HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-05-08 City Council Summary MinutesCITY COUNCIL
MINUTES
PALOALTOCITYCOUNCIL MEETINGS ARE BROADCAST LIVE VIA KZSU- FREOUENCY9O.1 ON FM DIAL
Regular Meeting
May 8, 1989
Oral Communications
Consent Calendar
PAG
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2. Ordinance Prohibiting the Sale or Use of 61-332
Food Packaging Manufactured with Chloro-
fluorocarbons
2A. (012 1) Policy and Procedures Recommenda-
tion re Cable Television Government Access
ChINInel
3. Ordinance Amending Budget to Provide an
Additione..l Appropriation for the Library
Division in Recognition of Receipt of
Public Library Funds from the Public
Library Foundation and the State Library
4. Council Member Fletcher re Transit Ticket
Sales and Outreach
5. Mayor Klein re Proposed Sale of 77 -Acre
Parcel on the North Side of Arastradero Road
Recess to a Closed Session re Litigation at
9:36 p.m.
Adjournment at 10:10 p.m.
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Regular Meeting
May 8, 1989
The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the
Council Chambers at 7:37 p.m.
Mayor Klein announced the need for a Closed Session to discuss
Waite v. City 9f Palo Alto pursuant to Government Code Section
54956.9(a) to be held at some point during or after the meeting.
PRESENT: Bechtel, Cobb (arrived at 7:53 p.m.), Fletcher,
Klein, Levy, Patitucci (arrived at 7:49 p.m.),
Renzel, Sutorius, Woolley
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
1. Richard. Rundell, representing World Peace through Religious
Freedom, 859 Lytton Avenue, spoke regarding religious freedom.
4. Ed Power, 2254 Dartmouth Street, spoke regarding newspaper
vending racks, Palo Alto Mariner Base, and Palo Alto Harbor.
3. Dolores Furman, 1070 Cambridge, Menlo Park, spoke regarding
Stanford Community Report and noise iss4es.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Council Member Levy removed Item 1.
NOTION: Council Member Fletcher moved, seconded by Sutorius, to
approve Consent Calendar Item 2.
2. QRDINANCF 38§9 entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF PALO ALTO AMENDING TITLE 5 OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE
BY ADDING CHAPTER 30 THERETO ?ROHIBITING THE SALE OR USE OF
FOOD PACKAGING MANdeACTURZD WITH CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS" (1st
Reading 4/24/89, PASSED 9-0) (1440) (NPG)
MOTION PASSED 8-0.
AGENAA CHMGES. ADDITIONS AND DEL$TIQIS
City Manager Bill Zaner announced that Item 1 would become Item 2A.
2A. (Old 1) Policy and Procedures Committee recommendation re
Cable Television Government Access Channel (1141) (O :202:9,
CMR:260:9)
Council Member Frenzel said the Policy and Procedures (P&P)
Committee was asked to review the options for the cablecasting
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facility in the Council Chambers. In the course of the time the
P&P Committee was to review the matter, staff and the Cable Co-op
had an opportunity to purchase permanently installed equipment
which appeared to best option, and the Committee ratified that
decision. In terms of cablecasting from the Council Conference
Room, it could be very expensive to get more equipment and the
recommendation was to explore ways in which the Council Chambers
could be made more amenable to Committee -type formate.
MOTION: Council Member Renzel for the Policy and Procedures
Committee moved as follows:
1. Council affirm the selection of Option 1 to build a permanent
cablecasting facility in the Council Chambers to provide live
coverage of Council and Planning Commission meetings, with
Council Committee meetings to be cablecast at some future
time;
2. Council approve the policy guidelines for programming access,
editing, endorsement, and promotion as presented in the staff
report (CMR:202:9); and
3. Direct staff to explore arrangements for a more informal
seating arrangement to facilitate discussion and interaction
with staff in the Council Chambers.
MOTION PASSED 9-0.
9RDINARCES
3. Ordinance Amending Budget to Provide an Additional Appropria-
tion for the Library Division in Recognition of Receipt of
Public Library Funds from the Public Library Foundation and
the State Library (412-03) (CMR:247:9)
MOTION: Council Member Levy coved, seconded by Woolley, to approve
staff recommendation to adopt the Budget Amendment Ordinance to
reflect the receipt and appropriation of Public Library Funds in
the amount of $47,058.
