HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-07-22 City Council Summary Minutes
Special Meeting July 22, 2002
1. Interview of Candidates for the Planning and Transportation Commission..................................................316
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m...................316
1. Honoring the Presence of and Welcoming Visitors from Sister City Oaxaca, Mexico to the City of Palo Alto................317
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m...................317
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS..............................................318
1. Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer (SMaRT) Station Annual Report...............................................318
2. PUBLIC HEARING: The Palo Alto City Council will consider a
request of property owners of a portion of Tract 796 for Rezoning from R-1 Single Family Residential to R-1 (S)
Single Story Overlay District in the Greer Park Neighborhood, including 2708-2882 Greer Road, 960-1008 Amarillo Avenue, and 902-998 Van Auken Circle...............320
3. PUBLIC HEARING: The Palo Alto City Council will consider a request by International School of the Peninsula for Site
and Design Review for the Installation of a New Public Pedestrian Pathway to Provide a Connection from the School Grounds, located at 151 Laura Lane with the existing pathway at the Baylands Athletic Center Parking Lot.........324
4. PUBLIC HEARING: The Palo Alto City Council will consider a
report and assessment for weed abatement....................325
5. Approval of Four Contracts totaling $4,062,879 Associated with the Implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP)................................................325
6. Approval of an Agreement Among the City of Palo Alto, the
Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara, and the Community Working Group providing $1,280,000 in Community
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Development Block Grant Funds for Pre-Development, Site Acquisition, and Pre-Construction Expenses for the
Opportunity Center for the Mid-Peninsula Project on Encina Avenue......................................................330
APPROVAL OF MINUTES..............................................332
7. Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing the City of Palo Alto to Submit a Funding Application in the Amount of $150,000
to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) for the Purchase of Three Compressed Natural Gas Trucks.....333
8. Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending
Chapter 16.09 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Reduce Discharges of Pollutants to the Sanitary Sewer and Storm
Drainage System.............................................333
9. Report on Schedule, Funding Status and Approve the Project Subject to the Recommended Conditions for the Homer Avenue Caltrain Undercrossing, Capital Improvement Program Project 10121.......................................................334
11. Approval of the Natural Gas Services Agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Energy Trading Gas Corporation for an
Amount Not To Exceed $10.9 Million for Natural Gas Operations And Residual Gas Balancing Services..............334
13. Approval of Amendment to Contract No. C2133010 Between the
City of Palo Alto and the City of Inglewood to Increase the Contract Authority for Parking Citation Processing Services
for the First Year by $22,600 and to set the Amount of the Contract for each Subsequent Year of the Agreement in the Amount Not To Exceed $55,000................................335
14. Renewal of a Five-Year Stewardship Agreement with Acterra for the Conservation of the Arastradero Preserve............335
15. Recommendation to Select Eden Housing, Inc., as the Developer of an Affordable Rental Housing Project on a Site to be Selected Council......................................335
16. Policy and Services Committee recommendation to the City Council re Approval of a Ballot Measure and Legislative
Advocacy Process............................................335
17. (Old Item No. 10) Discussion of Changes to (CMR:343:02; Approval of Resolution Establishing No Parking Zones on Alma Street North of Lytton Avenue and on Lytton Avenue East of Alma Street (matter continued from 7/15/02).........336
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18. (Old Item No. 12) Contract Between the City of Palo Alto and W. Bradley Electric in the Amount of $157,000 for
Modifying the Traffic Signal at Middlefield Road and Meadow Drive.......................................................337
COUNCIL COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS...................339
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 11:30 p.m..................339
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The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Conference Room at 5:35 p.m.
PRESENT: Beecham, Burch, Freeman, Kishimoto, Kleinberg, Morton, Mossar ABSENT: Lytle, Ojakian
SPECIAL MEETING
1. Interview of Candidates for the Planning and Transportation
Commission No action required.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m.
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Special Meeting
July 22, 2002 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 6:55 p.m.
PRESENT: Beecham, Burch, Freeman, Kishimoto, Kleinberg, Lytle (arrived at 7:00 p.m.), Morton, Mossar, Ojakian
SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY
1. Honoring the Presence of and Welcoming Visitors from Sister City Oaxaca, Mexico to the City of Palo Alto No action required.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m.
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Special Meeting
July 22, 2002 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at 7:03 p.m.
PRESENT: Beecham, Burch, Freeman, Kishimoto, Kleinberg, Lytle, Morton, Mossar, Ojakian
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Bunny Good, P.O. Box 824, Menlo Park, spoke regarding Sister Cities in Mexico and the Philippines. Tom Wyman, 546 Washington Avenue, spoke regarding Friends of the Palo Alto Library Book Sales Committee.
Shelby Valentine, 3116 Stelling Drive, spoke regarding the book sale site for Friends of the Palo Alto Library Book Sales Committee.
Ellen Wyman, 546 Washington Avenue, spoke regarding Friends of the Library.
Diane Sekimura, 2082 Sandalwood Court, spoke regarding Edgewood Center redevelopment.
Angelica Volterra, P.O. Box 1724, spoke regarding the Edgewood
Redevelopment Project. Steven Aronson, 1914 Channing Avenue, spoke regarding Edgewood
Plaza.
