HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-10-15 City Council Summary Minutes
1 10/15/2007
Special Meeting
October 15, 2007
1. Discussion of ABAG Regional Housing Needs Allocation for Palo Alto
and Housing Element Requirements.................................................3
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS .......................................................................4
2. Vote and Appointment of Candidates to the Parks and Recreation
Commission .................................................................................4
3. Ordinance 4970 entitled “Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo
Alto Adopting an Ordinance Rezoning the Parcel by Amending the
Zoning Map of the City of Palo Alto to Change the Zone Designation for
395 Page Mill Road from the General Manufacturing (GM) Zone
Designation to the Research, Office & Limited Manufacturing (ROLM)
Zone Designation..........................................................................5
4. Approval of a Professional Services Agreement with Geodesy in the
Amount of $149,495 for Development Support of the New Computer
Applications Linked to the Geographic Information System (GIS).........5
5. Introduction of an Ordinance Repealing and Reenacting Title 15 of the
Palo Alto Municipal Code to Adopt the California Fire Code, 2007
Edition, and Local Amendments Thereto, and Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 25
and Chapter One Appendix of the International Fire Code; and
Adopting Local Amendments and Related Findings; and Setting a
Public Hearing for November 13, 2007.............................................5
6. Introduction of Five Ordinances: (1) Repealing Chapter 16.04 of the
Palo Alto Municipal Code and Amending Title 16 to Adopt a New
Chapter 16.04, California Building Code, California Historical Building
Code, and California Existing Building Code, 2007 Editions, and Local
Amendments, (2) Amending Title 16 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code
to Adopt a New Chapter 16.05, California Mechanical Code and
Appendix Chapters a and D, 2007 Edition, (3) Repealing Chapter
16.08 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code and Amending Title 16 to Adopt
a New Chapter 16.08, California Plumbing Code, 2007 Edition, and
Local Amendments, (4) Repealing Chapter 16.16 of the Palo Alto
10/15/2007 2
Municipal Code and Amending Title 16 to Adopt a New Chapter 16.16,
California Electrical Code, 2007 Edition, and Local Amendments, (5)
Amending Title 16 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Adopt a New
Chapter 16.17, California Energy Code, 2005 Edition; and Adopting
Local Amendments and Related Findings; and Setting a Public Hearing
for November 13, 2007..................................................................6
7. Approval of a Contract Extension and Increase in the Expenditure Limit
of the Rail Shuttle Bus Service Administration Agreement with the
Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Palo Alto Shuttle Program)......6
8. Approval of a Contract with Kutzmann and Associates for a Total Not
to Exceed Amount of $138,000 and a Contract with 4-Leaf, Inc. for a
Total Not to Exceed Amount of $156,000 for On-Call Building
Inspection Services .......................................................................6
COUNCIL COMMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND REPORTS FROM
CONFERENCES .............................................................................6
ADJOURNMENT .....................................................................................7
10/15/2007 3
The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council
Chambers at 6:03 p.m.
Present: Barton, Beecham, Cordell, Drekmeier, Kishimoto, Klein,
Kleinberg, Mossar, Morton (arrived at 6:08 p.m.)
STUDY SESSION
1. Discussion of ABAG Regional Housing Needs Allocation for Palo Alto
and Housing Element Requirements
Steve Emslie, Director of Planning and Community Environment, gave a
comprehensive presentation regarding the recent ABAG housing
assignments to jurisdictions for the next Regional Housing needs Allocation
(RHNA) period (December 2006 through June 2014). He explained the
chronology of developing the allocations, the allocation process and
summarized state housing element law and requirements for housing
elements, including housing inventories, to meet state requirements. He
also provided Council with an overview of the schedule for submission of
housing elements to the State Department of Housing and Community
Development. He described the allocation assigned to Palo Alto by various
income levels and explained that the City was requesting a reduction in that
allocation from ABAG based n two factors, the overall projected population
growth for Palo Alto was too high for the next seven years and all new jobs
and housing growth projected for Stanford in the next seven years were
assigned to Palo Alto including development anticipated to occur under the
County General Use Permit (GUP).
