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Home My WebLink About1988-10-17 City Council Summary MinutesCITY COUNCIL MINUTES PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE BROADCAST LIVE VIA KZSU-FREDUENCY90.1 ON FM DIAL ----s Regular Meeting October 17, 1988 ITEM Oral Communications Minutes of September 19, 1988 PAGE 60-349 60-349 1. Ordinance Amending the Budget for Fiscal 60-350 Year 1%8-89 to Provide an Additional Appropriation for the Arts and Sciences Division and to Provide for the Receipt of Grant Funds from the California Arts Council Artistic and Administrative Development Program 2. Agreement with Santa Clara Valley Water District for Maintenance of Revegetated Area Adjacent to Palo Alto Flood Basin 3. Finance and Public WorLs Committee Recommendation re Tree Inventory Consultant. Contract 4. Finance and Public Works Committee Recommendation re Contract with Wilbur Smith Associates 5. Planning Commission Recommendation re Stanford University Rains Housing Project 6. Ordinance to Extend the Duration of a Moratorium on the Issuance of Building Permits for Single Family Dwellings Which Do Not Meet Certain Criteria 7. Ordinance Extending Existing Moratorium on Applications for Tentative Subdivision Maps and Preliminary Parcel Maps Which Create Flag Lott in R-1 and R -E Zoning Distri> fit= end on the Issuance of Building Permits 'or Flag Lots in Such Zones Until --June 18, 1989 60-350 60-350 60-350 60-351 60-353 60.354 60-347 10/17/88 ITEM PAGE 8. Water Usage and Conservation Update 60-356 Adjournment at 9:15 p.m. 60-357 60 -?48 10/17/88 Regular Meeting Monday, October 17, 1988 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, at 7:38 p.m. PRESENT: ABSENT: Bechtel, Sutorius Cobb, Klein, Levy, Renzel, Fletcher, Patitucci, Woolley Mayor Sutorius announced that a Special Meeting to inter- view Historic Resources Board candidates was held in the Council Conference Room at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Sutorius asked for a moment of silence to reflect upon the tragedy that occurred on October 14, 1988, which resulted in the deaths of two City employees and injury to one other. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 1. Ben Bailey, 171 Everett, spoke regarding complaints against the Palo Alto Police Department and the City's lack of responsiveness to his inquiries regarding disciplinary actions. 2, Raymond Farhart, 439 Emerson, spoke as a resident of the Barker Hotel and the pending sale of the hotel. 3. Bunny Good, spike as a representative for the InteLnational Group Organization for the Disabled, P. O. Box 824, Menlo Park, regarding the removal of a memorial to a slain employee at the Palo Alto Law Library. Mayor Sutorius welcomed members of Boy Scout Troop 5 and their leaders who were a:.,.eiithni the meeting i:; conjunction with a merit badge project. APPROVAL OF MINUTES M.OTIO7x Council Member Levy moved, seconded by Renzel, to approve the minutes of the Council meeting of September 19, 1988, as submitted. NOTION absent. PASSED 6-0, Fletcher, Patitucci, Woolley 6►0-349 10/17/88 CONSENT CALENDAR NOTION: Council Member Cobb moved, seconded by Klein, to approve all items on Consent Calendar. 1. ORDINANCE 3830 entitled, "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 THE ARTS AND SCIENCES DIVISION AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE RECEIPT OF GRANT FUNDS FROM THE CALIFORNIA ARTS COUNCIL ARTISTIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM" (1303) (CM :;489:8) 2. Agreement with Santa Clara Valley Water District for Maintenance of Revegetated Area Adiacent to Palo Alto Flood Basin `1520-01) (CMR:467:8) 3. Finance and Public Works Committee unanimously recom- mended to the City Council that the Tree Inventory Consultant contract be referred to the Finance and Public Works,.Committee for review (260-04) (CMR:412t8) NOTION PASSED 6-0, Fletcher, Patitucci, Woolley absent. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS 4. Finance and Public Works Committee recommendation re Contract with Wilbur Smith Associates for California Avenue Parking Structure Consultant Services (410--02 ) CM R: 4 I++[y P S 3) Council Member Levy said the Finance and Public Works (F&PW) Committee only considered the consultant for the California Avenue Parking Structure Plan. The California Avenue parking structure was to be considered for the old Keystone Lot and the one on Sherman Avenue. A committee consistifig of representatives from the California Avenue area, Planning Commission, Architectural Review Board (ARB), Public Works Department, Planning Department, Transportation Division. Wilbur Smith Associates was rated as the number one choice and Gordon Chong Associates was second. It was felt the Wilbur Smith team had more direct experience with parking garages and with Palo Alto. The F&PW Committee unanimously supported the recommendation. The contract amount of $40,000 and 54,000 in change order authority was not part of the F&PW Committee deliberations. The budget amendment ordnance in the amount of $44,000 +:_ hided the use of the Keystone Lot Bond Fund and the Arabian Horse World Mitigation Fund which would be moved into the California Avenue Parking Structure which was a 1987 Capital Improvement Project. 60-350 10/17/88 MOTION: . Council Member Levy for Finance and Public Works (F&PW) Committee moved approval of the staff recom- mendation to: A. Approve the agreement with Wilbur Smith Associates in the amount of $40,000 for consulting fees for the preparation of a Parking Structure Plan for the California Avenue Parking Assessment District. B. Authorize staff to execute change orders to the agreement for consultant services up to $4,000 to cover the cost of unanticipated changes in the scope of work. C. Adopt the Budget Amendment Ordinance transferring $44,000 from CIP project 86-19 and from the Arabian Horse World Mitigation funds into CIP project 87-21. ORDINANCE 3831 entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1988-89 TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF KEYSTONE LOT BOND FUNDS AND SPECIAL MITIGATION FUNDS FOR A CALIFORNIA AVENUE PARKING STRUCTURE STUDY" Council Member Levy asked whether any funds were presently in the original CIP 87-21 related to the item or whether all the funds would come from the two other sources. Acting Director of Transportation Ashok Aggarwal said the existing CIP 87-21 contained $50,000. Council Member Levy clarified the other $50,000 would remain unexpended subject to Council action. MOTION PASSED 6-0, Fletcher, Patitucci, Woolley absent. 5. Planning Commission recommendation regarding Stanford University's Rains Housing Project (232) (CMR:486:8) Planning Commissioner Helene Wheeler said the Planning Commission concluded that Stanford University could encourage the use of Bowdoin Street because of the one-way nature of Campus Drive. Regarding alignment of driveways, the ASA Committee believed they could mitigate problems if they arose, whereas the Planning Commission of Palo Alto wanted to avoid problems with the neighborhood and County by not recommending pavement and access. 60-351 10/17/88 Council Member Bechtel queried staff about the two -page report by the Neighbor's Coalition (on file in the City Clerk's Office). Ms. Wheeler said most of the points were consistent with recommendations of the City Planning Commission or had not been discussed previously, with the possible exception of the divided driveway sccess on Bowdoin. Mayor Sutorius suggested an overview be given of the role and authority of the City of Palo Alto. Senior Assistant City Attorney Sue said the City could give input to interested parties and make recommendations to the County Board but had no direct asthority. Colin Mick, 2130 Hanover, represented the College Terrace neighborhood as well as residents and students from Escondido 5, which was adjacent to the Rains Housing Project. He encouraged Council to support the staff's recommendations. Andy Doty, 4072 Scripps Avenue, Director of Community Relations, Stanford University referred to the Campus Drive issue and said a meeting wad held on campus last week to discuss the matter, which included the Rains residents. Another meeting to reconcile the issues was planned for next week. There were other points of contention, such as the additional number of cars using Stanford Avenue as a result of the housing project. Stanford was concerned about the safety of the children crossing Escondido Road, which had been blocked off years ago when it cut through an area with residences on either side. Appropriate safety improvements would be implemented and the University had already begun the traffic monitoring program. The figures would be analyzed in November, and appropriate action would be taken as required. Stanford representatives were weighing carefully all points of view in Girder to make a planning and safety decision. MOTION: Council Member Cobb moved, seconded by Bechtel, approval of th Planning Commission's five recommendations re access to the Rains project as modified by staff and forward them to Santa Clara County for its consideration in reviewing the ASA appeal. The five recommendations are: A. Approve the right turn in/right turn out access with Campus Drive. 