HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-02-27 City Council Summary MinutesCITY COUNCIL
MINUTES
MMEMIMMSMS; PALO ALTO CITY COU NCI L MEETI NGS ARE BROADCAST LIVE VIA KZSIJ • FREOUENCY90.1 ON FM DIAL====
Regular Meeting
February 27, 1989
ITZE
Oral Communications
PAGE
61-140
1. Ordinance Extending Interim Regulations 61-141
for Town and Country Village, Stanford
Shopping Center, and the OR, CH and CS
Districts
2. Ordinance Allowing Ulan of City Streets
which are not Designated as Truck Routes
by Vehicles which are Authorized by
Contract with the City of Palo Alto to
Use the Palo Alto Solid Waste Site
61-141
3. Ordinance to Establish Sp:cial Speed Zones 61-141
4. Ordinance Lending the budget for Fiscal 61-142
Year 1988-89 to Provide an Additional
Appropriation for Tank Sites Investigation,
Testing, Design and Remlediation
5. Santa Clara County ?ransit District: Revised 61-143
Proposals for Bus Route Changes
6. Revised Procedures for Appointments to 61-145
Committees
Adjournment to Study Session to Discuss Council 61-148
Peioritime at 9:20 a.m.
Adjournment at 10:01 p.m. 61-149
61-179
3/13/89
Regular Meeting
February 27, 1989
The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the
Council Chambers at 7:31 p.m.
PRESENT: Cobb, Klein, Fletcher, Levy, Renzel Sutorius,
Woolley
ABSENT: Bechtel, Patitucci
1. Mayor Klein presented the "Leave Your Car At Home Campaign"
proclamation to Anne Cribbs, Palo Alto Recreation Department,
and Lisa Fulton representing the Chamber of Commerce.
2. Mayor Klein read a letter from Ms. Rogaway re 100th year of
the subdivision of University Park which marks Palo Alto's
cornerstone.
3. Council Member Woolley noted a recent article in the Palo Alto
Weekly which showed an earlier picture of the Lucie Stern
Community Center.
4. Council Member Sutorius .voted the 80 -year anniversary of the
Charter of the City of Palo Alto.
ORAL COMMUFI
1. Louis Xavanau, 443 Collage Avenue, spoke regarding Cable TV
problems
2. Ryan and Jean Dotson, 170 Nevada Avenue, spoke regarding
designating a recreational area for BMX and other racing
bikes.
3. Edmund Power, 2254 Dartmouth Street, corrected an error in his
February 21, 19.89, letter which said that his remarks were not
printed in the v Peniniuls� Ti Tick e, and spoke regarding
comments made by City Council Members at the February 21,
1989, City Council meeting.
4. Mark nelson; 3433 Waverley Street, spoke regarding a survey
on general traffic concerns and a request for a reply from the
City.
5. Tony Spitaleri, 1125 Merrimac Drive, Sunnyvale, responded to
the staff report regarding the Footh1118 Management Program.
61-140
2/27/89
6. Bunny Good, Founder, International Group Organization for the
Disabled, P. 0. Box 824, Menlo Park, spoke regarding a letter
from Stanford University on the Psychiatric Clinic in the
Arboretum.
7. Harrison Otis, 2721 Midtown Court, spoke regarding salt water
evaporation.
CONSENT CAi`vWniiR
MOTION: Council Member Sutorius moved, seconded by Cobb, to
approve Consent Calendar Items 1 -- 2.
1. OIINAM E 2854 entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF PALO ALTO EXTENDING THE ORDINANCES ESTABLISHING INTERIM
REGULATIONS FOR TOWN AND COUNTRY VILLAGE, STANFORD SHOPPING
CENTER, AND THE OR, CN AND CS DISTRICTS" (1st Reading 2/13/89,
PASSED 9-0) (237)
2. ORDINANCE 3855 entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF PALO ALTO AMENDING SECTION 10.48.090 OF THE PALO ALTO
MUNICIPAL CODE TO ALLOW USE OF CITY STREETS WHICH ARE NOT
DESIGNATED AS TRUCK ROUTES BY VEHICLES WHICH ARE AUTHORIZED
BY CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OF PALO ALTO TO USE THE PALO ALTO
SOLID, WASTE DISPOSAL SITE" (1st Reading 2/13/89, PASSED 9.0)
(1072) (CMR:137:9)
NOTION PASSED 7-0, Bechtel, Patitucci absent.
ORDINANCES
3. Ordinance to Establish Special Speed Zones (1065) (C1IR:159:9)
Council Member Fletcher referred to Palo Verde School and the
formal school crossing on Louis Road, and q' eried whether radar use
was legal in a school zone.
