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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/02/1994Minutes of a Regular Meeting November 2, 1994 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Meeting Wednesday, November 2,1994,6:00 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 6:05 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Dauber and Councilmembers Hubbard and Johnson Absent: Mayor Pro Tem Siegel and Councilmember Tryon Staff: City Manager Les M. Jones, 11, City Attorney Sandy Sloan, Planning Director Linda Niles, 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 McMahon reported that in addition to the planning items on the Council's Consent Calendar, the following two items were continued to the 10/26/94 Planning Commission Meeting: Lands of Nagpal, 28555 Matadero Creek Lane - request for a site development permit for a secondary dwelling and Lands of Bilger, 25901 Vinedo Lane - request for a site development permit for a new residence and pool. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR Item Removed: 4.2a (Dauber) MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously by all members present to approve the balance of the Consent Calendar, specifically: November 2, 1994 4.1 Approved Minutes: October 17, 1994 (Adjourned Regular) 4.2 Decided Not to Review the following Planning Commission Actions at Its Meeting on October 12, 1994: 4.2b Lands of Santora, 12008 Finn Lane: approved request for a Site Development Permit for a new residence and pool 4.2c Lands of Fitzpatrick, 27451 Altamont Road: approved request for a Site Development Permit for a major addition and remodel 4.3 Adopted Ordinance #373 updating the Conflict of Interest Code 4.4 Accepted dedication of right of way adjacent to Lupine Road, Lands of Chen, 27765 Lupine Road -- Reso #80-94 4.5 Approved request from the YMCA for authorization to use Council Chambers on November 29, 1994 for the Youth Leadership Program Item Removed: 4.2a Lands of Russell, 13331 Lennox Way: approved request for a Site Development Permit and a Conditional Development Permit `, for a minor addition and remodel, and a Variance for an increase in Maximum Floor Area and encroachment into the front setback Council decided to review the request for a Site Development Permit Conditional Development Permit for a minor addition and remodel, and a Variance for an increase in Maximum Floor Area and encroachment into the front setback for Lands of Russell at 13331 Lennox Way 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Status Report on the Griffin House -- Dan Alexander, Historical Society Dan Alexander, President of the Historical Society, reported that the Board of Trustees of Foothill College had accepted the $101,000 raised to preserve the Griffin House. Plans would now go forward toward stabilizing the building. Mr. Alexander thanked everyone for their support. November 2, 1994 6.2 Request for direction regarding grading within ten feet of the property line adjacent to the Vidovich project, Lands of Wise, 24301 Elise Court Mike Wise, applicant, explained his request for direction concerning grading within ten feet of the property line, allowing the import of approximately 6,000 cubic yards of fill and not requiring the geology report to be submitted for the grading project. He noted that his property is next to the quarry and quite a bit of grading had been placed near his property but on the quarry land. His request was to fill and grade over the lot line to achieve a smoother transition between the properties. In addition Mr. Wise asked that he not be required to file a geologic report for this project. Council discussed this request and determined that this was a unique situation and the finding for a variance to grade across the property line could no doubt be established. However, they did point out that the LUF (lot unit factor) would remain the same. On the subject of not requiring a geologic report, Council determined that this could be left to the discretion of the City Engineer. It was further noted that a statement could be put in file that this project had not been reviewed by a geologist. Mr. Wise thanked Council for their comments and direction on this matter. 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 apply for a grant for a bike path from Old Page Mill Road to Christopher's Lane 7.1.2 Bicycle Hazards and Mitigations -- Page Mill and 280 Les Earnest, Chairman - Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee, referred to the reports (on file at Town Hall) he had prepared for Council on the above issues. These reports included detailed outlines of potential hazards in these areas and proposed mitigations to address the problems. The City Engineer noted the Town had not done any analysis on the recommendations contained in these reports. He believed that there may be some problems with the proposed solutions and suggested that the Council's endorsement of these recommendations may be premature. Council discussed the reports filed by the Pathways, Recreation and Parks Committee and accepted them but did not acknowledge without additional study and review the existence of hazards mentioned in the reports. November 2, 1994 MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously by all members present to authorize the Pathways, Recreation and Parks Committee to seek a grant from Caltrans under their 1995 Bicycle Lane Account Program to build a bicycle path from Old Page Mill to Christophers Lane and to restore the existing pedestrian/equestrian path. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously by all members present to authorize the Mayor to send a letter to the County stating the Council's safety concerns about the intersection of Page Mill and 280 and requesting that a bicycle lane be approved at that location. 