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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/07/1966CITY COUNCIL TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING November 7, .1966 The Regular Meeting of the City Council of the Town of Los AltosHillswas called to order Monday, November 7, 1966 by Deputy Mayor Gordon R. Bowler at 7:50 P. M. at the Town Hall, 26379 .Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, Calif. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Councilmen Aiken, Davey, Fowle, Deputy Mayor .Bowler. ABSENT:- Mayor Henley PLANNING COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE: Commissioner A. C. Prentice,,Jr... Deputy Mayor Bowler conveyed the Mayor's regrets on not being able tojoin the Council in taking action to employ the new City Manager,.and announced the absence of the. City Attorney due to illness. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: October 22, 1966. Corrections: 1) Omission noted following "Meeting Adjourned: 10:30 P. M.,to": Add, "Adjourned to Personnel Session". 2) P. 1. Announcements, Item 2, correct "all litigation" to "a number of litigation matters".. ACTION: That the Minutes of October 22, 1966 be approved as corrected.. MOTION: Fowle; SECOND: Davey; VOTE:.Passed unanimously. October 25, 1966. Correction: P. 3, Scheduled Item, Sewer Assessment District No. 2, Para. 4, line 6, amend to .read, "for a report on this particular delineated area and setting forth the decree". _ ACTION: That the Minutes of October 259 1966 be approved as amended. MOTION: Fowls; SECOND: Davey ROLL CALL: AYES: Davey, Fowle, Deputy.. Mayor Bowler NOES: None ABSTAINED: Aiken �.,_� ABSENT: Mayor Henley C-1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Cont'd.: October 31, 1966. ACTION: That the Minutes of October 31, 1966 be approved as circulated. MOTION: Davey; SECOND: Aiken ROLL CALL: AYES: Aiken, D5vey,.7owle NOES: None ABSTAINED: Deputy Mayor Bowler ABSENT: Mayor Henley 1. Communication from Los Altos Hills Association dated October 26, 1966 requesting Council attention to the traffic situation at the intersection of Arastradero and Fremont Roads...... Deferred to "Presentations from the Floor". ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1. Report on Meeting of Upper Foothills Area - Councilman Davey. Councilman Davey announced the results of the meeting of the Advisory Committee for the Upper Foothills Area held last Saturday, November 5th at the Town Hall, attended by Mayor Henley, Nestor Barrett and herself. Councilman Davey reported the group is now organized with James K. Bell, Chairman,.which will obtain factual information and act as a guiding ad- r.nory group to Mr. N. Barrett, Tom Planner, who at the same time has been commissioned by the Town to do a report on collector roads and a. topographical map, taking into consideration the advice and factual background material of this group. There is a map at the Town. Hall in the Council Chambers showing the specific area within dotted lines. This Committee will meet again on Thursday,. November 17th, at 7:30 P. M. and with the help of Mr. Barrett, a list of questions to ask the residents in this area will be formulated at this meeting. Councilman Aiken questioned whether there were any members on this Committee who actually live on Central Drive. Councilman Davey stated severalwere asked but were unable to accept, but was sure Central Drive will be well. represented. Councilman Fowle felt the discrepancy was in the name of the committee (Citizens' Committee for the Central Drive Area.). Deputy Mayor Bowler asked the audience if there was any dissatisfaction with the formation of the Committee. There were no comments from the Floor. -2- SCHEDULED ITEMS: 1. Tract No. 3380 - Request for Reconsideration of Substitution of Existing Improvement Bond. Mr. Richard B. Oliver, representing the present developers of this project, requested reconsideration of Council action of October 25th in that the property has been in a state of undevelopment for four years since the filing of the subdivision map and by having the bond accepted, it would permit the development to proceed toward completion and be of benefit to the Town. Mrs. J. L. Morgan, representing the City Clerk pro tem in his absence, brought to the attention of the Council that the extension of time for completion of subdivision improvements, granted on October 4, 1965 to September 3, 1966, has expired; that the subdivision bond, proposed by Mr. Oliver in lieu of cash deposits being held by the Town, specifies improvements to be completed by January 30, 1968. ACTION: That Mr. Oliver's request be referred to Staff for recommendation and re -agenda for the November 21st meeting. MOTION: Fowle; SECOND: Davey; VOTE: Passed unanimously. 