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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-02-22 City Council Summary MinutesCITY COUNCIL MINUTES PALO AU1 O CITYCOUNCIL MEETINGSARE BROADCAST LIVE VIA KZSU- FREQUENCY90.1 ON FM DIAL - Regular Meeting February 22, 1988 ITEM Oral Communications Approval of Minutes of ,January 25, 1988 PAGE 59266 59-267 1. Resolution Expressing Appreciation to 59-268 Senator Rebecca Morgan 2. Presentation by NOVA Job :"raining Consortium re Summer Jobs for Youth Program 3. Agreement with BSI Consultants, Inc., for Consultant Services for Computer -Aided Mapping System 4. Ordinance Amending Various Provisions of Chapter 16.52 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code Relating to Flood Hazard Regulations 5. Ordinance Amending Chapter 1.08 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Increase the Maximum Fines for Misdemeanors or Infrac- tions 6. Mayor Jack Sutorius re "Leave Your Car at Home" Update Adjournment to Study Session re Council Priorities at 8:25 p.m. Final Adjournment at 10.50 p.an.. 59-268 59-269 59-269 59-269 59-269 59-269 59-271 59-265 2/22/88 Regular Meeting Monday, February 22, 1988 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, at 7:32 p.m. PRESENT: Bechtel, Cobb, Fletcher, Klein, Levy, Patitucci, Renzel (arrived at 7:33 p.m.), Sutorius, Woolley Mayor Sutotius announced there would be a Study Session to discuss Council priorities for 1988 in the Council Chambers upon the conclusion of the meeting. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 1. Ben Bailey, 171 Everett, spoke to the 1987 Police Department complaint figures. 2. Walter B. Loewenstein, 515 Jefferson Drive, spoke in opposition to the installation of cable television boxes in his yard. 3. Peter Weber, 929 High Street, spoke to the ordinance regarding hazardous wastes produced by automotive transmission machine shops. He did not believe the fee charged was proportionate to the quantity of materials and asked if a hearing could be held. 4. Mel Bernstein, 726 Loma Verde, opposed the visual impact of the cable television installations. 5. Edmund Power, 2254 Dartmouth Street, spoke about the future cf the Palo Alto Yacht Harbor= 6. Gavin Wright, 3770 Louis Road, a member of the Committee for Better Schools, referenced the City/School District lease and asked the Council not to stand in the way of decisions which might be made by the School District committees, in particular ones which might lead to reopening Jordan Middle School and a return to` four secondary schools. He also asked the Council to join in giving top priority to the goal of getting the $ 3 million into the School District budget. 7. Steven Popell, 14244 Amherst Court, Los Altos Hills, Co -Chair of the Committee for Better Schools, was concerned about the Utility Users Tax and the suspicion that an important part of the City's negotiating strategy was to play off the needs of the children for quality education against those of the arts' community for affordable space. He provided Council Members with a copy of the Committee's memorandum (on file in the City Clerk's office) to the City/School Liaison Committee regarding the need to make it clear that the lease would not stand in the way of having four secondary schools, should the Board so choose. 8. Nicki Smith, 1256 Forest Avenue, spoke to the Utility Users Tax and the need for flexibility in the language of the City/School District lease, 9. John Lovas, 650 Coleridge Avenue, was concerned about the decline in the spirit to move speedily with regard to the City/School District lease arrangement. if changing the language of the lease was a problem, he suggested a compromise would be for the Council Members individually to sign a letter that acknowledged the proposed language in the memorandum from the Committee � for Better Schools and stating t�,aL, s.+�...,..�cuid � the school board reach a decision to adopt four secondary schools, they would vote for the proposed language or language of similar intent. 10. Ron Andersen, 3212 Louis Road, believed there would be difficulties with underground vaults for the cable system due to the water -bogged muds Palo Alto houses were built on and expressed concern over who would pay for maintenance. 11. Bob Moss, 4010 Orme Street, said people who believed their utilities would be undergrounded in toto and forever were acting on out-of-date information. The location of the line extender and amplifier boxes was strictly a technical function. The system would be a high -quality, extremely functional system and the people who chose to subscribe would have excellent service. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Council Member Stenzel moved, seconded by Levy, to approve the Minutes of January 25, 1988, as submitted, and to continue the Minutes of February 1, 1988. MOTION PASSED unanimously. 59-•267 2/22/88 RESOLUTION EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO SENATOR REBECCA MORGAN ma ) MOTION: Council Member Cobb moved, seconded by Woolley, approval of the Resolution. RESOLUTION 6673 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO EXPRESSING ITS APPRECIATION TO SENATOR REBECCA MORGAN* Mayor Sutorius read the resolution and said the Council was looking forward to a meeting with Senator Morgan to discuss legislative activities. MOTION PASSED unanimously. Nancy Strausser, Adminstrative Aide, accepted the resolution for Senator Morgan. 