Jinny Henke, 744 Wildwood, spoke regarding Edgewood Plaza. Richard Skalsky, 2020 Channing Avenue, spoke regarding the Edgewood project.
Natalie Cardenas, 275 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, spoke regarding introduction of Silvar Government Affairs Division.
SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY
1. Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer (SMaRT) Station Annual Report
Director of Public Works Glenn Roberts stated that the SMaRT
Station (SmaRT) located in Sunnyvale operated under a joint partnership with the cities of Mountain View and Palo Alto.
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SMaRT was a major component of the City’s solid waste management and recycling activities.
Mark Bowers, Solid Waste Program Manager for the City of Sunnyvale, provided an Annual Report and gave a presentation on SMaRT’s 2001-2002 achievements.
Vice Mayor Mossar asked where the wood fuel power plants were located.
Mr. Bowers said one was located near Tracy and another was in the Soledad area. The power plants were modern with air
pollution control equipment. Council Member Burch asked if white paper was still considered the premium material for recycling.
Mr. Bowers confirmed that white paper was considered the best material for recycling. They found that by making the process easier in taking everything and sorting it out later, many more members in the community contributed to the effort.
Council Member Burch asked whether the white paper was separated from the colored paper at some point.
Mr. Bowers said the program would sort according to the market’s demand, which changed on a daily bases. The paper stock
institute identified there were 88 percent to 90 percent different types of grades of waste paper. The operator would
have incentives to maximize operator revenues that also maximized SMaRT’s revenues. Therefore, they would sort in ways to maximize revenues.
Council Member Morton hoped the time would come when all
plastics would be recyclable. Mr. Bowers said the more recycled plastic was purchased as a consumer product, the more marketability there was for plastic waste.
Council Member Lytle said the presentation showed that Palo Alto did not contribute to the yard waste category and had a very low
contribution to the public haul category.
Mr. Bowers said it was because Palo Alto still had access to a landfill, and given the option, Palo Altans would rather drive to the landfill closest to them as opposed to driving to the Sunnyvale landfill.
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Council Member Lytle assumed that would change after Palo Alto’s landfill closed.
No action required.
PUBLIC HEARING
2. PUBLIC HEARING: The Palo Alto City Council will consider a request of property owners of a portion of Tract 796 for Rezoning from R-1 Single Family Residential to R-1 (S)
Single Story Overlay District in the Greer Park Neighborhood, including 2708-2882 Greer Road, 960-1008
Amarillo Avenue, and 902-998 Van Auken Circle Chief Planning Official Lisa Grote said the proposal that was presented was to rezone 58 parcels in and around Van Auken Circle in the Greer Park neighborhood as outlined in the staff
report (CMR:353:02) Planning Commissioner Karen Holman said the Commission voted 5-2 to deny the single-story overlay. All Commissioners agreed that single-story overlay applications had multi-layered
considerations. A number of the Commissioners had concerns about flood plain issues as they related to major remodels. The
application was below the 70 percent majority support that generally was considered the standard. Also, the number of the lots was less than the 7,000 square feet in size. Some felt the
Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) were adequate protection and others felt that the current R-1 new guidelines
might address concerns prompting the application. The minority vote recognized that 70 percent is a guideline, but not an absolute percentage.
Mayor Ojakian declared the Public Hearing open at 8:00 p.m. He
requested all speaker cards be presented to the City Clerk by 8:15 p.m. Ellyn Segal, 998 Van Auken Circle, did not support the single-story overlay. She spoke on the issues of residents with CC&Rs
and the decline from 80 percent to 67 percent in support for the overlay. The Commission was concerned about the downward drift of those numbers. Recognizing that was a guidance number, staff
was asked to address the issue. It had not been addressed except to say that it was a guidance number. She also addressed
moderate lot size and said the consequence of an R-1 (S) overlay to lots that were less than 6,000 square feet was not detailed in a report from the City to the neighborhood. Those numbers should have been laid out for neighbors to read and understand the consequences of the overlay on the houses. She also spoke
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about the City’s Single-Family Residential (R-1) guidelines. The Commission was concerned about numerous issues such as maximum
rebuilt height and whether Single Story Overlay R-1 (S) be put in as 17 feet. All homes were in the flood zone. If a flood were to happen, each one would need to apply for a variance. The Commission felt strongly that the flood zone issues and coordination of the new R-1 guidelines with Floor Area Ratio
(FAR) with the R-1(S) should be addressed prior to passing overlays on to the neighborhood.
Alan Brodie, 998 Van Auken Circle, opposed the single-story overlay. He had gone through the remodeling process. The
individual planning review was comprehensive in looking at neighbor’s issues and assured they had adequate privacy. The average lot was 6,000 square feet, which meant there was a loss of an average of 150 square feet of space. The current selling price of a home in Palo Alto was $350 a square feet. Homeowners
would lose between $50,000 to $90,000 of the value on their homes. Frank Lockfeld, 966 Van Auken Circle, supported the single-story overlay. He preferred the single-story overlay to the CC&Rs.
With CC&Rs, neighbors would have had to take legal action in order to prevent a second-story building. Having the single-
story overlay in the Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) allowed the City to support the neighborhood.
James Maccoun, 950 Van Auken Circle, supported the single-story overlay. There were enforceable deed restrictions forbidding
second stories in the proposed overlay zone. Council had enacted overlays for several other neighborhoods and his neighborhood needed what other neighborhoods had received. He urged Council
to adopt the overlay.
