HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-03-18 City Council Summary MinutesaPI
COUNCIL
Regu
March 1
ITEM
Closed Session Re Litigation
Oral Communications
ng
1985
Item #1, Appointment of Three Human Relations
Commissioners to Fill Three Terms Expiring March
31, 1988
Item #2, Resol ution of Appreciation
McLaughl in
Consent Calendar
Referral
CITY
C:F
P110
ALTO
P A G.E
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Action
Item #3, Resolution of Appreciation to Norman Lacey
Item #4, Project Mobil ity - Transportation Develop-
ment Act Grant Application for 1985-86
Item #5, Computer Program Maintenance
Item #6, Vacation of Subsurface Portions of Street
and Alley
Item #7, Ordinance re Foothills Park Fire Facil ity
(2nd Reading)
Agenda Changes, Additions and Deletions
IteM #10, Report from Council Legislative
Committee
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Recess to Closed Session re Litigation 5 5 8 3
Item #8 PUBLIC HEARING: Finance and Public Works
Committee Recommendation re CDBG Appl ications
Iteis #9, PUBLIC BEARING` P1 arming Commission
Recommendation re Appl ic`ation of Tom Whi to for
Property Located at 3017 Waverl ey Street
Item #11, Finance and Publ lc Works Committee Recom-
mendation re Human Services Priorities from Human
Rel etions Commission
Item #12f. Appeal of Michael Lee from Decision of
Architectural Review Board arid. Director of Pl anning
and Community Environment for Project Located at
418.420 Everett .Avenue
Item #13 Transportation 2000 Study
Cancellation of March 25, 1985 Meeting
Adjournment; 10:45 pas.
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3/18/85
Regui ar Meeting
March 18, 1985
The City Counc ll of the Ci ty of Palo Al to met on this date in the
Council Chambers, 250 Kochi ton Avenue, at 7:35 p.m.
PRESENT: Bechtel , Cobb, Fl etcher, Ki , Levy,
Renzel , Sutorius, Witherspoon, Woolley
CLOSED SESSION RE, LITIGATION
Mayor Levy announced that a Closed Session re Litigation to ails -
cuss City of Palo Alto v. Pacific Indemnity; and Century Federal
v. City o a o o was held at p.m. and wouTT be continued
during the -Council recess.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
1 . Loren Acton, NASA, was a resident of Palo Al to for 21 years.
Since he was going on the Challenger Flight in July, - 1985, he
wanted to. share some of his experiences. As a semieasti•onebt,
he coul d tyke al ong a trinket or memento, and about a year ago
he wrote to then Mayor Klein and offered to carry along some-
thing on behalf of the City of Palo Al to to be presented when
he returned. The missiort involved 13 experiments ranging in
discipline from life sciences to high energy astrophysics.
They took sampl es of blood to find out how the body used vita-
min D to control ` calcium in the bones and the tissues of the
system. They were flying some solar telescopes to study the
different things that went on in the solar atmosphere that
coul d via t be seen from the ground either because the light
could not get through, it was too short a wave length and was
absorbed by the atmosphere, or the atmosphere was hazy. They
had a big egg that weighed, -about five tons in the back of the
cargo bay for determining the chemical composition of the
highest energy cosmic rays they were able to measure. Much
science was being done and he was privileged to be able to go
along and be <s7r observer. He was not a real astronaut, but
for a little while he was close.. The nice •thi'ng about not
being a real astronaut was that he could live in Pal o Alto and
not in Houston. He appreciated the chance to represent Palo
Al to on the fl fight and rto -carry along something for the City,
and to invite a representative of the City to see the blast
off next July. Hopefully, NASA world not continue to slip,the
mission. Originally they were supposed to blast • off in
October, 1980.
