HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-09-11 City Council Summary Minutes
Special Meeting September 11, 2000
1. Endorsement of Recommendations from the City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Third Middle School Regarding the Possibility of the Palo Alto Unified School District Using Eminent Domain Proceedings to Reacquire all or part of the Terman Community Services Facility for a Third Middle School and Relocation of the Jewish Community Center..........................................................469
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 10:50 p.m...........................................................479
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The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 7:10 p.m. PRESENT: Beecham, Burch, Eakins, Fazzino (via teleconference from Washington, D.C.), Kleinberg, Kniss, Lytle, Mossar, Ojakian SPECIAL MEETING 1. Endorsement of Recommendations from the City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Third Middle School Regarding the Possibility of the Palo Alto Unified School District Using Eminent Domain Proceedings to Reacquire all or part of the Terman Community Services Facility for a Third Middle School and Relocation of the Jewish Community Center Mayor Kniss said the property on which the Jewish Community Center (JCC) currently resided was sold to the City by the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) more than 20 years prior and was kept as a community center. The evening’s meeting represented the City’s attempt at helping the District resolve the challenge faced regarding its need for a third middle school. The meeting scheduled for the following evening would allow the City Attorney to speak about the legal ramifications of eminent domain, if the Council’s vote was to use all or part of the Terman Community Center for a middle school. City staff worked hard to come up with solutions to the issues facing the community. Council Member Beecham would not participate in the discussion of the property transfer because of a conflict of interest based on the Brown Act. One of his clients had property within one quarter of a mile of Terman. He would, however, participate in the remaining discussions. Mayor Kniss explained that the PAUSD, which encompassed the City of Palo Alto, Stanford, and parts of Los Altos Hills, had a separate budget from each of those cities. City Manager Frank Benest said the problems facing the community were the increasing school enrollment, the need for another middle school, and the desire to maintain community services to Palo Alto. The recommendations made by the Council’s Ad Hoc Committee were summarized in the staff report (CMR:358:00). The City developed three goals: 1) facilitate the siting of a third middle school; 2) ensure that community services were maintained, if not enhanced, for southwest Palo Alto; and 3) preserve the JCC as a community asset for Palo Alto. The JCC was not viewed as a private religious organization, but a non-sectarian, United Way agency providing a range of recreation, health, and human services to the Palo Alto community, particularly southwest Palo Alto. The JCC’s role as a
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community service provider in partnership with the City was recognized in the Terman Specific Plan approved in 1981. During the prior 18 years, the JCC demonstrated its value as a community asset, and the City’s desire was to preserve it as such. In March 2000, the Council appointed an ad hoc committee to address the issue of a third middle school. The four members of the Ad Hoc Committee included Mayor Kniss, Vice Mayor Eakins, and City Council Members Kleinberg and Ojakian, who met during the prior six months with City staff, counterparts on the PAUSD Board, and JCC representatives. The Ad Hoc Committee’s role included listening, understanding the interests of all parties, and developing a framework by which every entity would be kept whole. By November 9, 2000, the City would have paid the PAUSD approximately $15.2 million for the Terman site. In addition, the City spent $2.6 million in repairs and improvements at Terman. The City spent approximately $18 million for the Terman site, only a fraction of the ongoing funding the City provided the PAUSD. The City currently provided almost $7 million to the PAUSD in the current fiscal year, an annual amount that grew every year. In turn, the JCC spent $2.4 million on improvements and paid approximately $.25 million annually in rent. Faced with growing enrollment, the PAUSD asked the City to help site a new middle school. In the 1970s and 1980s, the PAUSD was confronted with declining enrollment and closed a number of school sites. The City leased or purchased school sites, including Terman, from which the City or nonprofits currently provided critical human services. As the PAUSD reacquired school sites, the community was faced with the loss of community services for children, youth, seniors, and families. The siting of a third middle school was part of a much longer-term crisis or challenge. To avoid a crisis in the future, the Council and the PAUSD Board agreed to formally develop a joint master plan of school and community services facilities to be completed in the next six months so the same strategy for moving forward would be developed as PAUSD enrollment increased. Recently, the PAUSD evaluated six options for a third middle school in terms of its needs