2. Discussion of Association of Bay Area Governments - Possible Withdrawal. Councilman Davey, delegate, reported orally on the November 4th General Assembly of ABAG held at Berkeley, at which time a resolution was passed adopting regional hone rule and on which she voted affirma- tively along with 106 members of ABAG. Councilman Davey read the Resolution as amended, and acopy of the preliminary regional plan is on file at the Town Hall, as well as a program of the proceedings, and official Minutes, when compiled, will also be available at the Town Hall. Councilman Davey further reported that the many amendments offered by the Cities regarding sewage, transportation, planning (meaning the best use of land we have left), smog, Bay pollution, will be organized and catalogued and re -presented two weeks before the December 16th General Assembly, at which time the amendments will be considered one by one and the proposal finalized for submission to the State Legislature at its General Session in 1967. Councilman Aiken stated he was concerned about retaining our local control; he had no objection to regional rule on sewage, smog, normal airports, but stated "Planning" can be a sneak -thief, since it applies to zoning and also to airports. Councilman Aiken requested the Council to note that there can be a good argument made for local heliports in the interest of regional planning and cited the case of what almost happened recently in Portola Valley. Councilman Aiken further stated he will object to ABAG and move the Town pull out in order to emphasize this point, if safeguards and limitations are not specifically spelled out in such a way as to be as permanent as the organization itself. -3- SCHEDULED ITEMS: ABAG (Cont'd.):. Councilman Davey explained that .zoning is not included in this plan and that the Preliminary Regional Plan takes into account single f purpose towns, such as ours, and read the pertinent section from the Plan. Councilman Davey further stated this City Council is charged with the responsibility of protecting the Town and is certain the Council will do this and still meet with ABAG in session to preserve what we have in the Town. Councilman Fowle and Deputy Mayor Bowler endorsed Councilman Davey's stand. Deputy Mayor Bowler asked for comments from the Floor. Mr. D. Janssen, 274.0 Sherlock Drive, was in favor of the ABAG Regional Plan. Mr. D. Spencer, 27490 Sherlock Road, inquired as to the taxing authority of ABAG. Councilman Davey reported the twcing at this point is suggested at $.001 per $100. of assessed valuation (Councilman Davey, in later discussion, corrected this figure to $.O1 per $100. of assessed valuation). ACTION: That the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills endorse the present stand of ABAG and instruct Councilman Davey to continue as she has in her representation of this Town. MOTION: Fcwle Councilman Aiken stated he would Second the Motion only if it included specific safeguards and limitations into the plan, being sure the airport powers were spelled cut. Following discussion, no appropriate language could be agreed upon and since the time linit on this Scheduled Item had run out, this matter was deferred to the conclusion of the Unscheduled Items. 3. Ordinance No. 116 - Discussion. Deputy Mayor Bowler referred to Los Altos Hills Association letter dated October 20, 1966 c.nd noted that their concern is for the wording of Ordinance No. 116, specifically in regard to "li acres". To assure the residents that this is a misnomer, Deputy Mayor Bowler was of the opinion the ordinance should be amended to clarify this wording, since the ordinance does not affect zoning but only the amount of money to be paid under the ey.ceptional cases. Deputy Mayor Bowler was advised by the City Attorney that the reason this provision was made in the ordinance for subdivisions of net acreage less than 1 B. S. per acre, was because the Town Engineer's sewer study and other data showed in fact in several years we have averaged less than 1 B. S./acre. (See table 3-3, page 16 of Sewer Report which digests County's figures for Los Altos Hills.) Ordinance No. 116 also rerquires double rate of payment and/or dedication where density exceeds 1 B.S./acre, and this was intended, and would tend, to _. discourage