Stanley Cole, 2808 Greer Road, said he was against the overlay. He was not in agreement of turning the responsibility of the covenants over to the Council. He also addressed the issue of privacy. The flood zone made it impossible to rebuild a house. The windows would need to be over a five-foot fence and having
eight- to ten-foot high fences would not be acceptable.
Arthur Grantz, 930 Van Auken Circle, asked to rezone the Van Auken Circle and neighborhood vicinity from R1 to R1 (S) in
order to be free from the potential invasion of privacy from adjacent two-story homes and to keep the architectural appeal of
the single-story neighborhood of the classic 1950 vintage Eichler homes.
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Bob Moss, 4010 Orme Street, supported the single-story overlay. When the overlay zone was adopted, the Council stated a desire
to have the City enforce the CC&Rs rather than a lawsuit. Daniel Blachman, 990 Van Auken Circle, favored the single-story overlay. The 17-foot limitation stated in the ordinance would limit the design of a rebuilt home in the event of a
catastrophe. He felt that the reduction in the square footage was not well presented at the community outreach meeting. With the maximum reduction of 150 square feet, some homes would
suffer a greater reduction.
Bob Baldwin, 990 Amarillo Avenue, strongly favored the single-story overlay. He did not think the individual review process would work to preserve the characteristics of his Eichler home. He felt the best way to preserve the value of his neighborhood was to add the single-story overlay.
Eddie Wood, 986 Van Auken Circle, said he would like the opportunity to add a second-story to his home and work with his neighbors to achieve that goal.
Colin McDowell, 914 Van Auken Circle, said in an effort to maintain his privacy and avoid taking legal actions with
neighbors, he was in favor of the single-story overlay. Sibby Coxhead, 926 Van Auken Circle, favored the overlay in
order to preserve the historic nature of a unique Eichler neighborhood.
Mayor Ojakian declared the Public Hearing closed at 8:33 p.m. MOTION: Council Member Beecham moved, seconded by Burch, to
approve the staff recommendation to introduce the Ordinance
rezoning a total of 58 lots in Tract 796 (Greer Park) from R-1 Single Family Residential to R-1(S) Single Story Overlay District. Ordinance 1st Reading entitled “Ordinance of the Council of
the City of Palo Alto Amending Section 18.08.040 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code (The Zoning Map) to Change the Classification of Certain Properties on Van Auken Circle,
Amarillo Avenue and Greer Road, which are a Portion of That Property Known as Tract 796 from R-1 To R-1(S)”
Council Member Beecham addressed the “Flexibility Rule” outlined in the staff report (CMR:353:02) and said some of the concerns were based upon the 70 percent support, which was a guideline. When all the homes in the area were single-story houses, there
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should be flexibility in the guideline. He felt that a 67 percent was adequate. Another concern was the loss of square
footage in the floor area ratio (FAR), flood zones, and height limitations. The City was aware of those two issues and would address them with the Zoning Code update. When a neighborhood had CC&Rs, the Council was not there to take away anyone’s rights. The Council wanted to ensure that people knew their
rights and to prevent litigation when someone was building a second-story home.
Council Member Burch was concerned with what those issues did to the community. There was peer pressure on neighbors to sign
petitions. He hoped in the future the City could do a secret ballot that would allow residents to exercise their vote and not be influenced by others. Council Member Lytle supported the motion.
Council Member Morton supported the motion. Council Member Kishimoto asked what happened to a home that was reconstructed and towered three to five feet over the neighbor’s
property.
Ms. Grote said it depended upon the individual lot and whether the home needed to be raised three to five feet. The added footage would be calculated into the overall height and, if the
overlay was approved, it would be a maximum of 17 feet. Once the height allocation became consistent with the R-1
regulations, the height maximum could go up to 20 feet in order to meet the flood plain requirements.
Council Member Kishimoto asked if Ms. Grote knew of an Eichler home that had been through a complete renovation process such as
this. Ms. Grote said perhaps the Planning Division would know, but she could not recall one that had to be entirely rebuilt.
Council Member Kishimoto said she realized the intent was to speed ahead with the R-1 alignment and asked if it would be possible to establish a deadline date in trying to meet that
commitment.
Ms. Grote said it could probably be done by the end of the year. Council Member Kishimoto said she supported the motion but was concerned about what might happen to the neighborhood should a flood or earthquake occur.
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Council Member Freeman asked the age of a structure to qualify as historic with the Secretary of Interiors Standards.
Ms. Grote said 50 years was the minimum age. Council Member Freeman asked whether there were Eichler homes or neighborhoods that could potentially be registered as historic
if they wanted to go through the process. Ms. Grote said some would be eligible as far as age was
concerned.
Council Member Freeman said with the issues at hand, property owners’ rights and needs versus neighborhood character and R-1 versus R1-S, she felt that a palatable solution would be to ensure that the flood issue and property coverage be added to R1 (S). It would eliminate some of the issues, especially with
people who owned the smaller lots. She asked whether it was possible to add that in conjunction with a single-story overlay. Director of Planning and Community Environment Steve Emslie said staff had explored the possibility; however, public notice was
not given for that proposal. The City Attorney had advised there would need to be a new hearing notice to include those
proposals, which would need to return to the Planning and Transportation Commission (P&TC) and then back to Council.