for a new middle school. Staff evaluated the options with respect to City policies included in the Comprehensive Plan, which identified a City leadership role in facilitating the delivery of community services. Another policy promoted an equitable geographic distribution of community centers. The Comprehensive Plan also included a number of land use policies such as minimizing traffic and neighborhood impacts as community centers were sited. The financial impact of any proposals would also have to be addressed. The six options and the relation to City policies were: 1) The PAUSD would reacquire Terman through eminent domain under which no provision would be made for the JCC; impact to the City included potential land use impacts of traffic and neighborhood and a cost to the City if community services were provided at Terman through a joint use agreement. 2) The PAUSD would exchange 25 Churchill for Terman and the City would, in turn, lease the site to the JCC;
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impact to the City included no financial impact and potential traffic and neighborhood impacts. 3) The PAUSD would reacquire Terman through negotiation and assume the JCC would relocate to another site; impact to the City included potential land use impacts and significant fiscal impacts to the City. 4) The PAUSD and the JCC would share Terman, which provided for the JCC and the third middle school; impact to the City included potential impacts to the neighborhood in terms of traffic but no financial impacts on the City. 5) The new middle school would be built on the Deer Creek site offered by Stanford University, which provided for JCC to continue at Terman; impact to the City was its inconsistency with the Comprehensive Plan and was beyond the City’s urban growth boundary. 6) Use Cubberley for the third middle school, which allowed the JCC to continue at Terman; impact to City included negative impact on other community services located at Cubberley. The PAUSD also wanted to consider Cubberley for a future high school. Cubberley currently generated approximately $6 million in City dollars for the PAUSD on a yearly basis. The PAUSD Board’s response to the options was: rejection of Options 4 and 6; consideration of Options 2 and 4 as low priorities; and direction to the staff to explore Option 1, eminent domain. The following evening, the PAUSD Board would explore a staff recommendation to update its appraisal of Terman as a first step in the formal acquisition process. The Council Ad Hoc Committee developed six recommendations which provided a win-win framework within which to move forward. The recommendations included directing staff to: 1) work with the PAUSD in order to meet the PAUSD’s timeline for transitioning ownership of Terman from the City to the PAUSD; 2) work with the PAUSD to establish a joint use agreement to maintain a level of community service at the Terman facility; 3) evaluate the number of possible sites for community service facilities, including traffic analysis as well as real estate appraisals; 4) develop a financing package to include revenue from the sale of Terman to the PAUSD, contributions from the JCC and any other nonprofit tenants who would locate on the site and any other potential new revenue; 5) after developing a financing package, return to the Council for consideration of acquisition of a suitable site for such a community service facility or facilities; and 6) in regard to relocation of the JCC, work with the PAUSD and the JCC to develop a plan to avoid or minimize interruption of services, which was a major goal of the JCC. The Ad Hoc Committee was unanimous in its recommendations and should be considered as a framework for moving forward. The minimum cost for a new community service site at 5 acres was approximately $5 million per acre, equaling $25 million for land, not including relocation costs in terms of development, buildings, etc., and would not include facility construction. If the City financed the land acquisition, it would need to borrow money from the Utility Fund at a low interest rate. The annual debt service by borrowing the $25 million from the Utility Fund was approximately $2 million each year for 25
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years. Staff considered the plan unacceptable because the City Council would have to forego $1 to $2 million per year in an annual contribution to the Infrastructure Reserve Fund, currently used by the Council to finance a reinvestment into the City’s public facilities, streets, and other infrastructure. In addition, the City could not afford to respond to any new demands for service. Staff and the Ad Hoc Committee recommended using new revenues, which was the City’s policy for new infrastructure needs. Such new revenues could include the proceeds from the sale of Terman and contributions from the JCC or any other non-profits relocating to the new site. Timing was critical. The PAUSD desired reacquisition of the Terman site immediately. The City would work with the PAUSD and JCC for a transition plan to avoid interruption of service. Based on the PAUSD’s timeline, the PAUSD proposed to occupy Terman by October 2002, the PAUSD would complete the Terman renovations by July 2003, and the PAUSD hoped to open the new middle school in August 2003. Staff believed the ad hoc committee proposed a win-win framework to successfully address the three City goals as established by the Council. The Ad Hoc Committee and