developers from attempting to get by with lots of less than one acre. _4_ SCHEDULED ITE9: Discussion - Ordinance No. 116 (Cont'd.): Mr. A. H. Lachenbruch, 11820 Buena Vista Drive, spoke on behalf of the Los Altos Hills Association and concurred with Councilman Aiken that the "'g acre" is undesirable. Mr. Lachenbruch orally reported the Association's objections to Sections 4 and 5 of Ordinance No. 116 and cited the inequities in the fotrula to developers of large acreage who wish to subdivide into larger than one acre lots. In view of the absence of Mayor Henley and the City Attorney, Council requested Staff to re -agenda this item for the November 21st meeting so that they might join in these consids.-ations. - 4. Inception of Proceedings for Formation of Sewer Assessment District o. N 2. __._. Councilman Femle read letter from the Santa Clara County Health Department dated November A, 1966 recommending as necessary as a health measure that the Tuan of Los Altoo'Hills undertake proceed4ugs pursuant to appropriate special asse3sment proceedings, and is attached to the Record Copy at the Tovm Hall. Councilman Fooule introduced and read in its entirety Resolution No. 359, a resolution of the City Council of the Tcwn of Los Altos Hills, appointing Engineer and Attorney, Sewer Assessment D -Strict No. 2. Councilman Fowle read a portion of Mr. E. R. Hanna's report, received September 26, 1966, regarding the seweringof the Altamont Basin - wherein Mr. Hanna recommended the Town Engineer assume £till super- visory and inspection duties with regard to engineering since, as a Town project, the Council is fully responsible. In addition, Council- man Fowle read letter dated November nth also from Mr. Hanna, giving his reasons supporting the choice of the City Engineer and City Attorney. - Therefore, for these reasons, Councilman Fowle stated h2 has pro- posed Resolution No. 369, appointing the City Engineer, Charles S McCandless & Co., as Engineer, and the City Attorney, Rcbin D. Faisant, as Attorney for the District. It was his understanding the above named will:.mploy the assistance of other engineering firms or attorneys as they see fit, but this is to be up to the City Engineer and Attorney. ACTION: Adopt Resolution No. 369 as read. MOTION: Fowle; SECOND: Aiken Mr. L. P. Corbetta, 12500 Corbetta,Lane objected to naming the City Attorney and City Engineer and urged the City Council to approve Mr. Eugene Mastin as Engineer of work and the firm of Wilson, Jones, Morton and Lynch as Attorneys for the formation of Sewer Assessment tj District No. 2, in accordance with his letter of November 1st. -5- SCHEDULED ITEMS: Sewer Assessment Dist. Nb. 2 (Conti d.): Miss Peggy L. McElligott, of Wilson, Jones, Morton and Lynch, was present and commented on the proceedings of the district. Engr. E. Mastin requested the City Council not to make a choice on Mr. Hanna's recommendations since it is not an uncommon practice to employ an outside engineer when there is a City Engineer, and that he had been the engineer lox Sewer Assessment District No. 1 and could see no difference in being the engineer for District No. 2. Mr. Mastin further stated he has another sewer assessment district in the offing and questioned whether he would be allowed to be the engineer for this and future assessment districts, or whether it would be the policy of the Town to retain the City Engineer andCityAttorney. Councilman Davey also questioned this point. Councilman Fowle was of the opinion there is a difference in that District No. 1 was initiated by a petition by a group of citizens with the permission of the Town and that the Town is initiating District No. 2, and that each future district submitted will be considered individually. The Question was called: ROLL CALL: AYES: Aiken, Davey, Fowle, Deputy Mayor Bowler NOES: None - ABSENT: Mayor Henley 5. Landscaping of E1 Monte Road Median - Associated Students, Foothill College. John A. DeGroot, President of ASFC, and three representatives were present, and offered their time, monies and help in a working solution to, -lard landscaping the center divider of E1 Monte from Fremont to Foothill College. Mr. DeGroot questioned the division of responsi- bility and the present plans for E1 Monte. Mr. DeGroot was advised the technical jurisdiction lies with the Department of Public Works of the County, but that certainly there should be no difficulty with respect to planting, and that the Town has an active Citizens' Landscape Committee, of which Mr. P. Burchard was Chairman and who was