8. STAFF REPORTS 8.1 City Manager 8.2 City Attorney 8.3 City Clerk 8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence dated 10/27/94 Council referred to the letter from the Santa Clara County Cities Association on metering lights and agreed this issue would be brought back to Council at a future date. 9. COUNCIL -INITIATED ITEMS 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Betsy Bertram, 11854 Page Mill Road, referred to several campaign mailings in which Councilmember Hubbard's name had been linked with Council Candidate Toni Casey. Mrs. Bertram requested a statement from Hubbard noting that he was not involved with these mailings. Hubbard responded that he believed it was not appropriate to discuss campaign issues during Council meetings and stated that he would discuss this with constituents outside of Council Chambers. Ray Rooker, 12819 Viscaino Road, noted his concerns about the Town's communication with its residents. He did not believe the layout at Town Hall was conducive to reviewing plans and files and he suggested having the plans available in Chambers for the public's review. 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS November 2, 1994 11.1 Request for modifications to Conditions of Approval for a Site �W Development Permit and Conditional Use Permit for a major remodel and addition, Lands of Fremont Hills Country Club, 12889 Viscaino Place Dauber presented a brief background on the application received from the Fremont Hills Country Club. She referred to the July 20, 1994 Council meeting at which the project had been approved with the condition included for an access off Purissima. She noted that the Club at that time had stated that their funding was tied to the approval of the project. The Council had therefore held the public hearing and had approved the project with certain conditions. The Council further stated if the Club, after research and study on the Purissima access condition, determined that this was not a viable condition, they could bring the issue back to Council for reconsideration. Hubbard noted that at the July meeting on this application, he had not participated due to a possible conflict of interest. Since that time it had been determined that there was no conflict of interest, therefore he was participating in this hearing. Larry Anderson, Chairman of the Fremont Hills Country Club Renovation Committee, presented an overview of the project and a current status of the project. Concerning membership, he noted that there had been no change in membership. There were approximately 400 member families. Referring to the project, Mr. Anderson reported that approval had been received in July and the design and construction drawings had been completed. The bridge was an issue which needed to be addressed. This condition had not been recommended by the Planning Commission but had been imposed by the Council. Now they were facing a cost of $208,500 to put in a bridge and this did not include additional costs such as those covering inflation, insurance, relandscaping, contingencies. Mr. Anderson further commented on the parking issue stating that they had renovated the lower parking lot which now held 108 parking spaces and the upper parking lot which had 39 parking spaces. In addition, for large functions valet parking would be available as well as additional parking near the stables. Regarding undergrounding Mr. Anderson referred to the costs and noted that they had been given 10 years to accomplish the condition of undergrounding. Bill Kull, applicant's engineer, referred to his report on the proposed Deer Creek Bridge for the Fremont Hills Country Club. Mr. Kull noted that there were four types of projects which would suit this type of project. They were: concrete culvert bridge, prefabricated wood beam bridge, prefabricated concrete beam bridge or a railroad flat car bridge. The proposed bridge would be 30 feet wide which would accommodate two vehicles and a pathway and the span of the bridge would be 40 feet. Mr. Kull further commented that this was a heavily vegetated area and several trees including mature oaks would have to be removed. The location of the bridge %I' November v, 1994 �r was in part based on the access to parking. In response to an inquiry concerning whether the leach fields would have to be removed wherever the placement of the bridge, Mr. Kull responded this was the case. The cost of bridge would be $105,000 to $175,000 and this did not include design or soils work. Roy Davis, applicant's traffic engineer, referred to the traffic safety study prepared by Brian Kangas Foulk on this application. The report addressed the traffic and safety impacts for both vehicles and pedestrians of a proposed bridge crossing Deer Creek from the Fremont Hills Country Club to Purissima Road. In addition the report addressed the amount of traffic that would be rerouted from Viscaino Road as a result of the bridge on Purissima. Mr. Davis reported that they had studied the existing conditions on Purissima, had conducted a spot speed survey and had reviewed the Town's Circulation Element of the General Plan. The conclusions reached in their studies were as follows: the proposed bridge would not have sufficient sight distance for pedestrians and vehicles without removal of trees (including oaks) and vegetation; the recommended location for vehicles to cross Purissima was at the intersection of Purissima and Viscaino ; the amount of traffic that would be diverted from Viscaino Road as a result of the bridge would be negligible; and the bridge was inconsistent with the Circulation Element of the General Plan. Cindie Candau, member of the Fremont Hills Country Club Renovation Committee, noted that the club was a 35 year old facility long overdue for improvements. She referred to the reports presented on the environmental impact