Planning Commissioner Tuma gave a brief summary of the Planning and
Transportation Commission’s discussion regarding the ABAG numbers.
There were several public speakers providing pros and cons related to the
City’s allocation and responsibility for providing its regional share of housing.
Vice Mayor Klein and Council Members Morton and Cordell considered the
numbers to be unachievable since it would require significant acreage to
develop the numbers of units required under the allocation and given Palo
Alto’s “built out” status it is not possible to find sufficient land to reserve for
that number of units. Furthermore, they considered the addition of 2800+
units would result in adverse effects on Palo Alto’s quality of life particularly
regarding school capacity and traffic congestion. Councilmember Kleinberg
indicated her support for housing; however, she considered that the
transportation infrastructure needed to support higher density housing
should be in place before the housing is developed. Mayor Kishimoto
recognized the need to address the RHNA assignment but considered that
given Palo Alto’s status as a regional employment center and the high cost
of land in Palo Alto that the City should explore ways of transferring units to
other jurisdictions consistent with the ABAG process. Council Members
10/15/2007 4
Barton, Mossar and Beecham saw the RHNA assignment as a challenge to
the community citing that it was Palo Alto’s responsibility to provide the
requisite sites for future housing particularly given the City’s commitment to
sustainability and the need to respond to the global warming crisis.
No action required.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mary Schaefer, 742 De Soto Drive, spoke regarding preparedness for
flooding.
Robert Moss, 4010 Orme St., spoke regarding reestablishing the graffiti
program.
Michael Maciorski, 17230 Grand Prix Way, Morgan Hill, spoke regarding his
toxic waste complaint and he presented a petition for investigation into
illegal termination and dumping of toxic waste into the Palo Alto City Landfill.
Arthur Keller, 3881 Corina Way, spoke regarding high-speed rail to address
global warming.
SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY
2. Vote and Appointment of Candidates to the Parks and Recreation
Commission
First Round of Voting for Parks and Recreation Commission
Voting for Sean Cottle: DREKMEIER
Voting for Alex Panelli: BARTON, BEECHAM,
KISHIMOTO, KLEINBERG,
MOSSAR
Voting for Deirdre Crommie: BARTON, BEECHAM, CORDELL,
DREKMEIER, KISHIMOTO,
KLEIN, KLEINBERG, MORTON,
MOSSAR
Voting for Leon Leong: CORDELL, KLEIN, MORTON
City Clerk Donna Rogers announced on the 1st ballot, Deirdre Crommie with
9 votes, and Alex Panelli with 5 votes were appointed to the Parks and
Recreation Commission for a term ending April 30, 2010.
Council Member Morton left the meeting at 8:15 p.m.
10/15/2007 5
CONSENT CALENDAR
Council Member Barton stated he would not participate on Item 8 because
Kutzmann and Associates occasionally provided plan check reviews of his
professional work.
Council Member Kleinberg stated she would not participate on Item 4
because she wanted to avoid any suggestion of conflict since the scope of
work called out the maximizing and leveraging of applications, which are
part of the proprietary intellectual property of Google and her organization
was funded by Google.
Mayor Kishimoto stated Items 5 and 6 were ordinances adopting model fire
and building codes. State law required the introduction of model code
ordinances and the setting of a Public Hearing; the Public Hearing was
scheduled for November 13, 2007. No action would be taken that evening.
After the Public Hearing on November 13, 2007, the Council would proceed
with their standard process of voting to adopt an ordinance and a 2nd
Reading.
Art Liberman, 752 Chimalus, spoke regarding Item 5 and stated the
adoption of the ordinance would give the Fire Department new tools to
implement better and stronger safe guards for the health and welfare for the
members of the community.
MOTION: Council Member Beecham moved, seconded by Cordell, to
approve Consent Calendar Items 3 through 8.