Mayor Levy said Palo Alto would, be delighted to have Pr. Acton
represent Palo Alto in space and looked forward to hearing about
his adventures. Palo Alto +envied: Mr. Acton -and the speed with
which NASA moved along. The City began consideration of cable
television in 1973, and he. believed Mr. Acton would be back from
space more than once before Palo Alto' finished art th ocabltie tel ev1-
sion. ; €
ITEM #1 APPOINTMENT OF THREE 'HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSIONERS TO
THRtt TERM EKti1RTiG MARCH. -3f, 1 88 (Car 5-3-2i
Mayor Levy said there were four applicants to the three positions
and three of the appl lc an is 'were Inc *ben ts. The appl scants were
Dorothy Atkinson, Iris Korot, Virginia Lee and Richard Roe. While
he bel leved all four appl scants were well quaff ified, he pl armed to
vote for the three incumbents --Iris Karol , Virg inia Lee and
Richard Roe. The Human Relations Comet ssion fliRC) performed out-
standing service for Palo Alto and the three incumbents were an
excellent part of the HRC..
City Clark Ann Tanner announced the results of the first round of
voting for the first position:
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VOTING FOR KO tOL: Bechtel , Cobb, Fl etcher, Klein, Levy,
Renzel , Sutori us , Wi ther spoon, Woolley
Ms. Tanner announced that Iris Korol had nine votes and was
appointed.
RESULTS OF THE FIRST ROUND OF VOTING FOR THE SECOND POSITION:
VOTING FOR LEE: Bechtel , Cobb, Fl etcher, Klein, Levy,
Renzel, Sutorius, Witherspoon, Woolley
Ms. Tanner announced that Virginia Lee received nine votes and was
appointed.
RESULTS OF THE FIRST ROUND OF VOTING FOR THE THIRD POSITION:
VOTING FOR ROE: Bechtel , Cobb, Fl etcher, KI ein, Levy
Renzel , Sutorius, Wool ey
VOTING FOR ATKINSON: Witherspoon
Ms. Tanner announced that Richard Roe had eight votes and was
appointed.
Mayor Levy congratul ated the appointees,
ITEM #2, RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO JAMES McLAUGHLIN (PER 4-2)
Mayor Levy said James McLaughl in served the City of Palo Al to from
July 19, 1954 through December 27, 1984 as firefighter, fire ap-
paratus operator, fire captain, fire training officer, battalion
chief, second assistant fire chief, assistant fire chief, and fire
marshal in the Palo Al to Fire Department. He pursued his duties
for the safety of Palo Alto's citizens with enthusiasm, thorough-
ness, common sense, fairness, compassion, and courtesy and took an
active part in Fire Department programs such as fire suppression,
fire training, fire prevention, and fire administration. Through
his efforts and contributions, the City continued to occupy a
position of respect in terms of emergency services provided to its
citizens by the City Fire Department. The City of Palo Alto
desired to recognize the meritorious service of Mr. McLaughl in and
commended his outstanding publ is service and recorded its appreci-
ation for the service and contribution rendered \during his 30
years of employment wi th the City.
NOTION: Mayer Levy moved, seconded by Cobb, approval of :ho.
resolution of appreciation to chafes McLaughlin.
RESOLUTION 63669 entitled 'RESOLUTION OF THE CO ICIL OF
THE C TT Or PALO ALTO EXPRESSIRI APPRECIATION TO JAMES
N ReERT McLAUCRL1N iPON NI5 RETIREMENT"
Fire Chief Bob Wall bet ieyed "contribution" was the most important
word he could share about Jim. In every area he served the City,
that "contribution` was significant. In training, Jim' s efforts
were felt.. statewide. The same was true in fire prevention, and
hi s efforts in fire prevention made the City' s Fire Prevention
Bureau rite of the strongest in the area. Jim did a great job, and
he thant.ed him on behalf of the Fire Department.
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
Mayor Levy presented Mr. McLaughlin with a framed resolution of
apprec lation.
Retired Assistant Fire Chief Jim $cLaughl in said it was not often
that one received something from the Council. He thanked' the
_Council for its recognition and appreciated the comments by Chief
Wall.
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W: 1 ■ N ■. 11 . L A hrK ( I 2 f • ■ ♦ 2 1 : 5
CONSENT CALENDAR
POTION: Couscilmember Bechtel moved, seconded by Setorins,
approval of the Consent Calendar.
