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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/19/1994Minutes of a Regular Meeting January 19, 1994 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 19, 1994, 6:00 P.M. Council Chambers. 26379 Fremont Road 1. CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Johnson called the Regular Meeting of the City Council to order at 6:10 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Johnson and Councilmembers Dauber, Hubbard and Siegel Absent: Councilmember Tryon Staff: City Manager Les M. Jones, II, City Attorney Sandy Sloan, Director of Public Works Jeff Peterson and City Clerk Pat Dowd Press: Jan Shaw, Los Altos Town Crier 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT Planning Commissioner Edwina Comiso reported that at the January 12th meeting a public hearing had been held on the Lands of Ramsay at 13060 Alta Lane North -- request for a site development permit for a landscape plan. Commissioner Comiso noted that a long discussion had taken place concerning the removal of seventeen trees which were not supposed to be removed. The Commission was requiring the placement of seventeen trees to replace them and a bond. The Commission was also working with staff on wording for conditions that would make it clear that the owners would be responsible for such actions. Commissioner Comiso reported that this item was continued. On the subject of the General Plan amendments, Commissioner Comiso noted that these were complicated issues which were taking �w January 19, 1994 Regular Meeting :,9 longer than anticipated to review. They were moving forward though and as reviewed these amendments would be brought to the Council for approval. Council agreed that the elements should be brought to Council as recommended by the Commission and not held for discussion all at one time. It was pointed out though that amendments to the General Plan could only be made three times a year but the discussions could be done at any time. Dauber asked that when the Commission found an ordinance that they did not believe was appropriate for the Town's goals that they review it. Johnson thanked the Planning Commission for all of their work on the General Plan. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR Items Removed: 4.2 (Hubbard) and 4.3 (Dauber) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Dauber and passed unanimously by all members present to approve the balance of the Consent Calendar, specifically: 4.1 Approved Minutes: December 15, 1993 January 5, 1994 Items Removed: 4.2 Approval of Warrants: $10,446.46 (1/4/94) $29,622.91 (1/7/94) Hubbard asked for clarification of the $2,109.70 payment to Julie Blakeslee. Staff advised Council that this was for environmental impact report work done on the Lands of Eshner and the Town would be reimbursed by the Eshner trust. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Dauber and passed unanimously by all members present to approve the warrants, specifically $10,446.46 (1/4/94) and $29,622.91 (1/7/94). 4.3 Approval of Right of Way Abandonment and Sale of Land, Lands of the Town of Los Altos Hills adjacent to 24024 Oak Knoll Circle Dauber expressed her concerns about Dr. Saah's reasoning for purchasing this piece of land from the Town. According to the staff report he wanted the land so that he January 19, 1994 Regular Meeting %W could construct an entry gate to his property at a location nearer to the existing edge of pavement. A discussion followed on whether or not approval of this sale would imply support of such gates and it was agreed that Dr. Saah should provide a design of the proposed gate. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Siegel and passed unanimously by all members present to continue this request for approval of right of way abandonment and sale of land and to request Dr. Saah, the owner of 24024 Oak Knoll Circle, to submit a design for the proposed gate. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Discussion of CDBG Fund Allocation Johnson reported that the Town had $200,000 available in Community Development Block Grant Funds. However, he had been advised by Planning Commissioner Comiso that Mr. Charles Chew, program director for the Board of Supervisors, was going to recommend to the Board that this money go back to the y general pool since the Town had not used it. Johnson noted that Mid -Peninsula �r Fair Housing was interested as a possible recipient of this fund allocation. Council raised the issue of whether the Town would be able to get credit for low income housing from such support but was advised that this was not possible at this time. The Community Services Agency was also mentioned as a possible recipient. Edwina Comiso, Planning Commissioner and former CDBG representative from the Town, commented on her conversations with Mr. Chew and also on possible recipients of such funds. In particular she referred to the services provided by the Community Services Agency especially in the area of rehabilitation of housing. