Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/01/1972CITY COUNCIL TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS Aw 1IINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING May 1, 1972 Reel 43 Side 1 Track 1 125 -End Side 2 Track 2 00-450 Mayor Leslie A. Helgessou called the regular meeting of the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills to order at 7:45 P.M. in the Council Chambers of the Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, with the following members answering roll call: Present; Councilmen Davey, Grabowski, Kubby, 1'dller and Mayor Helges- son. Absent: None. PLANNING COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE: Commissioner McReynolds APPROVAL OF MINUTES: D;inutes of March 20, 1972. Councilman Davey moved, seconded by Helgesson and carried unanimously that the minutes of I'arch 20, 1972 be approved with the following corrections: On page 3, under Scheduled Item No. 1, change line 7 to read "balance of 14 000 over a period"... On page 4, under Unscheduled Item No. 1, last paragraph, add to the end of the motion, "after approval of the plane by the City Council." On page 5,. under Unscheduled Item No. 3, change the word "amiable" in line 1 to "amenable'. 1. Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors advised a Public Hearing res the Kaiser quarry operation will be held on May 10, 1972. 2. Senator Clark L. Bradley acknowledged receipt of the Tocm's stand supporting Senate Constitutional Amendment 19. 3. Mr. John B. Moxon urged the City Council remove all "Future Street Widening" strips along Fremont Road. 4. City of Los Altos submitted statement for $1,000 for Town's share of the Summer Recreational Program held at Purissima School. Council concurred to defer action until the May 15th meeting. 5. Board of Supervisors requested the Town submit nominations for appointment to the upcoming "member at large" vacancy for the County Library Association. 6. Assemblyman Hayden transmitted comments on SCR4, ACA31 and SB519. ANNOU14CEMEMTTS: .` 1. Discussion of Palo Alto/Los Altos Hills Sphere of Influence is scheduled for the 5/3/72 LAFCO meeting. NOTE: Since the agenda for May lot was only partially discussed at this May lot i meeting and the balance was discussed at regular adjourned meeting on 410 May 2nd, coupled with the fact that items were discussed out of the sequence shown on the agenda and all Councilmen were not present at theMay 2nd meetings the separate recorded minutes of May 1 and 2 are prepared in the sequence of the agenda for clarity and items are cross-referenced in each set of minutes. SCHEDULED ITEM NO. 1: MOVING OF ROAD EASEMENT AND CHANGE IN LOT LINE BETWEEN G. HINTON AND R.E. NC CANN - BUENA VISTA DRIVE. GRANT VARIANCE FOR EXISTING STRUCTURES (LLC -4-72 and V-367-12). Staff reviewed the Planning Commission discussion of April 28, 1972 and their recom- mended approval of this lot change and variance which would move the road easement to encompass the long -existing road, thus realigning the property lines. Approval of the lot line change created the need for a variance since three existing strut - tures on the Hinton property and one on the McCann property then encroached into the setbacks of their new front property lines. Council concurred. MOTION, SECONDED AND CARRIED: Councilman Davey moved, seconded by Miller and carried unanimously that the request of R.E. McCann for a Lot Line Change (LLC -4-72) and Variance (V.-367-72) be approved in accordance with the Check List dated April 24, 1972. SCHEDULED ITEM NO. 2: REPORT ON PENDING LEGISLATIVE MATTERS -- Councilman Grabowski. Councilman Grabowski requested and Council concurred to continue this item to the ISay 15th meeting. SCHEDULED ITEM NO. 3: DISCUSSION OF TOWN'S SEWER POLICY. Mayor Helgesson stated he felt there was considerable misunderstanding as to the meaning of Resolution No. 458 (as amended by Resolution No. 469) which defines the Town Sewer Policy. He then read both of the resolutions in entirety. Before opening discussion to the audience, the Mayor noted that discussions of sewers within the Town have historically been an emotional issue and therefore he requested all speakers limit their coaments to whether they favored Resolution No. 458 or opposed it. Council discussion with participation by the City Attorney and Mz. A.H. Laws, 11210 Hooper Lane, clarified that the Council could, following the discussion, take action if a majority wished to do so. Floor participants speaking in favor of Resolution No. 458 included: Nmes: F. Fava, A. Boissevain, P. Standring, J. Carico, H.L. Schick, L. Foster, A. McReynolds, K. Ward, S. Smith, A. Spencer, M. Gallo and D. Sukiennicki. Messrs: A.M. Laws, 0. Sobel, R. Poole, J. Quimby, B. Hall, B. Kirkpatrick, J.D. Dochnahl, and W. Downey. A Los Altos Hills Association letter favoring retention of the policy was also read. Floor participants speaking in opposition to Resolution No. 458 included: ";.nes: F. Olgiatti, M. Muncie, L. Katz, and L. Abrahams. Messrs: D. Janson, G. browning, -,� 0. Buneman, G. Ferrari, M. Katz, and J. haling. 4 Following closure of the public hearing at 9:45 P.M. Councilman Kubby requested ` Council concurrence that he be allowed to read into the record as pertinent to the discussion at hand, a confidential communication from Attorney J. Lynch (Town Coun- sel in the S.A.D. d9 litigation). City Attorney Faisant questioned the desirability of disemminating this confidential letter and requested that the record show he strongly urged that the Council refrain from voting to read this communication. Motion by Councilman Davey, seconded by Kubby to read the letter failed. Councilman Kubby stated it was his considered opinion that the Town's Sewer Policy as expressed in Resolution No. 458 as amended, was illegal and void and proceeded to cite numerous legal reasons. Councilman Grabowski interrupted Councilman Kubby's presentation and objected on the grounds that Councilman Kubby's comments were in fact verbatim from the confidential letter that the Council had voted not to read. Councilman Kubby countered that it was Councilman Grabowski and not he that had stated his