Council Member Freeman asked whether it was true that currently there were no requests for a second-story permit in the area
being discussed. Mr. Emslie said that was correct.
Council Member Kleinberg said it was a neighborhood of single-
family homes with CC&Rs that stated homes must be restricted to single-story. She felt what Council was doing was enforcing what already was the law, but she had great empathy for those who did not want the law reinforced. MOTION PASSED 9-0. 3. PUBLIC HEARING: The Palo Alto City Council will consider a
request by International School of the Peninsula for Site and Design Review for the Installation of a New Public
Pedestrian Pathway to Provide a Connection from the School Grounds, located at 151 Laura Lane with the existing pathway at the Baylands Athletic Center Parking Lot
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City Attorney Ariel Calonne asked Council to continue the item to August 5, 2002. MOTION: Council Member Morton moved, seconded by Kleinberg, to continue the item to the August 5, 2002, Regular City Council Meeting. MOTION PASSED 9-0.
4. PUBLIC HEARING: The Palo Alto City Council will consider a report and assessment for weed abatement.
Mayor Ojakian said the item was a public hearing on the proposed
assessments related to complete weed abatement work, as outlined in the staff report (CMR:317:02) dated July 22, 2002. It was the time and place for a public hearing on Resolution 8110 ordering weed nuisance abatement. Notice of the hearing was given in the time, manner, and form provided for in Chapter 8.08
of the Palo Alto Municipal Code. He asked the City Clerk if any written objections had been received. City Clerk Donna Rogers said no written objections were received.
Mayor Ojakian asked that the record show no persons appeared or
filed written objections against the weed abatement assessments and any resolution passed by the Council on the matter would reflect that finding.
MOTION: Council Member Beecham moved, seconded by Mossar, to
approve the staff recommendation to hear and consider objections from affected property owners of proposed assessments related to completed weed abatement work and approve and/or modify the
assessments for weed abatement.
Resolution 8202 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Confirming Weed Abatement Report and Ordering Cost of Abatement to be a Special Assessment of the Respective Properties Herein Described” MOTION PASSED 9-0. RECESS: 9:05 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.
REPORTS OF OFFICIALS
5. Approval of Four Contracts totaling $4,062,879 Associated with the Implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP)
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Director of Administrative Services Carl Yeats gave a brief overview of the Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP), as
outlined in the staff report (CMR:356:02). The new system would allow the City to move into an electronic government or E-government. It potentially would be an E-business environment and have a seamless interface between the residents of Palo Alto for payments and transaction processing and with business and
vendors. The ERP would consolidate and convert the City’s data for statistical and financial analysis into useful information to benefit the City, as well as improve service to the residents
and businesses of Palo Alto. The system would automate the processing of timekeeping, procurement and project management,
and replace the City’s financial system in Accounting, Budget, Purchasing and Payroll/Human Resources. Information Technology Manager Ron Fong gave a presentation on the ERP System. He said the system was an integrated package
business software. It would automate and integrate the majority of its business processes and share data across the entire enterprise. As transactions were completed, the database would be updated and an up-to-the-minute report could be obtained.
Mr. Yeats said the ERP system would also increase productivity in customer service in the area of accounts payable processing
and year-end closing of books. There would be a reduction of interfacing cost and reductions in responses to Request for Proposals (RFP) and Request for Quotations (RFQ) that would be
completed electronically on-line. Processing of City employee timesheets would be streamlined.
MOTION: Vice Mayor Mossar moved, seconded by Morton, to approve
the staff recommendation to: 1) approve and authorize the Mayor
to execute the Software License and Services Agreement with SAP, Inc. in the amount of $572,281 (Attachment 1) of CMR:356:02; 2)
authorize the City Manager or his designee to exercise the option to continue the maintenance support agreement with SAP, Inc. for nine consecutive years, provided the quality of the vendor’s service is acceptable during the first year of the contract; 3) approve and authorize the Mayor to execute the
professional service agreement with EA Consulting, Inc. for the implementation of the software in the amount of $3,168,328 (Attachment 2); 4) approve and authorize Amendment No. 2 in the
amount of $150,000 to the existing contract No. S2140169, with Government Finance Officers Association (Attachment 3); and 5)
approve and authorize the Mayor to execute the lease between the City of Palo Alto and 300 Hamilton Associates for 4,655 square feet of basement space at 300 Hamilton Avenue at an annual cost of $17,270 for 2.5 years (Attachment 4).
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Agreement Between the City of Palo Alto and EA Consulting, Inc., for Implementation Services for Enterprise Resource
Planning Software Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. S2140169 Between the City of Palo Alto and Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)
Agreement Between the City of Palo Alto and SAP Public Services, Inc. for Software End-User License
Lease with 300 Hamilton Associates for 300 Hamilton
Council Member Freeman said the project was bigger than an accounting system. It was an enterprise reporting system that included several of the City’s departments. The biggest customer at the onset of the project was the Administrative
Services Department with the Utilities Department being included in the future.
Mr. Yeats said the Utilities accounting portion would be included during the onset of the project. An interface was being
created for the relatively new 2000-year model, Customer Information System.