ORDINANCE 3871 entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY
or PALO ALTO AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1988-89
TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION FOR THE LIBRARY
DIVISION IN RECOGNITION OF RECEIPT OF PUBLIC LIBRARY FUNDS
FROM THE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION AND THE STATE LIBRARY"
(412-03) (CMR:247:9)
MOTION PASSED 9-0.
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COUNCIL OTTERS
4. Council Member Ellen Fletcher re Transit Ticket Sales and
Outreach (1160)
Council Member Fletcher said the County Transportation Agency
determined the volume of activity at the Palo Alto Transit Center
Building did not warrant full-time staff, and proposed to replace
the person with a telephone. People requesting information would
have a toll free direct line to information services in San Jose.
However, the building would be closed every afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
because the train station agent would no longer be _there in the
afternoons, which would be a detriment to the service. When the
item was discussed at the Transportation Parking Committee meeting
of the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce on May 4, 1989, she referred
to a previous proposal to located businesses in the building. If
that could occur, the building could remain open.
Council Member Woolley asked about the present and proposed hours
of operation of the Transit Center Building.
Manager, Real Property Bill Fellman understood there were presently
two separate concessions. One was with the Transit District for
the bus services, and the other was with ticket sales for CalTrans.
The CalTrans ticket salesperson was at the office between 8:00 a.m.
and 1:00 p.m., and the Transit District person was in the office
between 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m,
Council Member Woolley asked about the ownership of the land and
building and the feasibility of placing a business in the station.
Mr. Fellaan said the original lease allowed for ancillary uses as
approved by the City Manager, particularly bicycle repair and
sales. There had been proposals for a coffee and flower shop and
the Coast Guard auxiliary in the baggage room. The train depot was
owned by Stanford under a deed with Southern Pacific which had a
reversion C '�. When Stanford reclaimed the depot, it was leased
to they City of Palo Alto who subleased it to the Transit District.
W. Mark Evans, 1681 The Alameda, was an employee of the Transit
District and occasionally worked in the Palo Alto Transit Center
Building. When the station was refurbished in 1981, there wasp a
general understanding the station would remain open for both train
and bus ticket sales. CalTrans and Southern Pacific reduced their
staffs essentially by ons-half to two-thirds. At one time train
agents available until 8:00 p.m., which was no longer the case.
Women registered many complaints about the station closing at
5:00 p.m. , particularly during the winter and when panhandlers went
through the station grounds. Although the City was assured of
having a direct line to the San Jose Information Center, once a
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service was cut, it was seldom restored. He urged Council to give
the issue the same energy and attention is gave to prohibiting
smoking in the station.
Jackie Styles, 2745 Monterey Road, #59, was an employee of the
Transit District. The closure of the Palo Alto Transit Center was
more than just outreach and ticket sales. The citizens deserved
to have a place where they could get transit information and
schedules. She urged Council give high energy to keeping the
Transit Center open.
Ardys Sandell, 1706 Lobelia Lane, San Jose, was a transit rider.
She was concerned about the Palo Alto Transit Center closure, and
especially the women and young people who took the train after 1:00
p.m., and would have no place to go. She did not like having to
stand outside in the dark or in the rain or being approached by
strangers.
Edie Dorosin, Executive Director, Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce,
325 Forest, represented the Transportation and Parking Task Force
of the Chamber of Commerce. The consensus of the task force was
to try and delay closure of the Palo Alto Center until alternative
uses could be determined. A vacant station would increase concerns
about personal safety.
Jim Kelley, Operator with the Santa Clara County Transit District,
represented the Executive Board of the Operators and Support
Workers Union, which believed closing the Palo Alto depot would
compound the traffic problems in Palo Alto. Currer_*?y, the Santa
Clara train station closed at 1:00 p.m., and there were many
complaints.
Deborah Wetter, Marketing Director, Santa Clara County
Transportation Agency, 1555 Berger Drive, San Jose, CA 95112, said
an audit of the marketing division reflected about 52 people per
day used tro information and ticket services at the Palo Alto
Center. Since the numbers reflected so few people per hour, it was
believed the people of North County c, ild ba better served by
returning the information person to Berger Drive and putting in a
direct line to Palo Alto. She believed there was rarely longer
than a two to three minute wait for information. She believed it
made sense to consider the possibility of having another use in the
depot, but it made no financial sense for the Santa Clara County
Transportation Agency to have an information representative in Palo
Alto for eight hours and not be able to provide more service to the
public. The Transportation Agency agreed to work with the City to
have people at City Hall selling passes during the heavy days of
the month.