Referral
None
Action
ITEM #3, RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION. TO NORMAN LACEY (PER 4-2)
RESOLUTION 6360 entitled `RESOLUTION OF THE CODICIL OF
Twr CM OF PALO ALTO EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO NORMAN
EUGENE LACEY UPON HIS RETIREMENT"
ITEM #4, PROJECT MOBILITY - TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT ACT GRANT
APPLICA11 N FOR TISCA1 YEAR 1985-86 ( OS f..4 ) (CMR:220: 5 )
Staff recommends that Council adopt the resol ution authorizing the
fit ing of a grant application for $163,000 in Transportation
De v el o p i en t Act Article 4. 5 funds in €i sc al year 1 985-86.
RESOLUTION 6361 entitled "'RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF
irffr-triTr o ALTO AUTHORIZING THE FILING OF A CLAIM
KITH THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION FOR
ALLOCATION OF TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT, ACT FONDS FOR
FISCAL TEAR 1935 -$68
ITEM #5, COMPUTER PROGRAM MAINTENANCE (FIN 9-1) (CMR:200:5)
Sta ff recommends tha t Courvc it
1. Award the contract for computer program maintenance for the
City of Pal o Al to to [Nether Roth Associates and authorize the
Mayor to execute a contract in the amount of $12,000; and
2. Authorize staff to execute change, orders to the contract up to
$1,800.
AVA*D OF CONTRACT
Oiether Roth Associates
ITEM #6, VACATION OF SUBSURFACE PORTIONS OF STREET AND ALLEY -
UNIYERSiiY
To proceed with the requested easement vacation, . staff recommends
that Council adopt the resolution declaring its intent to vacate
the. portions o1 easements described in CMR:221:5 and set a public
hearing for April 22, 1985 at 7:30 p.m. or as soon as possible
thereafter.
RESOLUTIONs . 6362 entitled *RESOLUTION 6F INTENTION OF
TJ!E Melt Or, YNE CITY OF PALO ALTO TO VACATE CERTAIN
SUBSURFACE STREET AREAS ALONG PORTIONS OF LYTTON AVENUE,.
RAMONA STREET, AND LANE\ 13 NEST AND SETTING A • P1l$LIC
NEARING"
ITEM #7 , ORDINANCE RE FOOTHILLS PARK FIRE FACILITY (2nd Reading)
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ORDINANCE 3616 entitled **NUANCE OF Tip COOMC I_L OF
111 —MY OF OSLO ALTO APPROVING AND AOOPTZNG PLANS FOD A
FIRE FACILITY NITNI6 F06TNILLS PANE' (1st Reading
3/4/16. PASSED O-0)
MOTION PASSER excel easly.
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AGENUA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS
MOTION: Mayor Levy moved, seconded by Fletcher, to bring for-
ward Item #10, Report of Legislative Committee, ahead of Item #8,
F&PW Committee recommendation re 1985-$6 Community Development
Block Grant Appl leftism.
MOTION PASSED uaaaimonsly.
ITEM #10, REPORT FROM COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE (LEG 4-2)
(Ca:227 5)
Councilmember Fletcher, Chairman of the Council Legislative Com-
mittee, said As sem bi ym an Cortese introduced a bill, AB 580, to
separate the Transit Di strict Board and make it independent of the
County Board of Supervisors. The makeup of the. Board was not as
good as it could be and it deal t with, the traffic authority Which
was a corapletely different subject. She hoped Council would
discuss the merits of the separation of the Transi t Di strict Board
from the Board of Supervisors and send that message along, even if
Council did not like the rest of the bill , to make plain that a
position was taken one way or the other, and then possibly give
the Count ii' s feel ings on the other features of the bill. She
wanted to hear from Supervisor McKenna and Mr. Roy Lave, the
Metropolitan Transportation Commissioner representing the cities,
and the County . Transportation Committee and a subcommittee that
studied the subject.:
MOTION: Couscilmember Fletcher moved, seconded by Witherspoon,
that Council go on record as supporting the concept of a separate
transit district, but to advise Assemblyman Cortese that the City
did not endorse the particulars of the ■akeep of the board which
where to AS 580.