3. Ordinance 4970 entitled “Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo
Alto Adopting an Ordinance Rezoning the Parcel by Amending the
Zoning Map of the City of Palo Alto to Change the Zone Designation for
395 Page Mill Road from the General Manufacturing (GM) Zone
Designation to the Research, Office & Limited Manufacturing (ROLM)
Zone Designation
4. Approval of a Professional Services Agreement with Geodesy in the
Amount of $149,495 for Development Support of the New Computer
Applications Linked to the Geographic Information System (GIS)
5. Introduction of an Ordinance Repealing and Reenacting Title 15 of the
Palo Alto Municipal Code to Adopt the California Fire Code, 2007
Edition, and Local Amendments Thereto, and Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 25
and Chapter One Appendix of the International Fire Code; and
Adopting Local Amendments and Related Findings; and Setting a
Public Hearing for November 13, 2007.
6. Introduction of Five Ordinances: (1) Repealing Chapter 16.04 of the
Palo Alto Municipal Code and Amending Title 16 to Adopt a New
10/15/2007 6
Chapter 16.04, California Building Code, California Historical Building
Code, and California Existing Building Code, 2007 Editions, and Local
Amendments, (2) Amending Title 16 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code
to Adopt a New Chapter 16.05, California Mechanical Code and
Appendix Chapters a and D, 2007 Edition, (3) Repealing Chapter
16.08 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code and Amending Title 16 to Adopt
a New Chapter 16.08, California Plumbing Code, 2007 Edition, and
Local Amendments, (4) Repealing Chapter 16.16 of the Palo Alto
Municipal Code and Amending Title 16 to Adopt a New Chapter 16.16,
California Electrical Code, 2007 Edition, and Local Amendments, (5)
Amending Title 16 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Adopt a New
Chapter 16.17, California Energy Code, 2005 Edition; and Adopting
Local Amendments and Related Findings; and Setting a Public Hearing
for November 13, 2007.
7. Approval of a Contract Extension and Increase in the Expenditure Limit
of the Rail Shuttle Bus Service Administration Agreement with the
Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Palo Alto Shuttle Program)
8. Approval of a Contract with Kutzmann and Associates for a Total Not
to Exceed Amount of $138,000 and a Contract with 4-Leaf, Inc. for a
Total Not to Exceed Amount of $156,000 for On-Call Building
Inspection Services
MOTION PASSED for item 3: 8-0, Morton absent.
MOTION PASSED for item 4: 7-0, Morton absent, Kleinberg not
participating.
MOTION PASSED for item 8: 7-0, Morton absent, Barton not
participating.
COUNCIL COMMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND REPORTS FROM CONFERENCES
Council Member Mossar stated her concerns to the City Manager regarding
significant emerging issues; graffiti and other unseemly behavior around the
radius of Palo Alto High School and her neighborhood.
City Manager Benest said that based on concerns received from Council
Members and citizens, he had authorized an increase of resources allocated
to Public Works to enable the graffiti crew to respond quickly.
Vice Mayor Klein inquired on the Status of the citizen’s letter regarding
sewer problems in the Green Acres neighborhood.
Assistant City Manager Harrison said the sewer backup issue was included in
an informational report being prepared for the Council.
10/15/2007 7
Council Member Kleinberg encouraged a follow-up on the individual who
spoke regarding the allegations of toxic waste being dumped.
Mayor Kishimoto noted that two weeks ago she was invited by the United
Kingdom to make a trip to London, South Hampton and working with Mayors
from Sacramento, Berkeley, Seattle, and Tucson. She noted in England
there was a lot of discussion about Combined Heat and Power (CHP) as it
was economically viable. One city’s approach was to provide high energy
efficiency of 80 percent sustainable energy, as opposed to 20 percent
renewable energy.
Council Member Beecham reported his attendance at the annual Northern
California Power Agency (NCPA); the preeminent energy meeting on the
West Coast. The focus of the meeting was on global warming. The NCPA
would be meeting with staff from Sacramento next week to help them work
on options on a financial basis. Decisions on how allocations of emissions are
made for CO2 from the electric industry needed to be made.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:32 p.m.