Assistant Transportation Official Ashok Aggarwal said the Police
Department could use radar within school zones and within 70 feet
of the school boundaries.
NOTION: Council Member Sutorius moved, seconded by Woolley, to
introduce for first reading the Ordinance reaffirming the posted
speed limits on six streets based upon engineering and traffic:
survey results.
ORDINANCE OF TIRE COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF PALO ALTO AMENDING SECTIONS 10.56.010, 10.56.020, AND
10.56.030 OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH SPECIAL
SPESD ZONES
61-141
2/27/89
NOTION PASSED 7-0, Bechtel, Patitucci absent.
4. Ordinance Amending the Budget For Fiscal Year 1988-89 to
Provide an Additional Appropriation for Tank Sits Investiga-
tion, Testing, Design and Remediation (1072-01) (CMR:158:9)
Council Member Sutorius asked if there were any problems related
to having the matter reviewed by the Finance and Public Works
(F&PW) Committee.
City Manager Bill Zaner said a delay was not recommended, but he
saw no problem with referring the matter to the F&PW Committee.
Council Member Fletcher queried why the matter was not a County
responsibility.
Mr. Zaner said the canks had long been in dispute between the City
and the County. The City's obje .ive was to get the subject tank
out of the ground because it was leaking, but the records were
unclear in terms of whether the City or County had responsibility
for the tank.
Council Member Renzel asked whether the extent of leakage was
entirely on the County leasehold.
Sensor Engineer Jim Harrington said yes.
Council Member Renzel was concerned that the City was paying the
bill when the County leased the airport from the City since 1968.
She believed the area was marshland before it was an airport, and
there would not have been any reason to have tanks there.
Mr. Zaner said the County had not refused to join in the cleanup
process. After reviewing all the information, the attorneys could
not determine who was responsible for the tank. The solution was
to go to court. He believed the City was better advised to get the
tank removed, reduce the problem, and then deal with the latter of
cleanup.
Council Member Renzel queried whether the existing airport tanks
were tested to ensure no leakage and whether they complied with
containment issues.
Mr. Harrington said the existing tanks had not been tested. They
were beyond the scope of the project; however, there were l j er
aviation fuels to the north of the site contained in an aboveground
facility. He believed there were one or two smaller underground
facilities throughout the hangar area.
61-142
2/27/89
MOTION TO REPsR: Council Member Sutorius moved, seconded by Levy,
to refer the Palo Alto Airport abandoned tank site Budget Amendment
and associated consultant agreement amendment to the Finance and
Public Works Committee for expedited review and return to Council.
ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING THE
BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1988-89 TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL
APPROPRIATION FOR TANK SITES INVESTIGATION, TESTING, DESIGN,
AND REMEDIATION
NOTION PASSED 7-0, Bechtel, Patitucci absent.
LION: Council Member Sutorius moved, .seconded by Levy, to
authorize staff to amens' -•zisting contract C-0000765 with Semco,
Inc. by $10.000 up to an __.aunt of $101,000 for additional services
at the Palo Alto Landfill site.
Council Member Sutorius believed the additional $10,000 on the
existing contract was relatively modest and staff should proceed
with the work to be performed. If budget amendments were required
at a later point, a full report would be submitted to the Council.
MOTION PASSED 7-0, Bechtel, Patitucci absent.
#3EPQ S OF QfFICIA.LS
5. Santa Clara County Transit District: Revised Proposals for
Bus Route Changes (1162) (CMR:161:9)
Bunny Good, International Group Organization for the Disabled, P.
O. Box 824, Menlo Park. CA 94026-0824, was concerned about how
proposed changes would affect the elderly and handicapped. She was
particularly concerned about changes to Lines 23 and 35.
Council Member Sutorius used Line 84 that evening. His experience
was the same as what staff outlined in the staff report
(CMR:161:9). 3e was inclined to accept staff's observations in
terns of the other routes.
MOTION* Council Member Sutorius moved, seconded by Fletcher, to
approve the staff recommendations with the following amendments:
1. Palo Alto agrees to the termination of Line 23 in Mountain
View.
2. Palo Alto supports the conversion of Line 35 to an all day
grid route but regmea 3Q minute aweekda yen.ing headway's an.4
a lchair lift accessibility consistent with: the current.
Ferric* on Line 23 being elipinatei3.
61-143
2/27/89
3. Palo Alto supports County Transit's efforts to develop a
workable plan to maintain a minimum level of commute hour
service into Menlo Park via Middlefield Road.
4. Palo Alto requests that Line 35 be fully wheelchair
accessible.