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Council Member Sutorius asked whether a joint operation with
CalTrans had every been considered.
Ms. Wetter believed the problems involved with a joint operation
had to do with labor union problems. The Transportation Agency did
sell Caltrain tickets at other sites.
MOTION: Council Member Fletcher moved, seconded by Henze', as
follows:
1. The Mayor request, in writing, from the Santa Clara County
Transportation Agency that the Palo Alto Depot be open during
day time hours;
2. At such time as the service person is removed that a written
guarantee is provided that Agency staff will be assigned to
Palo Alto City Hall on a regular and continuing basis during
the peak sales days per month; and
3. Palo Alto requests that Transportation Agency staff work with
the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce Transportation and Parking
Task Force to develop an outreach program for Downtown Palo
Alto.
Council Member Fletcher said it would be a great if the outreach
program could be in conjunction with the work of the Chamber of
Commerce Task Force. It was hard to reach individual employees
when so many employers were involved, and originally, the downtown
plan called for a "transportation coordinator-- to work on the
matter. Cheryl Lathrop who was a member of the Chambea: of Commerce
Task Force had contacted MacArthur Park to see whether it might be
interested in using space at the depot, and it did express some
interest. She hoped the depot could be kept open.
Council Member Henze' said it was not a good time to cut back on
transit services when one of the major components of the Citywide
Transportation Study was the transportation demand management. It
was important to encourage transit use and part of it was having
readily available infoA:mation and facilities that were comfortable
for people to wait and/or get the information, It was worth trying
to delay the closure of the building until a program to offer the
benefits could be worked out.
Council Member Sutorius appreciated the labor organization wanting
to support the kind of service and the employment and represen-
tation it involved. It was ironic that providing the needed
coordinated commute services could not be accommodated between the
unions involved. He encouraged the labor union* to work together.
Council Member Woolley sympathized with the concern about closing
the train station especially in view of the transportation demand
management 'TDM) program into which a sizable about of effort and
financial commitment was being put. She was concerned about not
taking a firm enough stand.
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Council Member Woolley moved, seconded by
Patitucci, to request the County to continue the current staffing
level of the Palo Alto Depot for a reasonable amount of time until
the following items can be pursued:
1. The possibilities of one employee providing ticket services
for both the Transportation Agency and Caltrain;
2. The location of a small business in the station; and
3. The Transportation Agency staff to start work immediately with
the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce Transportation and Parking
Task Force to develop an outreach program for Downtown Palo
Alto.
Council Member Fletcher did not believe Caltrain tickets were sold
by Transportation Agency staff in any of the depots. The Southern
Pacific union had taken a firm stand on the issue.
MOTION PASSED 9-0.
5. Mayor Larry Klein re Proposed Sale of 77 -Acre Parcel on the
North Side of Arastradero Road (906)
MOTION TO REFER: Mayor Klein moved, seconded by Patitucci, to
refer the proposed sale of .the 77 -acre parcel on the north side of
Arastradero Road to the Finance and Public Works Committee and the
staff for basic policy considerations and what steps we would have
to take if we decided to proceed. Further, direct the staff to
prepare en outline on this project which would include, but not be
limited to, items such as: timing, finances, use of private sector
developers and the legal constraints, zoning constraints, and
environmental concerns which would be applicable.
Mayor Klein said the City owned approximately 2,000 acres of land
west of Highway 280, more than half of which was located in
Foothills Park. Approximately 480 acres of the City -owned property
was located in the Arastradero Preserve. Palo Alto was clearly
committed to preserving land in the foothills. The City acsired
the 77 acres by purchasing the land in settlement of a lawsuit.
The City's financial difficulties were long-term since sales tax
and property tax revenues would not increase tremendously.
Approximately 26 positions had been deleted from the budget and
furtker cuts would result in reduction of services. The City had
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been judged by many people to be efficiently run and there were no
easy cute left. While he was personally committed to preserving
open space and was a co-founder of the Mid -Peninsula Open Space
District in 1972, the City was financially strained, and he opined
the 77 acres were not prime land. He did not believe selling the
77 acres would encourage Stanford to develop some of its acreage.