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: It was agreed that the Community Services Agency would be contacted as a possible recipient of the CDBG funds that were available to the Town, that such support would be in addition to financial support CSA already received from the Town, that CSA would be asked to provide a report on what they could do with this money and that the Mayor would work with the City Manager on this project which included contacting the County and bringing the matter back to Council when further information was available. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES. SUB -COMMITTEES, AND COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES January 19, 1994 Regular Meeting 7.1 Community Relations Committee 7.1.1 Request for guidance regarding the 1994 S'bring in the Hills event and financial report on the 1993 S'bring in the Hills event Roger Burnell, Chairman of the Community Relations Committee, referred to the financial report he submitted to the Council for the 1993 S'bring in the Hills event and also commented on the event to be planned for this year. He noted that his committee had done an informal poll of residents asking what type of Town event they would like to attend, whether or not a large event should be held every year or whether smaller events should be scheduled. The results of this poll prompted their recommendations that a smaller event such as a less formal cocktail/appetizer social gathering at someone's home be scheduled for May of this year and long- range planning be done for a major S'bring in the Hills event in 1995. Hubbard and Johnson agreed with a large event being held every other year with a smaller event scheduled for the alternate years. Dauber did not think it was the responsibility of the Town to hold a dinner party for the residents. She thought the primary focus of such a party should be an opportunity for the residents to meet the newcomers, the members of the Town Committees and Council. She also believed Friday evenings were better because staff would be more available to attend and the event should be held on Town property (Heritage House, Little League Fields, etc.) Council thanked Mr. Burnell for his financial report on the 1993 S'bring in the Hills event and agreed that a large S'bring in the Hills event would not be scheduled for this year. Council further agreed that Mr. Burnell should bring to Council a proposed budget for the Spring Greeting Event which was being suggested for May 1, 1994. Hubbard on behalf of the Council further thanked Mr. Burnell for the energy and time he devoted to the Town on these projects. 7.2 Finance Committee 7.2.1 Recommendations concerning the Annual Audit Report Jim Steiner, Chairman of the Finance Committee, referred to the minutes of the December 7th Finance Committee meeting which included their ]fpr January 19, 1994 Regular Meeting recommendations regarding the annual audit report. The first recommendation was that the Town should record general fund transfers to eliminate the deficits in the Capital Project Funds or eliminate the funds themselves. The City Manager noted that it was planned for next year to take these steps but the committee was recommending that it be done this year. Council referred to the budget discussions held earlier this year. The City Manager noted that he would see that the present procedure was in line with the approved budget. The second recommendation was that the Town should monitor its checking balances more closely. A discussion followed of whether it was better policy to leave as much money as possible in LAIF and incur occasional overdraft charges or whether to take a certain amount of money and put it in an interest bearing local account to cover such costs. In having overdraft charges it was pointed out that there appeared to be sloppy financial procedures. It was agreed that the City Manager would look into opening a money market account and would also negotiate with the bank for a better service charge schedule. Concerning fixed assets accounting, the committee reiterated its position that the cost of appraising the Town's fixed assets was not necessary as most of the Town's land could not be sold. Regarding computer implementation of overhead costs allocations, it was agreed that the City Manager would contact the auditor for clarification of this item. The Finance Committee also discussed the issue of pre -approved warrants although this was not an audit issue. The committee was advised that it was the Town's policy that any check over $5,000 needed prior approval by the Council; each check was signed by two people (City Councilmember, City Manager or City Treasurer); and each check was approved by the appropriate department head or by the Finance Officer. Siegel inquired about the controls over employee records including attendance, sick leave, comp time and overtime. He asked for a report on how the reporting was done and the accounting. Hubbard asked about the policy of showing a payroll figure on the warrant list and thought it was a prudent way to trace distribution. It was agreed the City Manager and the Finance Committee would discuss this at a future Finance Committee Meeting. 