staff urged the Council to adopt and immediately implement the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee. Pete Slosberg, 27100 Moody Road, Los Altos, President of the Board of Directors, Jewish Community Center (JCC), supported finding a solution to the PAUSD’s dilemma with regard to a third middle school for the community and supported the three goals of the City which were described by City Manager Benest. He urged the City to add a few clarifications to any solution: 1) that the solution to the middle school be accomplished concurrently with the solution for a long-term home for the JCC; 2) that the JCC be supported in providing uninterrupted service to its members until it could move into a new long-term home; 3) that the City more forcefully state its commitment to dedicate resources to solving both the middle school dilemma and where to relocate the JCC services; and 4) that the economic aspect of the solution recognize the JCC’s years of service to the entire Palo Alto community and its desire to continue to provide the services. Eminent domain was considered hostile and divisive. Should court action be taken without appropriate and timely solution for the JCC, the JCC would vigorously defend its rights through all means possible and expect no less from its landlord, the City. Jack Koch, 1466 Dana Avenue, Save Our Schools and Community Assets (SOSCA), supported a third middle school and retaining community center activities. The week prior, SOSCA presented the Planning and Transportation Commission with a proposal that Stanford pay community center mitigation fees, given the profound impacts of Sand Hill corridor project and the new community plan. The City Council was urged to help the PAUSD acquire Terman as soon as possible at a commonsense cost that was appropriate and fair and
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find a new home for the JCC and other nonprofit groups in south Palo Alto. The single parcel should include a City-owned swimming pool and a neighborhood library. SOSCA agreed with all three City goals and supported the Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendations, with minor clarifications: Action 2, establishing joint use on campus, should only occur after school hours; Action 3, the site selection, should only evaluate possible sites in the south; and Action 4, the financial package, should also include the City as a potential revenue provider. The City was growing and had a great need for community facilities. Through the Council’s leadership, a new site could be acquired which included a home for the JCC and a range of mutually supportive services for the south and the community at large. J. Barton Phelps, 5 Oliver Court, Menlo Park, Cardiac Therapy Foundation (CTF), supported the JCC and urged the City to find a solution to the issue. After spending almost 61 years in the judicial system, he recognized the PAUSD’s need for Terman, the need for the JCC to find a place to carry on its activities, the involvement of Stanford, and the difficulty the City faced in finding a solution. The CTF suggested all four parties to the dispute engage immediately in discussions with a mediator to sort the problems from an impartial point of view. Cathy Berra, Oak Avenue, Menlo Park, Cardiac Therapy Foundation (CTF), supported the JCC and the need to keep services, such as the CTF provided, intact and ongoing. Dr. Bob Aptekar, 26000 Scarff Way, Los Altos Hills, said he was one of the 3,000 individuals who signed a petition in support of the JCC and in opposition to the eminent domain if an interruption of services provided by the JCC in Palo Alto resulted. Support for the JCC included the United Way, YWCA of the MidPeninsula, the Girls Club of the MidPeninsula, the El Camino Youth Symphony, the CTF, and the Palo Alto Parents and Professionals for the Arts. The Council was urged to adopt a policy resulting in a new middle school and a clearly identified and secure site for the JCC without interruption of services. Anne Wilson, 990 Amarillo Avenue, Palo Alto High School Sports Boosters President, supported finding a location for the JCC and opposed the proposal to swap the Terman site for Churchill. Athletics in the City’s high schools had suffered from 1996 to 1998 because of a lack of funding. The loss of the tennis courts at Palo Alto, the impact on the facilities during and after construction, and the resulting increase in traffic were all detrimental to the high school. The PAUSD land should be preserved to support the projected continued growth of school enrollment. Bruce Feldstein, 615 Oregon Avenue, said keeping in mind the
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people, including patients at Stanford Hospital and Lucille M. Packard Children’s Hospital, who used the services of the JCC was important during the decision-making process. Rev. Jonathan R. Staples, Jerusalem Baptist Church, 243 Margarita Avenue, said Palo Alto was in desperate need of a third middle school and the services of the JCC. It was unfair for the City and the PAUSD to debate the issue for 10 minutes and expect a response from the public instead of giving sufficient time to come up with the best solution for Palo Alto. Allison Ferraiolo, 535 Patricia Lane, Jordan Middle School 8th grader, supported finding a site for the JCC that would not use school land, particularly the land at Palo Alto High School where which currently had insufficient land for school use. Austinn Freeman, 