Council Member Freeman said implementation of the new system would include a 100 percent reduction in cost to provide
information that would greatly help strengthen the bottom line. She asked what kind of a return would the multi-million dollar,
publicly-funded project be to the community. Mr. Yeats said eventually the public would have access to the
work order system and make invoice payments electronically to the City via the website.
Council Member Freeman asked if that would happen during the two phases. Mr. Yeats said that was correct. The transactions could be
accomplished as soon as there was a system to interface with the E-government module.
City Manager Frank Benest said part of the return on the investment was productivity improvement. Reducing hours on
paper processing would result in providing additional customer service to external customers. Council Member Freeman asked that quarterly reports be provided to Council for review. She asked if staff would consider having
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a citizen-based committee to also review the reports with staff because it was citizen’s money and would provide information to
the public on one of the largest projects in the Information Systems area. Mayor Ojakian said reports were placed in the Council packet and could be reviewed by the public.
Mr. Benest said he had discussed that with Mr. Yeats and decided the issue would be brought up with the Finance Committee for
feedback.
Council Member Freeman said since there were fourteen fulltime employees that would be dedicated to the project, she asked if there was overtime or backfill costs included in the budget for any unforeseen problems that could occur.
Mr. Yeats said it was being reviewed by the Oversight Committee Every department had a small portion allocated in their budget to cover overtime dollars, as well as temporary salaries. Utilities had salary savings from their vacant positions that could be used temporarily if additional staff was required.
However, his goal was to use the department’s existing resources to cover any backfilling.
Council Member Freeman said she understood the proposal covered new hardware or hardware upgrades and asked if there would be
any additional requests for added upgrades.
Mr. Yeats said there was a separate Computer Replacement Fund to cover all PC replacements and upgrades.
Council Member Lytle said when a large investment was made and there was a savings in time and money, the public should be
aware of how that translated in terms of increased productivity and better customer service. She supported moving forward with the project implementation and to think about informing the public.
Mr. Yeats said that was his intent. Initially, when he discussed the contract with the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), one of the services proposed was to provide
questions and answers on the deliverables. It would help to develop the business case that verified productivity,
improvements, and quantify what they were and in what categories. He would like to be able to say how successful the project was in 24 months.
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Council Member Lytle asked that staff set objectives sooner than 24 months.
Mr. Yeats said he would not be able to provide those numbers until the workflow began. Those figures would be provided in the quarterly reports.
Council Member Lytle said she was concerned about the leased space and staff expanding into other office space outside of City Hall. She asked whether that was well thought out beyond
the immediate need and if staff would be able to retract. If not, would ongoing costs be met in the future.
Mr. Yeats said there was an ongoing space utilization of Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) in City Hall that currently was being reviewed for better utilization of the space. Also, the space located over the Development Center needed to be considered when
the lease expired in 2006. The computer room located on the second floor of City Hall was being expanded due to the lack of space and power. His goal was to lease the space at the 300 Hamilton Avenue site for two and a half years and recalculate the space needs once the project was completed.
Council Member Kleinberg said she looked forward to the ability
of being able to push certain buttons to review how taxpayers’ money was spent. She was particularly interested in looking at a budget for children or recreation services. Once the
integrated system was in, those analyses would be available to the public to review the percentage of tax dollars being spent
on various City services. Council Member Beecham spoke on Return on Investment (ROI). He
was not expecting to get a realistic ROI in dollar amounts. The new system would provide many new benefits quickly and users
would be able to submit and obtain information electronically. However, dollar amounts could not be placed on the benefits. The current system was old and a new system was needed. Council Member Kishimoto said what she and the community were
looking for in the new system was an efficient, open, transparent, and responsive government.
Council Member Burch said with the new system, the Council would be able to answer the question as to why Palo Alto did a
better job of spending the money on behalf of our citizens than Mountain View. Mr. Yeats said when two budgets were compared in the local world of government there were no rules about how a budget was
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established. There were only rules on how financial reporting was done. The new system would be able to back out all
allocated charges and cost plan charges and obtain a detailed report of every category expenditure within the City of Palo Alto. If that information could be obtained from another entity, then a direct comparison could be done on per capita spending.
Council Member Freeman said she wanted the public to understand that reports could easily be obtained with this new system, but
with some exceptions. Some programming and special language would be required. Standard reports would be easier to obtain
than specific reports. Mayor Ojakian asked if there were plans in the distant future of trying to sell that service to others.
Mr. Yeats said the Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP) had that provision. Discussions had taken place with the City’s external service provider customers such as East Palo Alto, Los Altos and Atherton regarding the opportunity of using a cutting edge financial management system. They had expressed an
interest and Palo Alto would host the system. During negotiations with the vendor, Palo Alto obtained a price
protection plan should the situation come up to add additional users.
Mayor Ojakian clarified the City had the ability to sell the service to others and recoup some of the City’s money in the
process. Council Member Lytle said she was still concerned about the
space issue and not clear on the commitment. MOTION DIVIDED FOR THE PURPOSES OF VOTING FIRST PART OF MOTION REGARDING STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS 1 THROUGH 4 PASSED 9-0. SECOND PART OF MOTION REGARDING RECOMMENDATION 5 PASSED 8-1, Lytle “no.”