7.3 Residential Design Guidelines Subcommittee Dauber reported that the final draft and the index for the Design Guidelines would be brought to Council at their February 2nd meeting. At that meeting a decision would be asked for from Council regarding the type of printing to be selected for the document. 7.4 Town Handbook Subcommittee January 19, 1994 Regular Meeting n 7.5 Quarry Subcommittee Siegel reported that a meeting was scheduled for January 26th with staff and the City Attorney to discuss environmental issues related to the quarry project. 7.6 Water District Subcommittee The City Manager reported that two proposals had been received and two additional firms were being contacted. The deadline for proposals was January 25th. A meeting of the Council subcommittee and Water District subcommittee was scheduled for January 26th. Hubbard noted that it appeared it would be cost effective if the space study consultant also had architectural experience. 7.7 Packard Subcommittee Hubbard asked for a staff update on the status of this project. 7.8 Composting Subcommittee Dauber reported that there had been 55 responses to this pilot project. The composters were going to be available at Town Hall on Saturday, January 22nd from �w 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and a brief demonstration would be given at that time. 8. STAFF REPORTS 8.1 City Manager 8.1.1 Request from the Board of Supervisors regarding whether or not a Phase II audit (Performance or Program Audit) of the County Library System should be conducted The City Manager reported that a request had been received from the Board of Supervisors asking whether or not the Council concurred with conducting a Phase II audit of the County library system. However, no information was available as to how much this audit would cost. In response to an inquiry from Council, the City Manager stated that library funds would be used for such an audit. Council stated their concerns about such use of library funds at this critical budgetary time. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To direct the City Manager to advise the Board of Supervisors that the Council was opposed to the expenditure of funds to conduct a Phase II audit of the County library system. (� January 19, 1994 Regular Meeting 4 8.1.2 Solid Waste Task Force Wr The City Manager reported that this was an informal group comprised of cities and agencies that all contracted with Los Altos Garbage Company for solid waste services. They were sharing information, franchise agreements, scopes of audits, concerns, problems, etc. Siegel noted his concerns that as part of the Town's franchise agreement the audit work had to be completed in Spring to process the rate review. He was concerned that this task force might interfere with the Town getting the information it needed. The City Manager responded that an agreement had been signed with Hilton, Frankopf & Hobson to provide consulting support to the solid waste franchise agreement negotiations and information should be forthcoming from them in February. 8.2 City Attorney 8.3 City Clerk 8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence dated January 13, 1994 Johnson referred to the letter received from Mr. Montesano concerning a meeting on health services. This letter had also been sent to most cities and local representatives. Supervisor McKenna's office was sending a staff member to the meeting and the Town will be able to get a briefing after the meeting. `► 9. COUNCIL -INITIATED ITEMS 9.1. Fire Protection Services Committee (Mayor Johnson) Johnson asked Hubbard if there was any additional information on this issue and Hubbard advised that there was no report since the last meeting. Johnson also commented that he had received a request from Bob Hatch, member of the Safety Committee, who asked if he could be included in these meetings. It was agreed that the City Clerk would call Los Altos and request that both the City Manager and Bob Hatch be added to the agenda mailing list for these meetings. 9.2 Stonebrook Truck Traffic (Councilmember Hubbard) Hubbard commented on the truck traffic at Stonebrook. Members of the Council, staff and representatives from the Stevens Creek Quarry had met to discuss the truck traffic and to see a staging experiment regarding speed and number of trucks. It was noted that all trucks, no matter what the speed, hit the berm. Both Mr. Kolski January 19, 1994 Regular Meeting %, of Stevens Creek Quarry and Mr. Vidovich were asked to provide information on how much dirt was left to haul and how many trucks this would take. This information should be received in time to agendize this issue for the next Council Meeting. Also at that meeting the issue of adopting a new ordinance regarding the speed limit of the trucks would be addressed. 