627 Channing Avenue, Jordan Middle School 8th grader and President of the Student Council, opposed giving away public school property for anything other than the education of public school children. Mayor Kniss clarified the City sold property but did not give property away. Denise Schoenberger, 125 Primrose Way, said the PAUSD had a shortage of school space. Kristen Jensen, 150 Waverley Street, opposed moving the JCC because the current Churchill site was used for a commuter parking lot that would also have to be moved elsewhere, resulting in traffic jams and safety concerns. A community center at the location with a high school would bring more congestion and traffic. Deborah Wenocur, 4057 Amaranta Avenue, the Terman and Barron Park neighborhoods who would lose a lot if the JCC was moved, as well as suffer traffic problems. Arthur Keller, 3881 Corina Way, supported the community services provided by the JCC. Ron and Bonnie Shipper, 1163 Cuesta Drive, Mountain View, said traffic problems resulted when having high school and elementary students were driven to the same place at the same time every day. David Meir-Levi, 3760 El Centro Avenue, said Option 1 in the staff report (CMR:358:00) was contrary to public policy in Palo Alto because no resolution was included for the JCC. Howard Franklin, 2340 Princeton Street, said the 1989 Lease and Covenant Not to Develop Agreement between the City and the PAUSD
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stated the City would preserve a “substantial amount of the City’s remaining open space.” The Council was urged to direct City staff to investigate acquiring additional sites within the community to meet the needs for new public land for more schools. Mayor Kniss said, as one of the drafters of the 1989 Lease and Covenant Not to Develop Agreement, she recalled the community was divided. The PAUSD’S charge was to provide for the students, and the Council’s charge was to provide for all the citizens in the City. At the same time, the City and the PAUSD attempted to work in collaboration and conjunction with each other. However, the City could not buy school sites and give them to the PAUSD. That would be illegal. Jean Hamilton, 591 Stanford Avenue, spoke on behalf of the Jewish Community about past persecution. Phil Burton, 3333 Cowper Street, read a letter from his college-age daughter regarding maintaining the existence of the JCC. Professor Elizabeth G. Cohen, Stanford University School of Education, 851 Sonoma Terrace, Stanford, said moving sixth graders back into the elementary schools was a short- or long-term solution to overcrowding. Sue Dinwiddie, 543 Jackson Drive, said the JCC provided needed services for children and families. Ladoris Cordell, Palo Alto, said the JCC, was one of the most productive and successful service organizations in the area. Len Lehmann, 2237 Waverley Street, said there was a need for the type of community services provided by the JCC. Talia Recht, 904 Madonna Way, Los Altos, 8th grader at Keys School supported the JCC. Khalid Jones, 16B Escondido Village, Stanford, said there was a contradiction between Option #1 and public policy #2. The JCC should be located at the alternate location until a more long-term solution could be found. Michael Shapiro, 680 Serra Street, said eminent domain did not guarantee that the JCC would have a new site, which was what Option #1 stated. Option #2 needed closer examination. Ben Lerner, 3482 Janice Way, said an added burden would result on other local providers if the JCC were closed Harry Price, 24616 Summerhill Avenue, Los Altos Hills, spoke about
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the City’s unenviable position because it said “yes” to the PAUSD. Mark Alloy, 627 Georgia Avenue, said relocating the JCC to the Elks Club seemed the most obvious solution. Robert Zimmerman, 265 Old Spanish Trail, Portola Valley, supported the JCC. Rich Kamrin, Palo Alto, supported the JCC. John Medbery, 4262 McKellar Lane, supported the JCC. Shelton Ehrlich, 755 Northampton Drive, said the Council’s leadership was needed to bring the community out of the problem. Sherie Greenberg, 698 Wildwood Lane, supported the JCC. Janna Levin, 1053 Channing Avenue, Palo Alto High School Junior, spoke about the growing population and the fact that another middle school would need to be built. He asked why the JCC needed to be evicted. Hank Cooper for Bill Cantor, 1075 Spacepark Way, Mountain View, supported the JCC. Meredith Fahn, 753 Webster Street, said litigation should be used only as a last resort. Peter Storm, 2830 Garfield, San Mateo, supported the JCC. Leslie Braun, 1828 Webster Street, said there was a need for collaboration between the JCC, the Council, and the PAUSD Board of Education to resolve the problem. Kurt Borgwardt, 807 Waverley Street, asked who owned Terman. Mayor Kniss said the City was one payment away from owning Terman. Mr. Borgwardt asked whether the City could sell Terman back to the PAUSD, which then could have eminent domain presidings. Mayor Kniss said although the City owned Terman, it was under a long-term lease. Mr. Borgwardt supported the JCC. Since the Deer Creek site failed to comply with the Comprehensive Plan, the Comprehensive Plan should be changed. Dr. B. Lynn Ware and Brooke Lieberwitz, 3596 Louis Road, supported the JCC. Because the City had not found a solution to the problem,