2. PRESENTATION BY NOVA JOB TRAINING CONSORTIUM RE SUMMER JOBS FOR YOUTH PROGRAM 6 CMR: :8) (f536) Michael J. Curran. Director of the North Valley Job Training Consortium (NOVA), said NOVA provided employment training d n n and mnl overn i Palo Alto [f7f�61�� to residents �.st�saax✓r�s.a� in sQ��i � r: o and the five `other cities in the northern part of Santa Clara i oUnty • h iiici ju f,:,-;iiO of crew ai a. i iccv7 Iv the Palo Alto community had been in the area of youth employment, and he was present to recognize the City's contribution. NOVA offered extensive subsidized work experience in the public sector for youths who were economically disadvantaged and who had significant barriers to employment, and offered direct job placement with the private sector for youths under the age of 21 in conjunction with the Countywide Summer Jobs for Youth campaign. The Summer Jobs for Youth Committee and the NOVA Private Industry Council presented the City Council with a plaque in recognition and apprecia- tion of Palo Alto's major contribution. Mayor Sutorius noted the NOVA organization had been recom- mended by Governor Deukmejian to President Reagan for nomi- nation for the President's Award. Being nominated was a special honor because Governor Deukmejian was limited to one nomination from over 50 eligible organizations. CONSENT CALENDAR MOTION: Council Member Levy moved, seconded by Klein, approval of the Convent Calendar. 3. AGREEMENT H BSI CONSULTANTS INC:t IN THE AMOUNT OF $4150, 'OR CONSULTANT SERVICES WOR COMPUTER -AIDED MAPPING SYSTEM (CMR:160;$ 270-03) 4. ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING ENTITLED "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING VARIOUS PRO- VISIONS OF CHAPTER 16.52 OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO FLOOD HAZARD REGULATIONS" (1073/ 701-03) 5. ORDINANCE 3794 ENTITLED "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING CHAPTER 1 0 OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE TO INCREASE THE MAXIMUM FINES FOR MIS DEMEANORS OR INFRACTIONS st Rea ing 0 f$ , PASSED 8--0, Cobb absent) (701-03) MOTION PASSED unanimoNsly. 6. MAYOR JACK SUTORIUS RE "LEAVE YOUR CAR AT HOME" UPDATE TRZT— Mayor Sutorius said. February 29, 1988, was not only Leap Year day, "Leave your Car at Home" day in Palo Alto. He encouraged the public to use public transit, walk, or ride their bicycles to work that day. The Council had been asked to appear at the Board of Supervisors meeting the next day where a resolution would be presented,to Pale Alto, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and Chamber of Commerce, co-sponsors of the activity. MOTION: Council Member Fletcher moved, seconded by Renzel, that the City Council hold a special meeting on February 29, 1988, for the purpose of riding the Dumbarton Bridge bus from City Hall to the Transit Center at approximately. 4:30 p.m. to promote "Leave Your Car at Home" day. Council Member Bechtel would not be able to participate in the activity, but she would be leaving her car at home that day. NOTION PASSED unanimously. ADJOURNMENT Council adjourned to a Study Session re Council Priorities in the Council Chambers. RECESS FROM 8:25 p.m. to ;8 : 35 . m. 59-269 2/22/88 STUDY SESSION ON COUNCIL PRIORITIES Mayor Sutorius prefaced the Study Session with an explana- tion of the process the Council was using to establish its priorities for 1986. He hoped the Council',,would be able to arrive at a consensus, as they had last year, rather than having to call for a formal vote at a regular Council session. An effort had been made to increase public aware- ness of the process. Mayor Sutorius then called on the public who wished to address the Council concerning priorities. Among the issues advocated by the 13 speakers were restrictions on hazardous materials, residential neighborhood zoning regulations, traffic and land use, the needs of the fine arts community, planning for peace, and measurable objectives for achieving the community goals. Vice Mayor Klein stated that the Council was not creating a City platform. The list of issues was not meant to include everything the Council felt was important. Rather, .the Council was deciding upon a few key issues where it believed devoted special energy that year would make a difference. He recommended Council limit itself to three issues. Council Member Bechtel favored selecting two issues and sug- gested they be issues not presently emphasized by Council or staff. Council Member Levy said that selecting just a fewissues was not meant to downgrade the importance of the others. Council Member Cobb pointed but that 1987 priorities were not dead; they were receiving the attention they warranted, and thus the Council must focus anew for 1988. The Council discussed which issues it believed would most benefit from heightened Council attention in 1988. Council Members considered the advantages and disadvantages of com- bining some of the issues. The Council concluded that it would designate three priori- ties for 1988, placing egual emphasis and importance upon each. They were: regional impacts and relationships; com- munication and public information program; and neighborhood liability related to R-1, multi -family, . and transitional zones. The selections related respectively to numbers 13, 12, 17, 14, and 24 on the initial list of issues, (staff report, CMR :161:8) . 59-270 2/22/88 Council Member Fletcher cotnla not wholly endorse the selec- tion, believing the hazardous materials issue should also have been selected. FINAL ADJOURNMENT Final Adjournment at 10:50 p.m. ATTEST: ---2-0002f Cit. Cler APPROVED: 59-271 2/22/88.