presentation was directly from the referenced communication. Councilman Kubby moved to censure Councilman Grabowski for violating the last vote of the Council by publishing the contents of the letter from the attorney. Councilman Grabowski accepted the censure. Lengthy deliberation by the Council regarding rescinding Resolution No. 458 followed. Councilman Davey, Kubby and Miller favored rescinding Resolution No. 458 while Councilman Grabowski and Mayor Helgesson favored its retention. Councilman Miller moved, seconded by Davey that Resolution No. 458, as amended, be rescinded. Additional lengthy discussion ensued and Councilman Grabowski pleaded Council action be deferred "pending further study and public hearings on a matter of this magnitude". Mayor Helgesson concurred with Councilman Grabowski. In response to the questions of Councilman Davey, Kubby and Miller re: the opinion expressed by Mr. Lynch that Resolution No. 458 was illegal, the City Attorney stated that in his opinion there is nothing on the face of the Town's Sewer Policy that is illegal or unconstitutional and as long as it is applied consistently with the State Laws pertaining to the formation of assessment districts, it is legal. Councilman Miller requested and Council concurred to take a recess (10:20 P.M. to 10:30 P.M.) to reflect before voting on the motion before them. Following the recess, Councilman Miller with Council concurrence withdrew her pending motion to rescind Resolution No. 458. MOTION, SECONDED AND CARRIED: Councilman Miller moved, seconded by Kubby and car- ried unanimously that discussion and possible action on Resolution No. 458 be agended for the next regular meeting. MOTION, SECONDED AND CARRIED: Councilman Miller moved, seconded by Davey, that the confidential letter from Mr. J. Lynch be read into the record carried by the follow- ing roll call vote: Ayes: Councilman Davey, Kubby and Miller. Noes: Councilman Grabowski and Mayor Helgesson. The gist of the Lynch letter is contained in the opening and closing paragraphs as excerpted below: %P- -3- PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL ` Honorable Town Council Town of Los Altos Hills 26379 Fremont Road Los Altos Hills, Ca. 94022 Res Legal Opinion re Resolution No. 458 as Amended Gentlemen: At Councilman Kubby's request the following is my legal opinion in regard to the legality of the "Sewer Policy" contained in Resolution No. 458, as amended. In that regard, it is my considered opinion, after reviewing Resolution No. 458, as amended, that the Sewer Policy contained therein is illegal and void for the following reasons: (................) It is respectfully recormmended that resolution No. 458 as amended, be rescinded forthwith. If there are any questions concerning the aforesaid opinion, I will be most happy to meet with the Council at your convenience, to discuss the same. Very truly yours, /S/ Jeremiah J. Lynch for WILSON, JONES, MORTON dNLYNCH Mayor Helgesson closed the discussion, noting it would be discussed and possible action would be agended for the next regular meeting. UNSCHEDULED ITEM NO. 1: REPORT A14D RECO1001DATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMISSION RE POLICE SERVICE. Public Protection Commission Chairman Robert C. Cheney reported on the Commission's study of police protection for the Town of Los Altos Hills. In summary, the majority opinion endorsed an 8 man/24 hour/7 day police force. This would provide two man on day and swing shift and one on the night shift. Initial budget was estimated to be $170,000* but contracting of communications would be additional. The amount included capital outlay for mobile radios and vehicles but not housing facilities. Council discussion noted that start-up costs would be approximately double the current outlay for police protection. Council expressed appreciation to the Commission for their comprehensive report and agreed to agenda further discussion for the May 15th meeting. Due to the late hour, Council discussion evolved around whether the remainder of the agenda be continued to the following night. MOTION, SECONDED AND CARRIED: Councilman Robby moved, seconded by Davey and car- ried unanimously that all remaining agenda items except Unscheduled Items No. 5 and 11 be continued to May 2, 1972. *********** -4- UNSCHEDULED ITEM NO. 5: REQUEST FOR RELIEF FROM FIRE FLOW REQUIREMENTS - DR. VANDSVEER VOORHEES. Staff reviewed this item continued from the April 3, 1972 meeting and illustrated the layout of existing water lines in the area and indicated the water pressure available at various locations. The applicant requested that the Fire Department requirement that a new 8" water line be installed be waived. Council discussion noted that available GPM calculations presented by Staff did not agree with those provided by Dr. Voorhees. MOTION, SECONDED APUD CARRIED: Councilman Grabowski moved, seconded by Davey and carried unanimously that this request for relief from fire flow requirements be continued to May 2, 1972 to allow Staff to authenticate figures presented by the applicant. UNSCHEDULED ITEM N0. 2: REPORT PORTON DITCH WORK - ASCENSION DRIVE. Town Engineer Crabtree reported that reconstruction of the Storm Drainage ditch between Ascension and Anscapa was completed. He noted that the rejected low bid was $14,217 and that the Town had accomplished the improvement for $11,587. Staff noted that the Purissima Water District had agreed to contribute $1,500 to the cost, since some of the damage had been caused by a broken water line. MOTION, SECONDED AND CARRIED: Councilman Davey moved, seconded by Helgesaon and carried by majority vote to accept the Fremont Hills Channelization improvements between Ascension and Anacapa and to accept the $1,500.00 from Purissima Hills Water District in payment of their share. Councilman Miller opposed the motion as she felt the Water District was not assuming their fair share of the improvement cost. ADJOURNMENT: Due to the late hour, Mayor Helgesaon adjourned the meeting at 11:50 P.M. to the next Regular Adjourned Meeting: Tuesday, May 2, 1972. Submitted by, TED J. RLUZEK City Clerk -Treasurer Town of Los Altos Hills -5-