9.3 State Swimming Pool Ordinance (Mayor Pro Tem Dauber) Dauber referred to the City Attorney's report on new State legislation regarding barriers for swimming pools, spas and hot tubs. She asked if they could impose these regulations without first holding public hearings to discuss them. The City Attorney responded that they decided in this case to approve these regulations on an emergency basis and hold public hearings at a later date to receive input. Dauber stated that she had written a draft response to these new requirements and asked if Council agreed with her. She believed that such regulations should be left to local governments and not be imposed by the State. It was agreed that this issue would be agendized for the next City Council Meeting. 9.4 Reports from Sunnyvale on unfunded state and federal mandates and local government revenue distribution (Mayor Pro Tem Dauber) Dauber noted that she had pointed out to the Sunnyvale City Manager's office that �W the figures for both Los Altos and Los Altos Hills were incorrect in these reports and this made it appear that both received large sums of money which they did not. She pointed out that, for one example, the reports showed that Los Altos Hills received 21% special district monies for fire and library when the correct figure was 14°% (10% - fire and 4% - library). 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Dr. Howard Martin, 11666 Dawson Drive, referred to an agenda for a January 27th meeting of the Santa Clara County General Plan Review. He was concerned about several of the items including streamsides and hillsides policies and rural residential areas. He expressed his concerns about any changes that would be detrimental to the Town, any changes that would result in bypassing the Town's regulations, and any changes that would affect the Town's sphere of influence. Johnson reported that he served on this committee and would be pleased to share the reports on these agenda items with Dr. Martin. Johnson further commented that this committee had thirty three members and appeared to favor environmental support. Dr. Martin noted that he was pleased to hear this. 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS (W January 19, 1994 Regular Meeting t4. 11.1 Adoption of Resolution Amending the Town's Fee Schedule -- Reso #_____ Dauber asked for clarification of small projects and also asked for the specific figures for calculated fees for a 6,000 square foot house remodel and a 6,000 square foot new house. What was the difference in the fees? Dauber also referred to page five and asked that the figures be checked and the format be clarified. On the subject of lot splits and lot mergers Dauber inquired about the $790 charge per lot. Was this correct for lot mergers as well as lot line adjustments? It was agreed that for lot mergers it should be a flat $790 charge while for lot line adjustments it should be $790 for each resulting lot. Dauber inquired about the charges for fence height variances and asked why they were not included in minor variances. Dauber addressed the issue of animal control and asked for clarification of the charges for kennels and livery stables. It was agreed the City Manager would look into this and report to Council. Hubbard was concerned about defining small projects and wondered if it would be better to simply use a cost figure. The City Manager did point out that this could be misleading if a project was reported to have donated materials, etc. Hubbard asked that a list be prepared of ten or twenty most requested projects (such as fences, re -roofs) and what they cost. He believed it would be user ` friendly if listed by project. On page ten Hubbard asked for a clarification of the different charges for a subcontractor. Siegel asked about re -roofing and asked for an example of the cost of a typical re -roof. For purposes of clarficiation, Council asked that small projects be put in a separate section in the fee schedule. Council further agreed that the following statement should be added to the definition for small projects: "or other similar projects identified by the City Manager." Council asked that number three on page eight be modified as follows: delete 'displaying real estate for sale signs' charge and state the charge for real estate signs as follows: "Service charge for return of illegally placed real estate signs on public property." MOTION FAILED DUE TO LACK OF A SECOND: Moved by Dauber and failed due to lack of a second to delete the fence height variance section on page three. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To close the public hearing on amending the Town's fee schedule and continue this item to the next Council Meeting. 12. CLOSED SESSION: PERSONNEL: PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54957.6 (Evaluation of City Manager) -- continued from January 19, 1994 Adjourned Regular Meeting The City Council adjourned to a Closed Session at 9:20 p.m. and reconvened at 10:00 a.m. (� January 19, 1994 Regular Meeting C!' %I 13. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Patricia Dowd City Clerk The minutes of the January 19, 1994 Regular City Council Meeting were approved at the February 2, 1994 Regular City Council Meeting. 10 January 19, 1994 Regular Meeting