6. Approval of an Agreement Among the City of Palo Alto, the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara, and the
Community Working Group providing $1,280,000 in Community Development Block Grant Funds for Pre-Development, Site Acquisition, and Pre-Construction Expenses for the Opportunity Center for the Mid-Peninsula Project on Encina Avenue
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Council Member Morton stated he could not participate in the item due to a conflict of interest because he was the Auditor
for the Community Working Group. Planning Manager Julie Caporgno gave a presentation as outlined in the staff report (CMR:352:02).
Don Barr, 948 Ramona Street, thanked Council and staff for their support for this project.
Litsie Indergand, 336 Ely Place, thanked the staff for an outstanding job on the staff report and encouraged Council to
approve the project. MOTION: Council Member Freeman moved, seconded by Burch, to approve the staff recommendation to: 1) approve the interim funding agreement, which provides a City loan of $1,280,000 for
pre-development, site acquisition and pre-construction expenses; and 2) authorize the Mayor to execute the agreement in substantially similar form; direct the City Manager to execute any other documents required to complete the transaction and to secure the City’s loan against the property and to administer
the provisions of the agreement.
Council Member Freeman said she wanted the public to understand that the funds were from the Community Development Block Grant Fund (CDBG) from the Federal government and not from Palo Altan
pockets and secured by land.
Council Member Burch acknowledged the group for their hard work in obtaining the third piece of property.
Council Member Kleinberg thanked and acknowledged everyone involved for putting this project together. She said this was
the right thing to do for the City’s less advantaged residents. The opportunity center would allow those citizens a place to live and obtain comprehensive social services Vice Mayor Mossar thanked the Working Group, the Housing
Authority, and the County for helping this project become a reality.
Council Member Lytle thanked and congratulated everyone for his or her hard work in bringing this project together.
Council Member Kishimoto thanked everyone for making Palo Alto a strong and better community.
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Mayor Ojakian said he looked forward to completion of an occupancy of the Center at the end of 2004. He would be there
for the ribbon cutting. MOTION PASSED 8-0, Morton “not participating.” Council Member Morton thanked Dr. Barr and Litsie Indergand for
bringing joy to members in the community. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOTION: Vice Mayor Mossar moved, seconded by Morton, to direct
the City Clerk to transcribe verbatim the concerns of Council Members in the minutes of June 10 and 17, 2002. MOTION PASSED 9-0.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Ojakian announced that Item No. 13 would be removed from the Consent Calendar at the request of staff.
Council Member Lytle requested that Item No. 10 be removed to become Item No. 17.
Council Member Kishimoto requested that Item No. 12 be removed to become Item No. 18.
Council Member Freeman commented on Item No. 9. She was
concerned that there was a proposal to spend approximately $122,000 to improve the traffic light at Homer Avenue and Alma Street; however, safety measures still needed to be adopted for
bicyclists crossing at Homer Avenue, which was a one-way street going the opposite direction.
Chief Transportation Official Joe Kott said there were plans underway to resolve the Homer and Channing Avenues circulation. There was work to be done prior to the item returning to Council for approval. He assured that plans would include the safety of
eastbound bicyclists. Council Member Freeman asked whether that recommendation would
come before Council prior to the tunnel being completed.
Mr. Kott said consultation needed to be completed in the next fiscal year and Council resolution prior to undertaking the design of South of Forest Avenue (SOFA) street implements, which were funded in the next year’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
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M. Laporte, 327 Bonair Siding, Stanford, spoke regarding agenda Item No. 8. She recommended changes in the process for the sewer
ordinance revision and objected to one of the proposed requirements. She said the ordinance revision process did not include the analysis of benefits and impacts of the proposed regulations and should have included an initial step that provided a clear analysis of the need for new regulations.
Martin Bernstein, P. O. Box 1739, spoke regarding Item No. 9. He addressed the issue regarding the relocation of a monument
that was centered at the T-intersection of Homer Avenue and Alma Street. He requested the monument not be moved for three
reasons: 1) adoptive reuse, 2) encourages historic preservation, and 3) allows public art to be part of a public project. Bunny Good, P. O. Box 824, spoke regarding Item Nos. 9 and 16. She said the City of Menlo Park just dropped their tunnel
project. She raised her concerns on how the City of Menlo Park could have the public vote on a tunnel project and the City of Palo Alto did not put their tunnel project up for a vote. MOTION: Council Member Morton moved, seconded by Beecham, to
approve Consent Calendar Item Nos. 7-9 and 11, and 14-16.