While the best of both possible worlds might be to hold on to
acreage, the situation of the City and the character of the parcel
warranted careful consideration regarding sale. Development did
not mean development of the entire 77 acres. The City's own zoning
regulations stated a portion could be developed while the majority
would be retained as open space. The 1976 City Council did not
dedicate the 77 -acre parcel as parkland because of the possibility
that some future Council might want to sell it. A staff study was
commissioned in the late 1970's, and in 19E11, the Planning
Commission recommendation, which was adopted by a majority of the
City Council, was to not take any action at that time. The
recommendation was to neither dedicate the 77 acres nor sell it
with the proviso that it should be looked at for a possible sale
at some future date.
Council Member Woolley asked what aspect of finances staff would
consider.
Mayor Klein believed there were many financial questions to be
addressed. One was some range of possible receipt from sale of the
land; the cost of necessary improvements; and who would bear the
costs. Another question would be how to use the proceeds. He
believed proceeds should be used as an endowment similar to the
manner in which many other charitable institutions and universities
used their capital in order to get a return on their investment
each year and which could be used on a perpetual basis.
Council Member Woolley referred to the use of private sector
developers and queried whether staff would consider different
scenarios as to whether the City would actually get into putting
in the improvements. or whether the parcel of raw land would be
turned over to private developers.
`Mayor Klein had the same questions in mind. Many school districts
recently had been their own developers and other government
agencies frequently sold land to just one developer with various
contractual limitations as to what could be done with the property.
He would want staff's advice in tens of how to proceed.
Council Member Woolley did not want a lot of valueb'ee staff time
going down pathways Council would not pursue, and suggested staff
might do some of the research, and if it looked as if considerably
more research would be required, she preferred staff return to
Council to determine whether the direction should be pursued.
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City Manager Bill Zaner clarified staff would prepare an outline
of which issues would require study and analysis. Staff would
return to the F&PW Committee for guidance as to which areas should
be considered in depth and which areas did not need analysis.
Catherine Shinners, 3779 Redwood Circle, represented the Palo Alto
Co -Housing Group, supported the concept of selling the 77 acres,
and wanted to participate in the planning processes to develop a
nonsubsidized co -housing community on a portion thereof. Their
design concept synchronized with some of the plans from a 1981 Palo
Alt' study which made recommendations on how best to develop the
land given Palo Altans priorities and concern for careful use of
the local environment.
Edie Dorosin, Director, Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, 325 Forest
Avenue, said the Chamber of Commerce supported a study of the
potential revenue source as part of a broader economic study.
Jobst Brandt,
the 77 acres.
nor the birds
351 Middlefield Road, opposed any proposal to sell
Clustered housing would not preserve the open space
and animals.
Robin Clark, 114 Lowell, opposed any proposal to sell the 77 acres
as a quick fix to the City's budget problems. Many cities were
grappling with the issue of whether to sell open space, and a sale
of Palo Alto's 77 acres would set a precedent as a way to settle
financial problems. Once sold, open space could never be recap-
tured.
John Mock, 736 Barron Avenue, said the Arastra Preserve was
important to the greenbelt. Sale of the 77 acres would not solve
the financial problems and would pit environmentalists against the
arts the same as the proposed charter amendment pitted everyone
against fire and police. A coalition could be formed to override
Proposition 13 which would take a two-thirds majority. The special
interest groups could work together toward the common good. He
suggested the California Parks and Wildlife initiative as a model
for such a proposal. He suggested postponing the sale of the 77
for a year, and implementing an interim business license tax as4 a
temporary measure until the revenue problems were solved. A
citizen's committee could then be formed to draft a comprehensive
solution to the City's financial problems and a ballot proposition
to implement it. Such action would give environmentalists,
businesses, etc. the incentive to work together. Council would
only need to put the result on the ballot. He urged the general
question of revenue including a business license tax be referred
to appropriate committees and that the Arastra proposal not be
considered in isolation.
