications were reviewed by staff and which were reviewed by the Site Development Committee. Hubbard and Siegel stated that they wanted to see staff have the opportunity to review more applications and thus streamline the process for applicants. Dot Schreiner, Chairman of the Planning Commission, stated that her main concern with staff reviewing secondary dwellings was that such secondary dwellings often included other issues such as road right of way dedications and other dedications. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: To request the Communication/ Streamlining Procedures Subcommittee to work on a proposal regarding site development permit review process and to send any recommendations to Planning Commission for comment. 7. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES, SUB -COMMITTEES AND COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGFNCIES April 19, 1995 Regular City Council Meeting 7.1 Community Relations Committee Roger Burnell, Chairman of the Community Relations Committee, presented an overview of the plans for the Spring Greeting Event planned for May 21, 1995 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Town Hall. 7.1.1 Approval of Budget for Spring Greeting Party MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously to approve a $750 budget for the 1995 Spring Greeting. 7.1.2 Request for Photo Exhibit at Spring Greeting Party It was agreed Roger Burnell, Chairman of the Community Relations Committee, would contact the newly appointed Exhibit Curator to discuss the photo display for the party. 7.2 Safety Committee 7.2.1 Approval of Town's Emergency Handbook Abbreviated Guide Council discussed the draft emergency handbook as presented by the Safety Committee and thanked the committee's chairman, Berin Fank, for all of their work on this project. It was an excellent document and needed only slight modifications to achieve the goal of being an easily accessible reference tool. The following suggestions were made: include a list of Ham operators, consolidate the phone lists, include other useful numbers such as the numbers for Taaffe Construction and the Cities of Los Altos and Palo Alto. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To approve the emergency handbook in concept and to approve the policy statement that the City Clerk in January shall update the emergency handbook. 7.3 Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee 7.3.1 Approval of pathway easement donation nominations Les Earnest, Chairman of the Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee, referred to his recommendations on pathway easement donations. He noted that the paths at 12109 Foothill, 12113 Foothill and 27844 Black Mountain were in use but there were no easements. Council discussed these paths and the draft letter to go to the owners requesting donation. April 19, 1995 Regular City Council Meeting PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To send a letter from the Mayor to the owners of the properties at 12109 Foothill, 12113 Foothill and 27844 Black Mountain requesting donation of the paths. It was further agreed that reports on future requests would go on Council Consent Calendars for approval. 7.4 Communication/Streamlining Procedures Subcommittee Casey reported that three meetings had been held by this subcommittee. The purposed of this subcommittee was discussed and it was determined that additional information was needed. To achieve this it was agreed that input from residents was needed such as through the newsletter and input from architects, designers, builders and others involved in the planning process. Staff was working on a flow chart of the process. In addition it was important to get input from applicants who had gone through the process in the last three years. The suggestion was made that a professional consultant be engaged to work on another Town questionnaire to obtain this input. This proposal could be discussed at budget hearings. 8. STAFF REPORTS 8.1 City Manager VIV 8.2 City Attorney 8.3 City Clerk 8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence dated April 11, 1995 9. COUNCIL -INITIATED ITEMS 9.1 Issue of Circular Driveways (Councilmember Casey) Casey asked if there was a Town policy on circular driveways and commented that she believed mixed messages were given to applicants on this issue. Johnson noted that circular driveways were always allowed if it was a safety factor but believed they should be allowed if only for convenience. Hubbard noted that oftentimes circular driveways required less grading than other types of driveways. Dauber referred to the Town's design guidelines and noted that circular driveways were discouraged unless it was a safety issue. Siegel stated that the design guidelines were approved by the Council and he believed if there were going to be any changes, they should be brought back to Council for approval. April 19, 1995 Regular City Council Meeting PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To agendize the issue of circular driveways for the June 7th Council Meeting and in the meantime to request an opinion from the Planning Commission. 9.2 Clarification of appeal process by a Councilmember (Councilmember Casey) Casey raised this issue and stated that it was her understanding that to appeal a decision two Councilmembers needed to make the request. Council noted that while this had been discussed at a joint meeting with the Planning Commission no decision to change the present policy had been changed. It was also noted that this would require an ordinance change. It was decided to continue with the present policy at this time and take no action to change the ordinance. 9.3 Appointment of Ken Clifford to the Solid Waste Subcommittee (Mayor Dauber) PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To appoint Ken Clifford, member of the Finance Committee, to the Solid Waste Subcommittee. 9.4 Appointments to the Joint Volunteer Awards Committee (Mayor Dauber) �Aw PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To appoint Judy Marcus and Roger Burnell to the Joint Volunteer Awards Committee and to reappoint Bob Johnson as the Council liaison to this committee. 9.5 California Public Utilities Commission workshop on Cellular Siting and Request for Input (Mayor Dauber) The City Attorney reported that she planned to attend this workshop and she would share the Council's concerns that local government control was important. 9.6 Robleda Storm Drain Issue (Mayor Pro Tem Siegel) Siegel asked the status of this project and was advised by the City Manager that the contractor had not been working on this project in a timely manner and the Town may have to seek damages. 