and the cost of the bridge and recommended that the entrance to the Club not be changed to Purissima. Wes Henderson, 12720 Canario Way, noted that times had changed. The club had grown in size in the middle of a residential neighborhood and it was a safety issue. Before members tended to walk to the club but now with 55% of the members from out of town most drove. He did believe that it was in the club's long term interest to have the access off Purissima but Mr. Henderson also commented that the two groups were working together and it was possible the parking/safety issues could be resolved. The following addressed the Council in support of the access off Purissima: Marie George 12881 Viscaino Place and A. Richard Jones, La Cresta Drive. The issues raised were safety and traffic on Viscaino. David Pilling, 12849 Canario Way, also stated his concerns about drinking at the club and asked that this serious issue be brought under control. 4 November 2, 1994 The following addressed the Council stating their opposition to the access off Purissima: Donald Lincicome, Los Altos; J.J. Card, 13023 La Cresta Drive; Barbara Cannon, 12879 Viscaino Road; Phil Mahoney, 12100 Foothill Lane; Chris Bateman, 12321 Gigli Court; Judy Anderson, 13021 W. Sunset Drive and Diane Dunham, 12921 Alta Tierra Road. The issues raised included: cost, attractive nuisance, use of stop signs and speed bumps as alternatives to a bridge, safety of children and traffic problems caused by Little League. Mrs. Clarence Henderson, 27020 Purissima Road, commented that they had lived in Town for 30 years and she believed Purissima was a dangerous area in which to put an access to the club. She suggested possibly exiting the club by the service area. Mrs. Henderson also shared her concerns about noise. Although it was more controlled than last year, there were still instances of noise after midnight and in the early morning hours. Dot Schreiner, Chairman of the Planning Commission, noted that mitigating measures had been placed in the conditions of approval. She also commented that there were three traffic producing entities already on Purissima (yardwaste site, Little League and Town Ring). Mrs. Schreiner also referred to the calendar of events submitted to the Town by the Club. Jean Struthers, Chairman - Environmental Design and Protection Committee, stated that she was opposed to the bridge off Purissima. She believed this was an expensive, time consuming solution to a problem that could be solved otherwise. Mrs. Struthers stated that this was a beautiful creek which would be destroyed by such a bridge and also noted that Purissima was already extremely busy with the `, yardwaste center, Little League and Town Ring. She further commented that controls could be put in place through the conditional use permit process. Lina Broydo, 26496 Purissima, referred to the problems with some of the neighbors. She suggested giving special memberships to the club and asking all to serve together on a committee to address the safety issues. Chuck Alloo, Los Altos, suggested closing Viscaino at the top so there would only be one way traffic. He further commented that that club had always wanted to be a good neighbor. Hal Gillette, President of the Fremont Hills Country Club, did not support the bridge access of Purissima. He noted that the Board would certainly address the issues of drinking and noise and would establish policies on these issues. He also referred to the use of parking attendants as one option toward solving the parking issue. Mr. Gillette hoped they could get together withe the neighbors and work towards an equitable solution to the problems. Patrick King, General Manger of the Fremont Hills Country Club, noted that the club could close events at midnight, could stop serving liquor at a set time before the end of an event and could further put a stop sign at Viscaino Court and Viscaino Place. November 2, 1994 Wes Henderson, 12720 Canario Way, commented on the neighbors working together to solve the issues before them. He acknowledged that the bridge was much more costly than they had originally thought it would be. He suggested everyone working together toward a compromise which would allow everyone to live in peace. Hubbard believed that the bridge expense was considerable and this condition should be deleted. He further suggested that the hours of operation end at midnight, the no parking signs be lowered and turned. Council commended the parties involved on their efforts toward arriving at a workable solution to the issues raised with this application. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To delete condition #11 stating that the access for the Club was required to be provided off Purissima Road; to add a condition stating that social functions must end at midnight (except for New Year's Eve and occasional camp overnights), noise amplification must end at 11:30 p.m., and the number of people attending events must be limited to 200; and to amend condition #6, last sentence to read: "The conditional use permit shall originally be reviewed after the last meeting in July and then every three (3) years thereafter, beginning upon issuance of final building permit." `, MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously by all members present to approve the site development permit and conditional use permit for a major remodel and addition, Lands of Fremont Hills Country Club, 12889 Viscaino Place, subject to the conditions of approval recommended by the Planning Commission and amended by the City Council on July 20, 1994 and on November 2, 1994. 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Res ectfully submitted, Patricia Dowd City Clerk The minutes of the November 2, 1994 City Council Meeting were approved at the November 16, 1994 Regular City Council Meeting. November 2, 1994