LEGISLATIVE 7. Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing the City of Palo Alto
to Submit a Funding Application in the Amount of $150,000 to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD)
for the Purchase of Three Compressed Natural Gas Trucks Authorization of the City Manager to Execute a Funding
Agreement with BAAQMD if the Application is Approved by the BAAQMD Board of Directors
Resolution 8203 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Authorizing the Submittal of an Application to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District for Funds for the Purpose of Offsetting the Incremental
Cost to Install Compressed Natural Gas Fuel Systems in Three Medium-Duty Trucks and Authorizing the Implementation of Same if the Application is Approved by the Bay Area Air
Quality Management District Board of Directors”
8. Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Chapter 16.09 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Reduce Discharges of Pollutants to the Sanitary Sewer and Storm Drainage System
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Ordinance 1st Reading entitled “Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Sections 16.09.010,
16.09.031, 16.09.032, 16.09.033, 16.09.060, 16.09.061, 16.09.090, 16.09.095, 16.09.101, 16.09.103, 16.09.104, 16.09.105, 16.09.106, 16.09.110, 16.09.113, 16.09.115, 16.09.116, 16.09.117, 16.09.143, 16.09.144, 16.09.145, 16.09.155, and 16.09.160 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code
Relating to Sewer Use” 9. Report on Schedule, Funding Status and Approve the Project
Subject to the Recommended Conditions for the Homer Avenue Caltrain Undercrossing, Capital Improvement Program Project
10121 Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing the Filing of a Grant Application for Federal Surface Transportation Funds through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s
Transportation for Livable Communities Program for the Project and Committing the Necessary Local Match, Stating
the Assurance of the City of Palo Alto to Complete the Project
Resolution 8204 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Authorizing the Filing of a Grant
Application for Federal Surface Transportation Funds Through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Transportation for Livable Communities Program for the
Homer Avenue Caltrain Undercrossing Project and Committing the Necessary Local Match for the Project and Stating the
Assurance of the City of Palo Alto to Complete the Project” 11. Approval of the Natural Gas Services Agreement with Pacific
Gas and Electric Energy Trading Gas Corporation for an Amount Not To Exceed $10.9 Million for Natural Gas
Operations And Residual Gas Balancing Services Resolution 8205 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Natural Gas Services Agreement with Pacific Gas and
Electric Energy Trading Gas Corporation for an Amount Not To Exceed $10.9 Million For Natural Gas Operations and Residual Gas Balancing”
ADMINISTRATIVE
13. Approval of Amendment to Contract No. C2133010 Between the City of Palo Alto and the City of Inglewood to Increase the Contract Authority for Parking Citation Processing Services for the First Year by $22,600 and to set the Amount of the
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Contract for each Subsequent Year of the Agreement in the Amount Not To Exceed $55,000
14. Renewal of a Five-Year Stewardship Agreement with Acterra for the Conservation of the Arastradero Preserve 15. Recommendation to Select Eden Housing, Inc., as the
Developer of an Affordable Rental Housing Project on a Site to be Selected Council
Council Member Kleinberg complimented staff regarding the Eden Housing contract. She said it was a great step in the right
direction towards the identification of sites and potential building of affordable housing and mix-use projects. COUNCIL COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
16. Policy and Services Committee recommendation to the City Council re Approval of a Ballot Measure and Legislative Advocacy Process as follows: 1) two Council Members to draft a Council Colleagues Memorandum to refer a ballot measure or legislative issue to the Policy and Services
Committee for review; 2) staff generates an informational report for the Policy and Services Committee summarizing
the ballot measure or legislative issue. This report will include an analysis of City policy as it relates to the item, if applicable. It will also indicate if the League of
California Cities has taken a position on the issue; 3) the item is agendized for the Policy and Services Committee
meeting; 4) the Policy and Services Committee reviews and discusses the ballot measure or legislative issue at the meeting; 5) when evaluating ballot measures or legislative
issues, Council Members should determine if the issues are consistent with the following guidelines, including, but
not limited to: a) protects local revenues (e.g. taxes, fees, etc. designated for use by local governments); b) protects/increases local government discretion; c) protects/increases funding for specific programs or services (e.g. park bonds, etc.); d) supports key
programmatic goals (e.g. expansion of recyclable materials, etc.); e) prevents unfunded mandates; f) is consistent with existing City policy; g) has a direct impact upon the City;
6) Policy and Services Committee members vote on the propositions and/or legislative issues that the Committee
determines are consistent with the City’s interests; 7) If the vote is unanimous, the matter is forwarded to the Council as a consent calendar item; 8) If a timeliness issue exists, the item will be referred without minutes, and a one-page executive summary will be provided. If no
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timeliness issue exists, the item will be referred with minutes in the usual manner. Further, the Mayor is
empowered to take legislative action and sign legislative advocacy letters that have been analyzed by the City Manager’s staff and found to be consistent with the guidelines. MOTION PASSED 9-0 for Items Nos. 7-9, 11, and 14-16.
AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS, AND DELETIONS
17. (Old Item No. 10) Discussion of Changes to (CMR:343:02;
Approval of Resolution Establishing No Parking Zones on Alma Street North of Lytton Avenue and on Lytton Avenue East of Alma Street (matter continued from 7/15/02) Council Member Lytle said it looked as though there was going to
be an intersection-widening project in the area without the Downtown North Protection Traffic Calming Program. She did not see the rationale for increasing capacity for automobiles.
Chief Transportation Official Joe Kott said Council approved the
Downtown North Plan and the associated efficiency improvements to Lytton Avenue and Alma Street. The efficiency improvements
would be linked closely to the implementation of the street closure. Prior to reopening the street closure, the intersection improvement would be made to accommodate the traffic shift away from Downtown North.
Tricia Ward-Dolkas, 412 Everett, said she represented Downtown North and was there to answer questions regarding the intent or the history of the plan.
MOTION: Council Member Morton moved, seconded by Burch, to
approve the Resolution (Attachment A) of CMR:343:02 prohibiting parking along the west side of Alma Street, north of Lytton
Avenue, resulting in the removal of approximately eight parking spaces; and north side of Lytton Avenue, east of Alma Street, resulting in the removal of approximately four two parking
spaces.