9.7 Fire District Property (Mayor Pro Tem Siegel) Siegel noted that the fire district property at Purissima and Arastradero may be cleaned up in the near future. Craig Murray was discussing farming this piece of property. April 19, 1995 VAW Regular City Council Meeting 9.8 Emergency Preparedness Committee (Mayor Dauber) Dauber commented on a recent meeting of the Emergency Preparedness Committee and reports on emergency training requirements (SEMS). It was agreed that a letter would be sent to Carol Whiteside in the Governor's Office with a copy to Senator Tom Campbell stating the Council's concerns about unreasonable mandates regarding such emergency training. 9.9 Public Hearing Procedures (Councilmember Casey) Casey commented that at one time it was the procedure that Cotmcilmembers did not attend Planning Commission Meetings and Commissioners did not attend Council Meetings. She did not agree with situations where Commissioners for example spoke at Council Meetings on applications before Council. In her opinion these were not unbiased comments and were not appropriate or necessary. Council already had all the information from the public hearing at the Planning Commission Meeting and the Commissioners should be present to address only specific questions raised by Council. In addition, Councilmembers should not address the Planning Commission on applications even as an individual. It just was not possible in her opinion to give unbiased comments. It was agreed that Planning Commissioners would no longer make reports to the Council but would be present to answer any questions on an application_ 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Mr. Dale Briggs, 26233 Dori Lane, addressed the Council on the issue of Craig Murray's garden at Robleda and Dori. Mr. Briggs stated that this garden was being run on his property and he was receiving threats of a lawsuit from one of the neighbors. Mr. Briggs noted that a Site Development Permit had been obtained for this project and he thought it was a welcome addition to the neighborhood rather than a nuisance. The following neighbors also spoke in support of the garden: Tom Moore, 26201 Dori Lane; Mrs. Briggs, 26233 Dori Lane; Jill Jensen; and Bill Dobrov, 12660 Robleda. Craig Murray stated that he had received a site development permit for the garden and was in compliance with the Town's ordinances. April 19, 1995 Regular City Council Meeting Casey thought this issue should be agendized for clarification. Siegel noted that the neighbor who was complaining was not present and he was uncomforable with proceeding without that person being present. Johnson did not believe it should he agendized and Hubbard noted that there was a normal procedure for site development permits. Dauber stated that mediation should be attempted before it came back to Council. 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS 11.1 Request for a site development permit to allow grading and retaining walls for a grass play area, Lands of Hwong, 12813 Clausen Court Mr. Hwong, applicant, stated that they had met with staff prior to purchasing this property and had specifically discussed the grading involved for the play area. He shared pictures of the project. Dr. Hwong did not block the view of his neighbors and the area had a natural look. Peter Fu, applicant's architect, referred to the computer generated pictures of this project and presented background information on this application. He stated that they originally had requested a tennis court and retaining wall but had been advised that a redesign would be better. Thus, they had submitted a redesign for a plav area. Mr. Jabbour, 12800 Clausen Court, stated that he was a neighbor and this project definitely impacted his property. He had a direct view of the play area which was a large flat area and he did not believe this project was in compliance with the Town's ordinances. He wanted assurance that a future owner of this property would not be allowed to build a tennis court where the play area was planned. In addition Mr. Jabbour noted that the pool on the Hwong property encroached into the setback and he believed the property should access off Voorhees not Clausen. Mr. Hwong, applicant, responded that the deck not the pool was in the setback and this was in place when he purchased the property. He also noted that the access issue had been decided before he had purchased the property. Carol Gottlieb, Planning Commissioner, noted that the Commission had held three meetings on this project and denied the project as it was not within the allowed development plans nor in conformance with the Town's Codes. Grading was usually not allowed for landscaping. Dot Schreiner, Chairman of the Planning Commission, commented on the grading being proposed for the play area which was beyond what was allowed for this lot. She noted that the applicant had the option of keeping the contour of the land and reducing the proposed area from 6,100 square feet to 3,000 square feet. April 19, 1995 VOW Regular City Council Meeting Gene Ravizza, 24700 Voorhees, stated his support for the Hwong project. Hubbard referred to the Town's Code concerning the preservation of the natural look and scenic views. In his opinion the applicant had gone beyond the intent of the Code in that cut and fill was appropriate for structures but not for other purposes. Casey commented on neighborhood compatibility. She believed this project was consistent with other properties in the neighborhood and was not excessive. Dauber stated that she believed an artificial drainage basin was being proposed. She also believed clarification was needed as to what constituted a tennis court. Was it a large flat area surrounded by a fence? In this situation Dauber believed there was an excessive amount of grading. Johnson commented that the applicant went through a redesign of his project and had complied with the recommendations from the Planning Commission. He noted that the retaining wall was going to be screened and he believed the play area was an appropriate use. Siegel recommended denial of this project because of excessive grading. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Hubbard and passed by the following roll call vote to deny the request for a site development permit to allow grading and a retaining wall for a grassy play area for Lands of Hwong at 12813 Clausen Court, subject to the findings to be prepared by the City Attorney for approval at the next Council Meeting. AYES: Mayor Dauber and Councilmembers Hubbard and Siegel NOES: Councilmembers Casey and Johnson Siegel commented on the issue raised during this hearing of encroachment into the setback and asked how this had happened. He urged the role of the building official be one of aggressive responsibility in seeing that the approved plans were those built. 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 11:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Dowd3' City Clerk The minutes of the April 19, 1995 Regular City Council Meeting were approved at the May 17, 1995 City Council Meeting. April 19, 1995 Regular City Council Meeting 10