present. Deputy Mayor Bowler suggested that a meeting be arranged with the Landscape Committee to coordinate their efforts toward a good solution and directed the Staff to communicate with the Associated Students of Foothill College in regard to the actual technical jurisdiction. Mr. DeGroot and his Committee were agreeable to this meeting. Council thanked the Students for their interest and cooperation. SCHEDULED ITEMS Cont'd.: (—) 6. Appointment of City Manager. As a result of many Executive Sessions regarding the selection of a City Manager, Deputy Mayor Bowler placed into the record letter dated November 7, 1966 to Mr. Lowell W. Morse from Mayor Henley, setting forth the terms of employment as City Manager for the Town of Los Altos Hills, said employment to begin January 1, 1967 at the monthly salary of $1,100 per month, plus fringe benefits. ACTION: That the City Council appoint Mr. Lowell W. Morse as City Manager according to the terms set forth in letter dated November 7, 1966 from Mayor Henley to Mr. Morse. MOTION: Aiken; SECOND: Davey ROLL CALL: AYES: Aiken, Davey, Fowle, Deputy Mayor Bowler NOES: None ABSENG: Mayor Henley Upon a hearty welcome from the Council, Mr. Morse accepted the terms of employment and stated he was looking forward to talking and meeting everyone and is ready and eager to be on the job January 1st. UNSCHEDULED ITEM: 1. Hilltop Drive - Slide Area. City Engineer Nachtsheim orally reported on three possible alternatives to solve the slide area on Hilltop Drive, submitting photographs, plan, and cost estimates. Engineer Nachtsheim recommended the alternative shown as Section C -C on the plan at an estimated cost of $4,000.00. Deputy Mayor Bowler instructed the City Engineer and City Attorney to prepare the necessary paper work for presentation at the November 21st Council meeting so that this job can be offered for bid. 2. Request for Name for Private Road........ Withdrawn from the Agenda. 3. Corney, Edward (V-269-66) - Request for Reduction in Setback Require- ment for Construction of Stable at 26063 Todd Lane. ACTION: That the request of Edward Corney (V-269-66) be approved, subject to the recommendations of the Planning Commission. MOTION: Aiken; SECOND: Fowle; VOTE: Passed unanimously. �� 1 UNSCHEDULED ITEMS Cont'd.: 4. Warner, Brent (BSA -31-66) 1 lot. �... Mrs. J. L. Morgan read recommendations of the Planning Commission i ) and Check List. Deputy Mayor Bowler reported he had been advised by the City Attorney that he is agreeable to "ruling" that, for the purposes of this building site approval only, the future street widening need. not be deducted from gross acreage. ACTION: That the Record of Survey presented by Brent Warner for building site approval, be approved in accordance with the Planning Commission's recommendations and Check List. MOTION: Aiken; SECOND: Fowls; VOTE: Passed unanimously. At 10:10 P. M., the Deputy Mayor adjourned the meeting for recess. At 10:23 P. M., the Deputy Mayor reconvened the meeting. S. Champagne Heights Unit No. II - Appeal of Planning Commission Requirements. Bir. A. G. Lambert, developer of Champagne Heights Units 1 and proposed (- #2, was present and explained the situation in accordance with his letter dated October 25, 1966, wherein he summarized the Planning Commission's actions and his reasons for appeal. At this time, Mr. Lambert requested the Council to review the original double bulb cul-de-sac approach, and approve it subject to normal agency approvals, notwithstanding the Fire Chief's objections to the lack of a through road. Mr. Lambert offered for Council consideration copies of the double bulb map and the map of the through road concept. Council throughly reviewed both maps and indicated that the topography was extremely steep for a through road. Councilman Aiken was of the opinion that as the high land is further developed, there will be more long cul-de-sacs; however, he felttheFire Chief should be given all the help possible, and would only agree to a longer cul- de-sac with the requirement of a wider road width on such cul-de-sacs. ACTION: That the Map be referred to the Planning Commission with instructions to make the best possible use of the "double bulb" proposal of Target Engineering Co. and attempt to work out the final details in not more than one more meeting, and Taking special consideration of the Fire Chief's objection by providing the possibility of a 22' pavement from the turnout to the proposed split in the new section, and Including a path between lots #6 and #7 to the 20' ease- ment on the Soares property. MOTION: Fowle; SECOND: Aiken -6- UNSCHEDULED ITEMS: Champagne Heights Unit No. 11 (Cont'd.): (} Councilman Davey stated she was reluctant to see Commissioner Minckley's plan rejected since she felt a through road could be built without excessive grades, if the lots were realigned instead of using the existing map. The Question was called: VOTE: Passed unanimously. 