Supervisor Dianne McKenna said she did not attend the meeting to
lobby or advocate a position, but to explain her feelings about
the separate transit board. Her position was not a critique of
the current County Executive, and she b,el ieved the current County
Executive was the finest she had seen since she started in the
County .in 1968. Her position was in no way reflective of the job
the County Executive was doing. Since 1975, the Grand. Jury recom-
mended a separate district, One of the overriding reasons was the
legendary operating inefficiencies of the present Transit •Dis-
trict. When one thought of those 'operating inefficiencies in
light -of the fact that they occurred without the addition of the
Guadalupe Light Rail Project, or the advent of other projects
throughout the County in the area of light rail, she believed
there would be more of a problem than less of a problem in the
future. There was talk about having a new director,,. and she
bel ieved theyneeded to think of discussing both operating ineffi-
ciencies and the policy board. The policy board was the current
Board of Supervisors. If there was not a separate Transit Board,
that policy board would stay the same ever though they had a new
transit director. Even if they had someone on bi3ard, they were
still deal ing with a policy board that made those decisions, since
the Board was the foundation of the Transit District. She did .not
see any improvement in those decisions: because of the nature- lof
the problem and the tint necessary to examine and make wise decj-
sioes on transit well into , the future. She believed that .also
translated into the operation side of the Transit Di strict.
Unless the time could be spent to closely watch what he ppened on
the operating side even with a new Transit Director, assuming a
new Transit Board, one must consider that they would not necessar-
ily improve those operating inefficiencies. -She believed Cortese,
who was a supporter of separtingg the Transit Board, shot himself
in the foot with his proposed legislation. She could not have
devised any piece of legislation worse ti look toward -.separating
the Transit Board. When the bill talked about having the .Transit
aoard made up of people from the five `supervisorial districts,
everyone knew those supervisorial districts, were political
boundaries and had no rhyme or reason, to transportation planning.
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Assuming that the supervisarial district was a good district for
transportation planning was the first fl aw, and starting to tinker
with the existing Transit Authority, which shoul d sunset in 12
years giving it two more years, and the collection of the tax
revenues did no t make sense. The appointments, one from the
Governor and one from the County Board of Supervisors, seemed to
be another pol ltical decision as opposed to a good pol icy deci-
sion. While she favored the separate Transit Board, she did not
bel ieve the Cortese bill was the answer. The motion made by Coun-
cilmember F1 etcher considered both the need for the separate
Transit Board and recognized that Cortese' s proposal was not one
she would support.;:
Councilmember Sutorius said much of what was discussed for many
years addressed the positive aspects that could come from a separ-
ation, but addressed it almost entirely in the 1 fight of the trans-
it subject. He asked how Supervisor McKenna saw a separation ben-
efiting the operation of the County in terms of the remaining
responsibil sties and activities if the transit subject were
removed and repl aced with a separate board which was not just a
dupl icate of the Board of Supervisors.
Supervisor McKenna said the first and most visible benefit would
be that the new pal icy board would be focused only on transporta-
tion and transit.
Councilmember Sutorius said he was looking at it from the perspec-
tive that the County Board of Supervisors loses a responsibil ity
and an activity, and he asked how that benefited County opera-
tions.
Supervisor McKenna bel ieved it depended on one's perspective, but
there was no shortage of work for the County Board of Supervisors.
If the County Board did not have the Transit District to work
wi th, there were many issues that had to be dealt wi th--everything
from BMC to social services to criminal justice services. From a
work load perspective, separation would give the County Board of
Supervisors more of an opportunity to work in those areas.
Councilmember Sutorius said Supervisor McKenna had a keen appreci-
ation of the connection between 1 and use policy and the entire
subject of traffic, etc., and he asked about the pros and cons of
having two boards that were potentially in conflict with each
other --two princ ipi es, philosophies, etc .
Supervisor McKenna bel ieved there was a major assumption that the
planning done in _ the County was based upon land use planning that
looked at transportation. Land use decisions and transportation
decisions were not made hand -in -hand. She heard it frequently,
and bel ieved if there was a separate transit board, they would be
looking at the land use patterns within each city because most of
the land use decisions were made by the cities. Even as the
County Board of Supervisors, they dealt with land use decisions
made by the cities. If she believed that the transportation plan-
ning in the County was done so that, land use and transportation
was considered effectively and efficiently in the current plan-
ning, she would not advocate a separate transit board. She saw
that it could work once the land use planning in most of the
cities was known.