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Enid Pearson, 1019 Forest Court, represented the Committee for
Green Foothills, which unanimously opposed the proposed sale of the
77 acres of Arastra lands. The Board had previously believed the
Council's policy was to ensure Stanford University retained its
lands within the Junipero Serra Boulevard as open space. The 77
acres were contiguous with Stanford lands, and if Palo Alto sold
the 77 acres, a new foothills policy would be established. She
queried how Palo Alto could then oppose Stanford or any other
developer's request to develop foothill lands. In response to the
Mayor's description that the 77 acres were "not prime open space"
and expendable by the City for "a rainy day," the lands were of
the highest quality open space and were part of a continuous belt
of open space. A3 pointed out by the Vice President of Cornish and
Carey Developers in the Times/Tribune, "any land up there is
valuable." Anyone familiar with land use and the increasing urban
pressure in the entire bay area knew the value of open space a.nd
that it was irreplaceable. A citizens committee might be more
appropriate to assist with the City's financial needs to determine
other sources of income including the business tax, sharing the new
utility tax with the school district, cutting services or raising
fees. Palo Altans were proud and protective of their parks and
open space and the proposal needed more thought and discussion even
before referral. In the true spirit of Palo Alto's parks and open
space, the acres should be dedicated as park and open space and/or
referred to the public for a vote. When she proposed the park
dedication ordinance in 1963 and put the baylands into open space
into conservation, she believed it would be the end of such
problems. In 1989, the pressures were increased and it was more
important than ever to retain the open space and parklands. She
could not believe the present Council or any other Council could
say "no" to Stanford once the City developed the 77 acres. The
matter should go to the Policy and Procedures Committee for a
discussion of the policy issues.
Bob boss, 4010 Oree, referred to the letter he submitted that
evening (on file in the City Clerk's Office), and urged that the
questions raised therein be included in any referral. Proposals
to sell City land and foothills land had arisen before, and as long
as the property was not dedicated parkland, the proposal to sell
would continue to arise. The question of whether to sell the land
should be referred a Council committee. There were many questions
to be answered.
Lois Vanderbeek, 736 Barron Avenue, read a letter (on file in the
City Clerk's office) opposing the sale of the 77 acres, and
preferred Council vote to retain the property rather than refer the
matter to committee. The matter of the youth hostel should be
resolved first. While she did not like cutting the budget and
personnel, she did not feel selling the City's natural assets to
attempt to temporarily balance the budget was the way to go.
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Lois Halle, 2000 Old Page Mill Road, opposed the sale of the 77
acres as a short-sighted solution to a long-term problem. Such a
disaster should be resisted every step of the way. Everything west
of Junipero Serra Boulevard should be retained in open space. She
urged the property be dedicated as parkland. She urged the
appointment of a citizen's committee to study the City's financial
needs and she was confident any recommendations for raising money
would be much less destructive than to sell unique open space.
Selling the 77 acres would open the door for Stanford to develop
its contiguous open space area. The issue was important enough to
call for a Citywide referendum.
Trine Lovercheck, 1070 McGregor Way, urged careful consideration
of the proposal, and that it be referred to Committee. As a member
of the City's Human Relations Committee, she saw many areas in the
community which could use more money.
Ray Hosier, 304 O'Connor Street, Menlo Park, urged that any
development proposal consider a trail easement between Stanford and
the rest of the preserve. He hoped the open space could be
preserved.
BECESSED TO CLOSED SESSION RE LITIGATION AT 9:36 p.m.
Council Meaner Patitucci seconded the motion because the issue
needed much sore discussion and ana) ysis. If the 77 acres were
sold for approximately $20 million, and if the money went into an
income --producing assert, it would generate between $1.5 and $2 per
year, and he queried the property tax revenue which might be
received from developed property. He would also be interested in
possibly maintaining a route through the property connecting trails
to preserve the continuous ability. Council needed to remember the
competing needs of its constituents with fairly limited resources.
Vice Mayor Bechtel opposed the motion. She believed the 77 acres
were rolling beautiful hills and it was a continuous belt of open
space. She was concerned about ending up with a tacky group of
clustered multi -million dollar homes. Contrary to the Mayor's
experience, whenever she was on the Arastra► preserve property, she
saw many people hiking, riding horses, visiting the lake, eta. She
believed it was "bad business" to sell off capital. She believed
it was premature to make such a decision, and she encouraged her
Council colleagues to defeat the notion.
Council Member Cobb historically favored dedicating the 77 acres
as parkland. The budget situation was serious and it was importrnt
to discuss other possibilities. He agreed the City's budget
situation was not ! ;hart -term. Ho did not know what his final
decisions would be, but he was willing to discuss alternatives to
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cutting essential servicep. He was dedicated to preserving the
environment, but also wanted to preserve the libraries, senior
services, child care, recreation, etc. The City would be forced
to make tradeoffs in the years ahead.
