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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/16/1994 (2)Minutes of a Regular Meeting November 16, 1994 Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Meeting Wednesday, November 16,1994,6:00 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 6:10 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Dauber and Councilmembers Hubbard, Johnson and Siegel Absent: Councilmember Tryon Staff: City Manager Les M. Jones, 11, City Attorney Sandy Sloan, City Engineer Jeff Peterson, Planning Director Linda Niles and City Clerk Pat Dowd Press: Jan Shaw, Los Altos Town Crier 2. APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS 2.1 Status Report on the Consolidation of the Congestion Management Agency and the Transit District -- Los Altos Councilmember Ted Laliotis Councilmember Laliotis presented a history of transportation issues in the County and an update on current activities. He reported that in 1969 the Santa Clara County Transit District was established; in 1972 the 1/4 cent sales tax was approved; in 1975 the 1/2 cent sales tax was approved; and in 1990 the Congestion Management Agency was mandated. The Congestion Management Agency Joint Powers Agreement established a twelve member board (5 from San Jose, and of the three Northern Cities one permanent representative from Santa Clara and from Sunnyvale and one rotating appointment from the cities of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View and Palo Alto. The funding of the CMA for the Town was November 16, 1994 Regular Meeting %, $3,500. In 1993 it was agreed to separate the Transit District from the County and to merge the CMA and the Transit District, with the Transit District being placed under the CMA Governing Board. On July 20, 1994 the Governor signed the merger bill. The current activities included: the CMA and Transit District merger process; the hiring of a General Manager/CEO; and the management of the day-to-day activities. Mr. Laliotis noted that he was going to be the representative for Los Altos Hills for the next year and he would provide updates to the Council on a regular basis. Council raised the issue of the draft administrative code which had been prepared by the CMA Governing Board and distributed to member agencies for comment. The letter from CMA Executive Director Michael Evanhoe requested comments by 11/23/94. Council asked Mr. Laliotis to report the following concerns from the Council: restrictions should be placed on travel allowances; limitations should be placed on the number of staff to be hired and no more than three representatives from one city should serve on a standing committee. Mr. Lahotis thanked Council for their comments and said he would relay the Council's concerns. 3. PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT (Commissioner Doran) Commissioner Doran reported that in addition to the items on the Council's Consent Calendar, the following items were discussed and continued: Lands of Bilger, 25901 Vinedo Lane - request for a site development permit for a new residence and pool; and Lands of Brockway, 25525 Moody Road -- request for a six -lot subdivision and certification of a proposed negative declaration. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR Item Added: 4.9 Proclamation: Family Week -- November 20-26, 1994 Item Removed: 4.7 (Dauber) Item Continued: Mayor Dauber noted that item 4.4 (Request for Extension of the Expiration Date of Site Development Permit for a new residence, pool and spa, Lands of Viso, 28620 Matadero Creek Court) was continued at the request of the applicant. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously by all members present to approve the balance of the Consent Calendar, specifically: 4.1 Approved Minutes: November 2, 1994 November 16, 1994 Regular Meeting 4.2 Approved Warrants: $106,862.55(10/31/94) $293,700.12 (11/8/94) 4.3 Decided Not To Review the following Planning Commission Actions at Its Meeting on October 26,1994: 4.3a Lands of Nagpal, 28555 Matadero Creek Lane: approved request for a Site Development Permit for a secondary dwelling unit 4.3b Lands of Schmidt, 13061 Byrd Lane: approved request for a Site Development Permit for a major addition and remodel 4.3c Lands of Hoover, 13820 LaPaloma Road: approved request for a Site Development Permit for a new residence 4.5 AcceptedDedication of right of way adjacent to Manuella Road, Lands of Beigler, 14780 Manuella Road -- Reso #81-94 4.6 Accepted Dedication of Right of Way adjacent to La Paloma Road Lands of Mooring, 13791 La Paloma -- Reso #82-94 VAW 4.8 Authorized payment of costs for staff to attend ($20 per person) the Volunteer Awards Luncheon - December 2, 1994 4.9 Issued Proclamation: Family Week -- November 20-26, 1994 Item Removed: 4.7 Authorizing the Director of Public Works to enter into a contract with the California Department of Forestry for receipt of a Small Business Administration Grant for planting of trees Dauber asked for clarification of this landscape plan and asked if it included irrigation. The Director of Public Works responded that the project involved 113 trees and did not include irrigation. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Dauber, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously by all members present to adopt Resolution 85-94 authorizing the Director of Public Works to enter into a contract with the California Department of Forestry for receipt of a Small Business Administration Grant for planting of trees. November 16, 1994 Regular Meeting 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 5.1 Review of Road Right -of -Way Policy Council discussed the right of way policy and agreed that the 40' radius should be treated the same way as the half road policy but the fire safety issue could impact this policy. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To reschedule the public hearings on the Lands of Corrigan, 12797 Normandy Lane and Lands of Belden, 12033 Green Hills Court, both for review of condition requiring dedication of additional right of way on cul-de-sac. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To direct staff to proceed with the analysis of right- of-way standards, meet with the Fire District to determine their needs and return at a later date with a report that supports the appropriate standard for the Town based on the goal of providing adequate safety, circulation and levels of service for all roadways in the Town. 5.2 Request for award of contract to Business Records Corporation for Accounting Software ` The Finance Officer noted that a questionnaire had recently been sent to 32 cities of a similar size concerning computer software. Of the 17 replies, five had used BRC for five to ten years. The proposal from BRC included transfering the Town's records from Atherton to the BRC computer in Stockton and the Town would continue via modem in the same program now being used to complete FY 94-95. BRC would also start the Town's training in the upgraded program which would start in FY 95-96. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously to authorize award of contract to Business Records Corporation for accounting software 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Discussion of Proposed Santa Clara County General Plan PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To continue this item to the next Council Meeting to allow Councilmember Johnson, member of the County General Plan Advisory Committee, time to review and make a recommendation to the Council. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously by all members present to add the following to the agenda November 16, 1994 Regular Meeting as an urgency item: Adoption of a resolution declaring the Town's commitment to regional goals and objectives for the proposed western Santa Clara County Foothills Subregional Planning Project. 6.2 Adoption of a resolution declaring the Town's commitment to regional goals and objectives for the proposed western Santa Clara County Foothills Subregional Planning Project Inasmuch as the Town is bordered by Hidden Villa and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and not directly involved in this project, it was agreed that the Mayor would send a letter noting that the Town would like to remain apprised of this issue but would not be officially adopting a resolution at this time. 7. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES SUB -COMMITTEES AND COUNCILMEMBERS ON OUTSIDE AGENCIES 7.1 Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee 7.1.1 Requests from the Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee concerning: the gate on Frampton -Fernhill Pathway; the path from Fremont to Redwood Grove; and the path from Dezahara to Lands of Packard Siegel asked the City Attorney for an update on the gate on the Frampton -Fernhill pathway. The City Attorney responded that she had found a contract attorney to handle this matter. It was noted that the gate was blocked and the City Attorney should proceed with the legal steps to correct this violation. Regarding the path from Fremont to Redwood Grove, the City Manager noted that he had spoken with Bob Rayl of the Los Altos Recreation Department. This was for Council's information only. If there were no objections, the work would proceed. Siegel commented that he would like to see a sketch of the path and would also like to be informed of the Town's legal rights. Les Earnest, Chairman of the Pathways Recreation and Parks Committee stated that he would take any interested Councilmembers on a tour of the path. (It was also noted that no more than two Councilmembers would attend a tour.) Barrie Freeman, 26922 Dezahara, explained his request to build a pathway and to give an easement to the Town of 20'. To accomplish this he will have to access his November 16, 1994 Regular Meeting neighbor's property (the Pedersons). Mr. Freeman further explained the proposed `, placement of this path and their request to have access to the pathway easement as a way to get their horses to Dezahara. They had recently built a barn on their property and were anxious to bring their horses from their property to Dezahara. Mr. Pederson, 26958 Dezahara, commented that Mr. Freeman's proposal seemed practical but he would have to meet with him to work out the details. Council discussed this proposal. Siegel noted that the Town should not have to bear the legal costs of preparing the easement papers since it was a path that would benefit only the Freemans. Hubbard suggested it ultimately benefitted the Town. Shelley Doran, 24920 La Loma Court, referred to the experience she went through with a path on her property and recommended that the Town become more consistent in its policy on pathways. 7.2 Safety Committee 7.2.1 Approval of Town's Emergency Handbook Abbreviated Guide Council discussed the abbreviated guide of the Town's Emergency Handbook which had been prepared by the Safety Committee. The committee was thanked for doing an excellent job on this project. There were a few questions raised concerning which staff member was responsible for each position. For example, who is the Planning Chief? PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To send the Emergency Handbook Abbreviated Guide back to the Safety Committee for clarification of certain points raised by Council. 8. STAFF REPORTS 8.1 City Manager 8.2 City Attorney 8.3 City Clerk 8.3.1 Report on Council Correspondence dated 11 /9/94 8.3.2 Summary of Council Actions: Request for policy statement on implementation and distribution November 16, 1994 Regular Meeting Council discussed the option of a summary of Council actions being �W prepared by the City Clerk after each Council Meeting. The distribution of such a summary was also discussed. This ranged from placing it in the Town Crier to including it with present mailings made to Committee Chairmen, Commissioners, etc. Council agreed that this was an unnecessary procedure in that the minutes were distributed in a timely fashion thus providing everyone with the details of the Council's actions. 9. COUNCIL -INITIATED ITEMS 9.1 Discussion of the adoption of a Town Ordinance providing additional disclosure requirements for the committees and candidates to the Office of City Council (Mayor Dauber) Dauber referred to an ordinance in Menlo Park which required additional disclosure by candidates of campaign contributions over $25. She recommended the Council adopt such an ordinance in order to ascertain who supported which candidate. Dauber believed this was an important source of information. Johnson and Hubbard disagreed, stating that they believed this was government intrusion into an area of privacy. Presently the Fair Political Practices Commission required disclosure of contributions of $100 or more and they thought this was a sufficient reporting requirement. No action was taken on this item. 9.2 Anonymous Campaign Mailings (Mayor Pro Tem Siegel) Siegel referred to the anonymous mailings sent in the most recent election and asked Council to agree to request the Fair Political Practices Commission to investigate whether or not these mailings were a violation of the Government Code. He believed these mailings should be identified. Dauber noted that mailings could be done in the Town for less than $1,000 so this FPPC requirement did not preclude mailings without identification. Johnson recommended continuing this item for three months. He was concerned that it could appear Council was using the power of its office to discredit mailings which did not support a candidate he for one had supported. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Hubbard and passed by the following roll call vote to send the unidentified mailings from the last election to the Fair Political Practices Commission and to ask them to investigate whether or not there was a violation of the Government Code. November 16, 1994 Regular Meeting AYES: Mayor Dauber and Councilmembers Hubbard and Siegel %W None ABSENT: ABSENT: Councilmember Tryon ABSTAIN: Councilmember Johnson 10. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR 11. PUBLIC HEARINGS 11.1 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, Lands of Russell, 13331 Lennox Way Larry Russell, applicant, commented that he had lived in Town for 18 vears and was before Council at this time to request approval of his plans to change his garage into a bedroom and playroom, to add a garage and to remodel his kitchen. He further explained his reasons for the new garage to be built in front of the existing garage rather than behind. This addition was approximately 460 square feet. Siegel noted that this lot was a grandfathered one of less than an acre. He believed these small lots should maintain the setbacks and also that tear downs or total remodels should not be allowed grandfathered development figures. Siegel also expressed concern about the right of way issue. Lennox was a narrow street and there was the issue of turn around specifically for emergency vehicles. Dauber thought it irresponsible to allow the removal of this amount of driveway by permitting the new garage. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To amend Condition #9 by substituting a condition prepared by the City Attorney relating to the grandfathered rights of voluntary reconstructions. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To add a condition of approval stating that future voluntary major remodels would surrender the variances for the setbacks. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Hubbard and passed by the following roll call vote to approve the 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 for Lands of Russell at 13331 Lennox Way subject to the conditions of approval as recommended by the Planning Commission and amended by Council. November 16, 1994 Regular Meeting �w AYES: Mayor Pro Tem Siegel and Councilmembers Hubbard and Johnson NOES: Mayor Dauber ABSENT: Councilmember Tryon 11.2 Adoption of revised Household Hazardous Waste Element and Source Reduction and Recycling Element of the General Plan and acceptance of comments on the Nondisposal Facility Element and subsequent public hearing to adopt the Nondisposal Facility Element -- Reso #_ Amy Aiken, Los Altos Garbage Company, noted she was available to answer any questions Council might have and addressed the recycling issue raised by Council. Betsy Bertram, 11854 Page Mill Road, asked if recycling could be picked up every week and garbage every other week. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Siegel, seconded by Hubbard and passed unanimously by all members present to adopt Resolution #83-94 amending the General Plan to add the Source Reduction and Recycling Element (SRRE) and Household Hazardous Waste Element (HHWE) and Resolution #84-94 adopting the County of Santa Clara Countywide Nondisposal Facility Element as the Town of Los Altos Hills' Nondisposal Facility Element pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 41730 et seq. with clarification to the recycling section and the following corrections to the composting section: Pursue curbside or canside collection of yard waste if it proves economically feasible; and delete reference to sewage sludge. 12. CLOSED SESSION: 12.1 CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR -- GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956.8 Property: Town Ring, Purissima Road Negotiating Parties: Town and the Los Altos Hills Horsemens Association Under Negotiation: Agreement for maintenance and improvement by Los Altos Hills Horsemens' Association of Town Ring facilities owned by the Town of Los Altos Hills November 16, 1994 Regular Meeting l Return to Open Session to report, if necessary, any action taken. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Hubbard, seconded by Johnson and passed unanimously by all members present to adopt Resolution #86-94 approving agreement for maintenance and improvement by Los Altos Hills Horsemens' Association of Town Ring facilities owned by the Town of Los Altos Hills. 12.2 CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL -- EXISTING LITIGATION -- GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956.8: Spangenberg vs. Town of Los Altos Hills and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Helliwell Return to Open Session to report, if necessary, any action taken. The City Attorney reported that Mr. Spangenberg had appealed the Court's decision in Spangenberg vs. Dr. Helliwell and the Town of Los Altos Hills. Hubbard, Johnson and Siegel recommended offering Mr. Spangenberg a financial settlement. If Mr. Spangenberg did not agree with this settlement, the Court case would be pursued. Mayor Dauber did not agree with offering a settlement. As before the legal costs would be shared with Dr. Helliwell. 12.3 CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR -- GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956.8 Property: Town of Los Altos Hills (Franchise Agreement) Purissima Road, Head End Site (Lease Agreement) Negotiating Parties: Town and Sun Country Cable Under Negotiation: Franchise Agreement and Lease Agreement Return to Open Session to report, if necessary, any action taken. PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To approve amendment to lease and amendment to franchise agreement with Sun Country Cable. November 16, 1994 Regular Meeting 10 13. ADJOURNMENT There being no further new or old business to discuss, the City Council Meeting was adjourned at 10:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Patricia . atJriciiaN✓ Dowd City Clerk The minutes of the November 16, 1994 Regular City Council Meeting were approved at the December 7, 1994 Regular City Council Meeting. November 16, 1994 Regular Meeting