Line 24
5. Palo Alto supports the proposed change in alignment on Line
24.
Line 84
6. Palo Alto requests that County Transit conduct a new study of
Line 84 to determine how these resources can be best utilized
in Palo Alto.
join? 46
7. Palo Alto supports the proposed realignment of Line 86.
Limp 88
8. Palo Alto supports the proposed realignment of Line 88 in the
?°abian/Charleston area.
9. Palo Alto requests that County Transit evaluate the potential
for improved express bus service into the San Antonio/West
Bayshore area, in conjunction with the upco*ind Express Bus
Service Study Apd tJa expanded reverse cemmute expreps
mice from Palo lto be erpLored.
10. Palo Alto requests thDt. ce_unty Transit explore wild. Mountain
=wan% Center.
Council Member Fletcher believed there would be demand for the
evening service on Line 35. The Middlefield Road campus of
Foothill College had evening classes and the traffic and parking
was horrendous. While Line 35 was supposed to replace Line 23,
Line 23, did not. travel on Middlefield Road between San Antonio
Road and Charleston so it could not service the opus. Thirty-
minute headways were warranted. Currently, there was 7-day--a-week,
30 -minute evening service. She did not believe there should be a
diminution of service. In terms of express lines, there were many
running into Palo Alto during the morning and out again in the
evening, but they did not provide service back to San Jose in the
same time frames. Currently, one needed to travel with the
61-144
2/27/89
i
"prevailing commute" on those routes because the lines did not go
back and forth directly.
Transportation Planner Gayle Likens said County Transit chose to
not address all of the express route issues in the current
proposal. A separate study would be conducted, the parameters of
which had not yet been determined.
Patricia Guasch, represented County Transit, and said County
Transit was in the preliminary stagei_of the express study which
was targeted for completion by the end of 1989. The focus of the
study would be major industrial Areas and the larger centralized
areas. Regarding the consolidation of the bus stops at the San
Antonio Shopt,ing Center, County Transit staff was aware of the
problem and was in preliminary meetings with the City of Mountain
View. The City of Mountain View expressed an interest in making
some improvements to the transfer center when they underwent
redevelopment at the shopping center.
MOTIOX PASO= 7-0, Bechtel, Patitucci absent.
6. Revised Procedures for Appointments to Committees (702)
Council Member Cobb queried whether the intent was for the press
to respond to notifications and press releases by providing
essentially free advertising of the available openings.
City Clerk Gloria Young said representatives of the various
newspapers indicated an article related to the commission vacancy
would be published on a space -availability basis.
Council Member Renzel asked whether consideration was given to
placing a note on the agenda of the affected board or commission
of the vacancy. Attendees at those meetings had interest in the
subject matter.
Ms. Young said no.
Council Member Levy clarified notices ha*. not been sent to the
various neighborhood groups in the past. He also suggested the
possibility of posting notices of vacancies 7n bulletin boards at
the libraries, City Hall, etc.
Herb aorock, 2731 moron Street, urged retention of th:t present
methods of notifying the .^general public of vacancies on boards and
commissions. The cost of display ads was relatively small. The
maximum number of display ads for the regular ongoing boards and
commissions totaled approximately $3000 per year. Additional costs
61-145
2/27/89
were incurred with any additional vacancies occurring during a term
or es a result of a special committee such as the Centennial
Committee. If the display ads were combined with the agenda digest
for half the ads which appeared in the Peninsula Time Tribune, it
could decrease the costs substantially. He did not believe the
City could rely upon a press release to get the notice to the
general public. He urged retention of display advertising.
MOTION: Council Member Levy moved, seconded by Woolley, to approve
the staff recommendation as amended:
1. Continue to use the Talent Bank which contains the names and
phone numbers of members of the public interested in serving
on committees. Information regarding the Talent Bank would
be included in Cityscape, if time permits, and the actual
vacancies could be shown on the Cable TV government channel.
In addition, the KZSU announcer would be given information to
announce vacancies and appointment schedules over the
broadcast;
2. Discontinue requiring notices be published as display
advertisements, and direct staff to work with the various
newspapers to write newe releases regarding specific vacancies
on the committee; and
3. With respect to the Centennial Steering Committee, if
recommendations No. 1 and No. 2 provide a sufficient number
of candidates, then direct the staff to revise the epplicabie
sections of the Palo Alto Municipal Code RAMC) to delete the
requirement for noticing the vacancies as display advertise-
ment in newspapers of general circulation;
4. Direct staff to notice neighborhood organizations, service
organizations, and other groups as appropriate with respect
to the particular board/commission (e.g., Senior Coordination
Council, Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Palo Alto, PTA
Council, and Palo Alto Historical Association); and
5. Notices be displayed where space is available on bulletin
boards in City facilities.