Council Member Renzel referred to the serious financial issues
facing the City and the structural changes in the financial makeup
of the community, but believed in the long-term Council needed to
look at whether the community was consuming an undo amount of
resources compared to other communities and whether cutbacks were
necessary. To sell land to create an endowment to fund ongoing
programs was short -Bighted. Land appreciated at far higher rates
than almost any other kind of resource, and at the same time, the
dollar went down. If the City converted its land to dollars, it
essentially put itself in the position of having a diminishing
rather than growing asset. The revenue to be generated from any
proposed sale would need to be diminished by whatever amount would
be added to the fund to keep it the same value in constant dollars.
The 77 acres provided an open space continuity and link between the
Stanford lands and all the public open space all the way to
Skyline. She pointed out the difficulties the City had trying to
use an appropriate fac;11,ty on the Arastra property for a youth
hostel that was limited to 10 round trip per day of cars. Seven
neighbors brought the proposal to a halt. She believed pursuing
any proposal to sell the 77 acres was a mistake, and she urged
defeat of the motion.
Council Member Fletcher saw the effects of the reduced budget in
terns of services and City staff. The workloads were increased and
many worked far more than the normal 40 -hour week, and more cuts
were proposed. She had a problem with the proposal to yell the 77
acres. The average trips coming from any development on the site
would be far more than those in more urbanized areas because it was
co isolated. In terms of family housing, children would not be
able to ride their bicycles to school, there were no sidewalks, and
there was no room for bike lanes. Children would have to be driven
everywhere to participate in any type of activities. She urged
consideration of a business tax rather than selling the property.
She opposed the motion.
Council Member Sutorius said it was important to recognize the
City's extensive commitment to open space, and he did not believe
the 77 acres should be "frozen" by dedication. It was appropriate
to study potential uses of the 77 acres, but he did not want to est
any false expectations in terns of budget relief. He would not
support development of the 77 acres as a relief valve for General
Fund operating budget, but he endorsed endowment concepts.
Endowments for capital funding associated with parks would not be
inappropriate. There could be leverage opportunity. All potential
housing on the site would probably carry very high sales prices,
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but it would not be inappropriate to find ways to leverage such
moneys to produce truly affordable housing more proximate to
schools, shopping and the general services. In terms of density
and proposed uses, the 1981 study was very thorough, and potential
existed for a configuration that would respect the site and the
vistas and leave considerable open space. He did not oppose
studying possibilities other than single family residential uses,
e.g., life cars might offer interesting joint venture possi-
bilities. He supported the referral motion.
Council Member Levy was part cf the original decision to not
dedicate the 77 acres and to hold it out for possible future
development. He disagreed with any comments about the property
being commonplace because any open space was important. Mayor
Klein indicated the City had reached a crisis point and that action
needed to be taken immediately. He disagreed immediate action was
required. While the City had experienced a decline in sales tax
increases over the past couple of years, he believed it eas a
temporary situation. There had also been an aberration in property
tax which he believed was a function of how the tax was collected
by the County and State and not an indication that somehow property
in Palo Alta was worth less. Any proposed sale of the 77 acres
would not hasp the current predicament because any such process
would go on for many yeere in terms of study, review, action, etc.
It was good government' to "tighten the belts," and there was
nothing wrong with totally reviewing the City's current pa actices .
He believed the City would recover from it current difficulties.
He did not believe the money could be put in an untouchable
endowment, but rather it would be deposited irte the City's normal
reserves. With a fund of such magnitude; it was inevitable that
it would be eroded down, and when a significant crisis did arise,
the City would have one less fund to turn to. The City's favorable
utilities contracts had a finite time frame and the turn of the
century would be a significant turning point in the financial well-
being of the City. That would be a crisis situation, and he hate
to have used up the 77 acres as a resources. Such a study would
take many years in terms of staff, Planning Commission and Council
time, and when all was said and done, if he was on the Council in
1992 or 1993, he could not conceive of himself supporting the
development of the 77 acres. It seemed unwise to begin such a
study that would lead to a decision he could not see himself
supporting. He opposed the motion.
LION PAM= 5-4, Bechtel, Fletcher, Levy, Menzel "no."
D7OITHAMENTt Adjourned at 10:10 p.m.
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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 meeting, 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.
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ATTEST:
APPROVED:
NOTE: Sense minutes (synopsis) are prepared in accordance with
Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 2.04.2O0(b). The City Council
meeting tapes are retained in the City Clerk's Office for two years
from the date of the meeting, 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.
61-344
5/8/89
i