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that did not mean a solution was not possible. The City should work with innovative consultants. Susan Protter, 2318 Heather Court, Mountain View, supported putting the middle school on the Churchill site to enable children to learn with older children. Duncan MacMillan, 27345 Natoma Road, Los Altos Hills, supported putting the middle school on the Churchill site. The traffic problem could be mitigated with carpools and shuttles. Joe Hirsch, 4149 Georgia Avenue, supported the rights of the JCC. Diane Guinta, 3588 Arbutus Avenue, spoke on behalf of the students who were going to attend the overcrowded middle schools. Eminent domain seemed to be the only immediate solution. RECESS: 9:45 p.m. to 10:10 p.m. Mayor Kniss announced no more speaker cards would be accepted and the meeting would end by 11 p.m. Schools were over-crowded and class sizes were large. She asked Cathy Kroymann, President of the PAUSD Board of Education, whether the classes would be smaller with a new middle school, according to the current situation. Cathy Kroymann, President of Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education, said no. Middle schools were staffed at one teacher per every 28.5 students. The current middle schools had no opportunity to consider class size reduction because the classes were full. With a third middle school, the class size would remain the same, but the opportunity to consider class size reduction was possible if it was a high priority with the community and the money was available to do so. Mayor Kniss asked why the class sizes were so large and why it was the decision of the school. Ms. Kroymann said secondary schools were allowed some autonomy in how to run programs. The classes were staffed at the level of one teacher per 28.5 students, but schools occasionally made choices. For example, if 65 students signed up for a course, three sections would not be offered, but rather two sections with 32 or 33 students and the remaining students could not take the course. Often, teachers were willing to have 33 students in their class in order to avoid turning a student away. More advanced classes also ran at a larger class size to enable a lower level class to be smaller and provide more one-on-one attention. Amy Lansky, 4119 Alpine Road, Portola Valley, supported the JCC.
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Peter Diepenbrock, 727 Middlefield Road, was opposed to using 25 Churchill Avenue since it provided only three acres, and the District needed 4.4 acres; therefore, the playing fields and tennis courts at Palo Alto High School would have to be cut. Jean Slocum, 360 Sheridan, spoke regarding utilizing land space. Bob Moss, 4010 Orme, said the problem could not be solved without involving Stanford University and its’ vacant land. Wynn Hausser, 3705 Park Boulevard, supported the need to use a mediator in the negotiations. Mayor Kniss said the PAUSD worked with a mediator. The City and PAUSD worked on the issue with great energy for the past year. In February, all parties were all present while discussing an exchange with 25 Churchill Avenue. Shelby Valentine, 3116 Stelling Drive, supported of the library on the Terman site, which was used for the Friends of the Palo Alto Libraries to raise funds for the City’s libraries. South Palo Alto also needed its own neighborhood library. Dana Gauthier, 780 Seale Avenue, supported eminent domain and moving the middle school to the Terman site. Trina Lovercheck, 1070 McGregor Way, said the City had established a mediation system 15 to 20 years prior. The PAUSD’s main interest was to provide education. Providing a new middle school and preserving the JCC were not mutually exclusive goals. Council Member Ojakian said he and Ms. Lovercheck served on a committee a number of years prior that closed the last three elementary schools. Ms. Lovercheck said the PAUSD did not sell all of the schools. Mayor Kniss said after she was elected to the PAUSD Board of Education, no more schools were sold, but the PAUSD’s actions were complicated during the past 20 years. The following evening the history of what had transpired would be given, including time spent with a mediator. Katya Dyla, 574 Arastradero Road, supported the JCC. Rebecca Stolpa, 1365 Forest Avenue, Save Our School and Community Assets said the Terman site was the best solution for the new middle school, and City Council should acquire a new site for the JCC. A petition with 600 names was provided.
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Libbat Shaham, 781 Stone Lane, supported the JCC. Mayor Kniss said the following evening, staff planned a discussion of policy perspectives, if time permitted. There would also be an executive session the following evening. Mr. Benest said staff anticipated the closed session would take one hour. Mayor Kniss said the open session would begin approximately 7 p.m. No action taken. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 10:50 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED:
City Clerk Mayor NOTE: Sense minutes (synopsis) are prepared in accordance with Palo Alto Municipal Code Sections 2.04.180(a) and (b). The City Council and Standing Committee meeting tapes are made solely for the purpose of facilitating the preparation of the minutes of the meetings. City Council and Standing Committee meeting tapes are recycled 90 days from the date of the meeting. The tapes are available for members of the public to listen to during regular office hours.
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