60-352 10/17/88 MOTION CONT•D B. Divide the south Rains Parking lot by means of bollards in order to prevent through access from Escondido Road to Bowdoin Street and to reduce the number of automo- biles using the driveway to Bowdoin Street, and to pro- vide signs to indicate which buildings are served by each parking lot. C. Do not install the proposed connector road adjacent to Escondido Road connecting the two parking lots because it will not be needed if the parking lot bollards are installed. D. Require the University to analyze the safety of the Escondido Road crossing and the driveway crossings for children from Escondido Village and implement, if neces- sary, appropriate safety improvements. E. Require the University to undertake a Rains project traffic monitoring program intended to lead to mitiga- tion measures if significant impacts are identified at the Bowdoin/Pine Hill./Rains driveway and/or on Stanford Avenue. Council Member Bechtel appreciated Colin Mick's comments regarding a compromise and encouraged Mr. Doty to send those comments to the County Planning Commission at the time of appeal.. Many of the points needed to be implemented by Stanford. Vice Mayor Klein concurred. Mayor Sutorius commended the Planning Commission and staff for an objective and thorough review. NOTION PASSED 6-0, Fletcher, Patitucci, Woolley absent. ORDINANCES 6. ORDINANCE TO EXTEND THE DURATION OF A MORATORIUM ON THE ISSUANCE OF BUILDING PERMITS FOR SINGLE FAMILY DWELLINGS WHICH DO NOT MEET CERTAIN CRITERIA (242) (CMR:487:8) Chief; Planning Official Carol Jansen did not believe it would take a full year for the flag lot moratorium, but could notguarantee six months for the subcommittee to look at more than 15 R-1 communities with a 12 -point list of specific characteristics to discuss. Once the issue of 60-353 10/17/88 neighborhood character was established, the other issues regarding the single family regulations would fall into place. Council Member Renzel asked about the number of permi }s coming in under the moratorium guidelines, as compared to previous years. Ms. Jansen responded the single family activity had increased from 56 percent to 68. percent for building per- mits. The interim regulations did not seem to be restric- tive on incoming applications. Council Member Renzel asked if there had been any impact on the number of demolitions as a result of the moratorium. Ms. Jansen said the number of demolitions had remained constant --between 50 and 70 per year from 1985 to 1988. MOTION: Council Member Renzel moved, seconded by Klein, to adopt the Ordinance for first reading. ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 3806, AS AMENDED BY ORDINANCE 3814 TO EXTEND THE DURATION FOR AN ADDITIONAL ONE YEAR OF ORDINANCE 3806 WHICH ORDINANCE IMPOSES A MORATORIUM ON THE ISSUANCE OF BUILDING PERMITS FOR SINGLE FAMILY DWELLINGS WHICH DO NOT MEET CERTAIN CRITERIA" MOTION PASSED 6-0, Fletcher, Patitucci, Woolley absent. 7. ORDINANCE EXTENDING THE EXISTING MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR TENTATIVE SUBDIVISION MAPS AND PRELIMINARY PARCEL MAPS WHICH CREATE FLAG LOTS IN R-1 AND R -E ZONING DISTRICT'S AND ON THE ISSUANCE OF BUILDING PERMIT FOR FLAG LOTS IN SUCH ZONES UNTIL JUNE 18, 1989 (242) (CMR:488:8) Ms. Jansen expected final regulations for adoption in December or January, and a six-month extension on the moratorium would be adequate. Council Member Renzel clarified some people were "caught short" by the moratorium. Ms. Jansen, recalled two instances where expectations of adding tr:. 