Council ]Member Levy believed display advertising was an inefficient
way of reaching concerned citizens. Pollowi.g the process outlined
by the City Clerk, combined with added elements, would launch a
maior effort at notifying the community of vacancies. It was
inefficient to include a notation of a vacancy on the Council
because a vacancy on a board or commission was not a normal part
of a Council agenda. There was nothing to lose by dropping the
concept of newspaper advertising and going another way to reach out
into the cavity.
61-146
2/27/99
Council Member Cobb disagreed. He advised clients to run a display
advertisement ..,ecause it guaranteed content and coverage of the
message. Public relations might provide an excellent story with
excellent visibility; however, a busy news day might not provide
anything close to what was desired. All recommendations to expand
coverage were fine but to discontinue the display advertising was
a serious mistake.
Ai : Council Member Cobb moved, seconded by Klein, to amend
recommendation No. 2 to read, "Direct staff to work with the
various newspapers to write news releases regarding specific
vacancies on the committees"; and to delete recommendation 3.
Council Member Menzel believed Council needed to keep a mechanism
in place for getting information to the public generally. She
supported the amendment.
Council Member Sutorius asked whether the revised procedure was
intended to apply to boards, commissions and committees or just
committees.
Ms. Young said the revised process was designed to respond to the
Centennial Steering Committee; however, Council also expressed
concern regarding the others boards and commissions. If Council
desired, the revised procedure could apply to the boards and
commissions as well.
Council Member Sutorius could support the main :notion without the
amendment as it applied to committees; however, he could not as far
as boards and coamissions.
Mayor Klein ruled that the motion applied to all boards,
:ommissions and committees.
Council Member Sutorius concurred with Council Member Cobb
regarding the importance of display advertising to accompany the
other effoets .
Council Member Fletcher clarified the process did not apply to
staff -appointed committees.
Council Member Woolley asked how people were presently learning of
vacancies on boards or commissions.
Ms, Young said the process of tracking referrals recently began
with the Human Relations Commission vacancies. Information seemed
to be "word of mouth."
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2/27/89
Council Member Woolley believed an article in the newspaper might
be effective because vacancies occurred over a tong period of time,
and a busy news day would not preclude the information getting out.
It would have to be a busy two or three week news period for the
information to not get out. Since time was not of the essence, she
believed such an article might be worthwhile.
Mayor Klein believed display advertising was a way for the City to
maintain an open system. It was a worthwhile investment.
Council Member Sutorius said he had not known there was an
Architectural Review Board (ARB) before he saw an ad which referred
to a vacancy.
AKENDIZMT MIMED 6-1, Levy "no," Bechtel, Patitucci absent.
A1tEMDKIMT: Council Member Renzel moved, seconded by Fletcher, to
add recommendation No. 6 "To direct staff to include l.anguagz cn
the particular board/commission agenda indicating the specifics
regarding the vacancy.
AMMUNNWT PABBBD 6-1, Sutorius "no," Bechtel, Patitucci absent.
MAIM MOTION PASEBD 7-0, Bechtel, Patitucci absent.
Council. Member Patitucci arrived at 9:15 p.m.
OURN1 N , Adjournment to Study Session to Discuss Council
Priorities - Council Conference Room - 9:20 p.m.
EIVOLITAMY_JIMMAWSUILJ5WALTIKa
The purpose of the study session was to begin establishing Council
priorities for 1989. Council reviewed the priorities which they
had selected for emphasis in 1988 as well as the list of other
issues which had been suggested for 1988 but not selected as
highest priorities.
It was suggested by Council Member Levy that Council should devote
time somewhere in the process to an evaluation of how well it had
done on 1988 priorities before selecting new priorities. Council
Mir Menzel observed some issues on the list had taken on a
higher priority during 1988 than the issues Council had selected
to top the list.
A second study session was scheduled for March 20, 1989, and the
first items of business would be the evaluation of the attention
given to 1988 priorities and how to anitor progress in 1989.
61-148
2/27/89
1
1
7INAL ADO : Adjourned at 10:01 p.m.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
NOTE: Sense minutes (synopsis) are prepared in accordance with
Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 2.04.200(b). The City Council
meeting tapes are retained in the City Clerk's Office for two years
from the date of the mee4.ing, and the Finance and Public Works
Committee and Policy and Procedures Committee meeting tapes are
retained for six months. Members of the public may listen to the
tapes during regular office hours.
61-149
2/27/89