6. Approval of Purchase of Office Equipment. ACTION: That the City Council approve the purchase of two typewriters and one overhead projector for the sum of $984.78, to be paid for out of unappropriated surplus funds. MOTION: Fowle; SECOND: Davey ROLL CALL: AYES: Aiken, Davey, Fowle, Deputy Mayor Bowler NOES: None ABSENT: Mayor Henley ACTION: I That the City Council approve the purchase of a -- second-hand, combined fountain and soft-drink machine, not to exceed the amount of $200.00 and to be paid fox out of unappropriated surplus funds. MOTION: Fowls; SECOND: Davey; ROLL CALL: AYES: Aiken, Davey, Fowle, Deputy Mayor Bowler NOES: None ABSENT: Mayor Henley. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR: 1. Mr. Albert Clark, 27501 Black Mountain Road, noted that his request for consideration of the serious drainage problem as stated in his letter of October 18th was not on the Agenda and formally requested this matter be on the November 21st Council Agenda, that he be given a copy of the Engineer's plan of what they intend to do, and that a copy of his letter be sent to each Councilman. (Staff reported this had been done.) Mr. Clark was informed that due to the unavoidable absence of Bngr. Cook and Attorney Faisant, a report was not ready this evening. Deputy Mayor Bowler instructed the Staff to agenda this item for the November 21st meeting and that a report be presented by the City Engineer and City Attorney. 1 -9- PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Cont'd.' 2. Communication from Los Altos Hills Association re intersection of Arastradero and Fremont Roads (cont'd. from COMMUNICATIONS, Page 2.) It was suggested by the Los Altos Hills. Association that four Way stops be installed at this intersection. The Deputy Mayor stated it has been the opinion of the territorial jurisdictions that the opening of the Expressway will relieve the traffic at this inter- section and that the first action would be to observe whether the present opening will have any effect, Deputy Mayor Bowler referred this matter to the Town's Chief of Police to investigate the matter of a tour way stop sign and report at the November 21st meeting on his recommendations as to whether we should or should not go for four way stop signs. 3. Mrs. R. Towle, Weston Drive, requested that as soon as there is an established traffic pattern, that the speed be checked on Fremont Road during the day since autos tend to go faster when there is less traffic. Deputy Mayor Bowler further instructed the Chief of Police to report to the Council the change of traffic pattern on Fremont Road, when the Expressway is actually fully opened. 4. Scheduled Item 2, Discussion of Association of Bay Area Governments Possible Withdrawal, continued from Page 04. Following discussion on appropriate language for the Motion, the previous Motion (Page 4) was restated as follows: ACTION: That the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills endorse the, present stand of ABAG and instruct Councilman Davey to continue as she has in her representation of this Town, and In addition, the Council further instructs Councilman Davey to make a strong effort to put specific limitations into the recommended legislation regarding heliports... MOTION: Fowle; SECOND: Aiken;. VOT?: Passed. unanimously. RESOLUTIONS: None. ORDINANCES• None. OTHER BUSINESS BY COUNCILMEN: None. -10- REPORT OF CITY ENGINEER: 1. Snell Lane Area. Engr. Nachtsheim submitted two maps for the possible improvements to the Snell Lane area. There was informal discussion of the presentation and Engr. Nachtsheim stated a written report will be submitted at the November 21st Council Meeting. There being no further business before the Council, the Deputy Mayor adjourned the Meeting to the next regularly scheduled meeting. ADJOURNMENT: 11:30 P. M. to: NEXT REGULAR MEETING: Monday, November 21, 1966 at 7:45 P. M., Town Hall. COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE AT PLANNING CCM41SSIOII MEETING OF NOVEMBER 28th: Councilman John M. Fowle. Respectfully submitted, CLAYTON J. SMITH City Clerk pro tem by Juanita L. Morgan 11/7/66-mam Town of Los Altos Hills