2n existing home on a flag lot had been caught by the acratoL.ium. 60-354 10/17/88 Juliet Stewart, 1141 Forest Avenue, asked the City Council to include a process into the moratorium so those who lived on flag lots could alaply for additions and remodels to their homes. She felt discriminated against by not being allowed to add to her home which she had lived in for seven years. Her parcel was created as a flag lot in 1946 and had two bedrooms and one bath. It would not be monetarily feasible to purchase another home in the Palo Alto area. She was frustrated that the City had allowed a parcel map to change, over the protest of 155 neighbors, to allow a buildable lot where none had previously existed. The large two-story house, which was now being erected, looked into their back- yard and frontyard. She had been working with the Planning Department before her new neighbor came on the scene, and now she was being prohibited from adding a modest addition. Mayor Sutorius queried Ms. Stewart about the statement she made regarding a neighbor holding her up. Ms. Stewart explained that their new neighbor in the two- story house objected to their plans requiring a variance and they felt it was necessary to address that issue first. Terry Stewart, 1141 Forest Avenue, said they worked with the Planning Commission for almost a year and was tOri on April 15 they did not need a variance on thel pr.:;peir.e, but could go ahead and submit a request for a building permit. Based on that information, they hired a designer to draw up some plans. However, after being gone for a long weekend, they learned of the upending flag lot moratoriums and were unable to obtain their building permit. Denial of a variance would cause a hardship` to his family and other small homeowners on flag lots as they would be prevented from improving their homes. Harmen Ng, 718 East Meadow, spoke as a homeowner since 1972. He applied for, and was granted, a setback variance on his flag lot in 1976. A year ago he applied for a second vari- ance to add on above the original addition, and it was granted. He submitted his plans about a month ago and learned of the moratorium. He had a family of tenchildren, six adopted, and it was important to him to go ahead with his building plays. MOTION: Council Member Renzel moved, seconded by Cobb, approval of the staff recommendation to: A. Approve the negative declaration for the Flag Lot Moratorium and Interim Regulations; and 60-355 10/17/88 B. Approve the ordinance for first reading. ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO EXTENDING THE EXISTING MORATORIUM IMPOSED BY ORDINANCE NO. 3822 ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR TENTATIVE SUBDIVISION MAPS AND PRELIMINARY PARCEL MAPS WHICH CREATE FLAG LOTS IN R-1 AND R -E ZONING DISTRICTS AND ON THE ISSUANCE Of BUILDING PERMITS FOR FLAG LOTS IN SUCH ZONES UNTIL JUNE 18, 1989" NOTION PASSED 6-0, Fletcher, Patitucci, Woolley absent. !MOTION: Council Member Renzel moved, seconded. by Cobb, to direct the City Attorney to draft an amendment to the Flag Lot Moratorium to: A. Allow any person who, within one year prior to duly 18, 1988, obtained a variance to allow construction on an existing flat lot, to apply for, a building permit; and B. Provide for a variance procedure similar to the proce- dure provided for under the R-1, R -E Moratorium ordinance. Council Member Cobb queried whether the amendment could be accomplished in a timely fashion in order to accommodate the small number of people involved. Ms. Case responded that itwould be workable in an expedi- tious fashion. NOTION PASSED 6-0, Fletcher, Patitucci, Woolley absent. REPORTS OF OFFICIALS 8. Water Usage and Conservation Update (1410-02) Assistant City Manager June Fleming reported a slight increase in conservation of 20.5 percent. The City remained at 9 percent below the San Francisco allocation. Council Member Levy was not reassured with the figures and asked 6s. Fleming if she was comfortable with the margin. Ms. Fleming was comfortable with the current margin and did ;lei feel the figures presented any problem. NO action taken. 60-356 10/17/88 ADJOURNMENT Mayor Sutorius called for a moment of private reflection directed to the well-being of the City and its employees and the families of employees who were affected by the recent tragedy. Council adjourned at 9:15 p.m. AT3EST: ty Clerk 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 meetings tapes are retained for six months. Members of the public may listen to the tapes during regular office hours. 60-357 10/17/88