Resolution 8206 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Approving and Adopting No Parking Zones on Alma Street North of Lytton Avenue and on Lytton Avenue
East of Alma Street” MOTION PASSED 9-0.
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18. (Old Item No. 12) Contract Between the City of Palo Alto and W. Bradley Electric in the Amount of $157,000 for
Modifying the Traffic Signal at Middlefield Road and Meadow Drive Council Member Kishimoto had concerns regarding the proposal outlined in the staff report (CMR:347:02). She said an analysis
was not included regarding why the modifications of widening an intersection, extending the “no parking” from 75 feet to 250 feet on Meadow Drive, and taking away parking from two single-
family homes were necessary.
Chief Transportation Official Joe Kott said there would be no change in the level of service. The main purpose of the action was to provide protection for pedestrians crossing that intersection. The proposal came about because of past Council Members’ interest and removing the conflict between left-turning
vehicles and pedestrians. Council Member Kishimoto said she was not against the new turn lanes, the protection, or the removal of the conflict. She asked whether the turn lane needed to be extended from 75 feet to 250
feet and must parking spaces be removed.
Mr. Kott said staff was sparing in terms of taking out curbside parking. This was necessary to create new left-turn pockets on both east and west lanes on East Meadow Drive.
Council Member Kishimoto asked how many cars would be stored in
that space. Mr. Kott said they estimated about eight cars per each cycle.
Council Member Kishimoto wanted to know in such a procedure, if
it normally was passed by the School City Traffic Safety Committee or the Planning and Transportation Commission (P&TC). Mr. Kott said staffs’ judgment was that it was a fairly straightforward technical issue. It could be taken back through
the School City Traffic Safety Committee or the P&TC; however, there were several constraints in terms of what could be done without incurring a lot more cost.
Council Member Burch said he used the intersection almost on a
daily basis. He understood Council Member Kishimoto’s concerns, but with the proposed changes he felt the school administration would be pleased with the safety of children getting to school.
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MOTION: Council Member Morton, seconded by Burch, to approve the
staff recommendation to: 1) approve and authorize the Mayor to
execute the contract (Attachment A) of CMR:347:02 with W. Bradley Electric in the amount of $157,000 for modifying the traffic signal and conducting related striping, signing and roadway work at the intersection of Middlefield Road and Meadow Drive; 2) authorize the City Traffic Engineer to negotiate and
execute one or more change orders to the contract with W. Bradley Electric for related, additional but unforeseen work, which may develop during the project, the total value of which
shall not exceed $15,700; and 3) adopt the resolution approving new “No Parking 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. zones on the south sides
of East Meadow and 75 feet west of Middlefield and ending 140 feet east of Middlefield and 225 feet west of Middlefield (Attachment B). Contract No. C3143173A between the City of Palo Alto and W.
Bradley Electric in the amount of $157,100 for upgrade of traffic signal at Middlefield Road/East Meadow Drive Resolution 8207 entitled “Resolution of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Approving and Adopting No Parking Zones
from 7:00 A.M To 7:00 P.M. on East Meadow Drive”
Council Member Morton added the No Parking Zones were an improvement to a problematic intersection.
Council Member Lytle suggested perhaps in the future it would be helpful to have proposals reviewed prior to presenting them to
Council and to provide an analysis of how the proposal came about. It would eliminate having to ask so many questions.
Council Member Freeman said she would have liked to have received input from users other than those who were going to
make decisions. In the current instance, it would be the School City Traffic Committee, Planning and Transportation Committee (P&TC), and an outreach to the neighbor of the Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School (JSL). If it were not pressing, she would like the proposal to go through the predesignated
committees. Director of Planning and Community Development Steve Emslie said
the primary reason for moving forward on this was to have construction completed prior to school starting.
Chief Planning Official Joe Kott said ordinarily a more formal consultation process took place. However, there were clear and compelling safety reasons to do it as soon as it was feasible.
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It appeared to be a clear-cut safety improvement that would protect the users of the intersection.
Council Member Freeman suggested in the future to place a note in the staff report that certain people had reviewed the proposal.
Council Member Morton commented he did not want to see every issue of the City go to every Committee.
Council Member Kishimoto commented she also did not want a lengthy process on everything. However, one missing piece was
the City did not have a street or intersection standard and Council should scrutinize those proposals. Intersections were extremely complex and the trade-offs were complex. A painful process would be eliminated if there were a study or a checklist placed before Council.
MOTION PASSED 9-0.
COUNCIL COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Council Member Freeman confirmed the City Manager would address the issue of the relocation of the Friends of the Library site.
Vice Mayor Mossar voiced her concerns regarding the timing for the public regarding the Edgewood Final Environmental Impact
Report (FEIR).
Mr. Benest noted the program for the FEIR for Edgewood had been changed and would allow 50 days for review.
Council Member Lytle voiced her concerns regarding the setting of meetings on the redevelopment for Edgewood. She also added
her concerns for the relocation of the Friends of the Library site. City Attorney Ariel Calonne noted his angst regarding the 90-day review for the redevelopment project in Edgewood.
Council Member Burch noted staff had identified the problems with the cable transmittal to the public in the AT&T line.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 11:30 p.m.
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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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