Councilmember Renzel asked for comments regarding the account-
abil sty of a separate transit board versus the accountability of
the County Board of Supervisors. Special districts tended to have
low visibil sty,- and she recognized that the County Board of Super-
visors acting as the Transportatioe Di strict had a fairly high
profile. She asked if by having a separate board, there a ul d be
sufficient accountability and visibility that the publ is could
continue to monitor what was going on and get responsiveness.
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Supervisor McKenna said the question was difficul t to answer. Six
months ago if one asked who the Regional Water Quality Control
Board was, most of the publ is would not have been aware of them,
but with the issue of toxins and the need for protection against
ground water contamination, they became visible. She believed
that wi th a separate Transit District and peopl e concerned about
transportation efficiencies and light rail and its efficiencies,
they woul d. see that the public woul d be aware cif who was repre-
senting them, particul arly when an express bus did not arrive for
the third time in a row, or when they complained ebout cost over-
run s in a transit corridor. She believed the potential was there
for it to be a visible board.
Counc ilmember Renzel said there were al ways "the professional s"
the highway lobbyists, railroad lobbyists, the citizens who fol-
lowed transportation issues, and those people would go wherever
the action was, but she was concerned about ordinary members of
the public who had enough trouble trying to figure out who made
the decisions affecting their lives. _ She asked if those people
would find the group visible enough and know where to locate
them .
Supervisor McKenna wanted to bel ieve that the transportation plan-
ning in the County was not subject to political pressures, but
they knew that was not the case. 'n some cases, it seemed like
particular groups actually determined decisions. She did not see
the worry that the Transit District would be any more influenced
by political pressures or particul ar segments of the community.
She did not see the new group being any more influenced than the
current board.
Roy Lave, Metropolitan Transportation Commissioner, said the
Metropol #tarp Transportation Commission (MTC) concluded that a nine
to thirteen person elected. board was needed. Neither a Supervisor
award nor a Traffic Authority appointment made sense, and if
special representation was needed on the Transit District Board,
there could be appointed members in addition to the nine or thir-
teen elected members who could be with or without vote, The MTC
had two ad hoc members who served without vote, but served with a
vote on the subcornmmittees or the committees and it seemed to be
an effective way of getting their views. Five Grand Juries and
the County Transportation Commission recommended a separate board,
and the Harvey Rose audit detailed some of the probl ems with the
existing organization. He put more faith in the consultant, Jack
Doolittle, who 1 ooked at the ssaintenance and bel ieved the County
Transi t Di strict was wasting $25 mill ion of the $90 mill ion budget
and offered to run the Iran sit District for a small percentage of
the savings. He believed those numbers were about right. The
County Transit Di strict was deficient both in the pol icy area and
in operations. On the operations side, it was difficult for a
County government to run the Transit District, and on the policy
side, after 12 years of having the Transit District, there was no
Transit P an . What we s called a Transit plan: was a sl lin document
which was a set of dreams about whet might be desired in transit.
Transportation 2000 was the first serious attempt to do an objet-
tive plan. The problems with changing to a different transit
board was first a problem of accountability and they needed a
board that was accountable for transit decisions. The present
decisions got so lost in the realm of things the County did .there
was no :accountabil ity for transit decisions. When the County .was
in trouble, he bel ieved they .raided the Transit District budgets
A change might be disruptive, but it was a short disruption that
would be a benefit in the long run. While he did not bel leve the
proposed bill was the right one, he understood Assemblyman Cortese
was wi 11 ing to consi der the recommended - changes. A Train si t
Di strict was needed or at least an opportunity to see if one could
work.
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Counc ilmember Klein said his concern stemmed from his service on
the County' s General Plan Advisory Committee and getting a feel
for where he bel ieved the County should go, and the proposed leg-
isl ation was a step away from that bel ief. Supervisor McKenna and
Mr. Lave spoke to the land use questions which was at the core of
hi s probl ems with the proposal . Both assumed the present system
made sense; that is, that the cities by and large made land use
decisions and the County al so made some and the Transit District
had to accommodate those decisions. That was the model and it was
difficult to change it, but it was wrong-headed and would not work
over the next 15 to 20 years in a county that was becoming larger.
They could no 1 onger afford the 1 uxury of Santa Cl are s proceeding
pe11-me11" on .a poi icy of growth whereas other major parts of the
County did not and everyone had to pay for Santa Clara s excesses.
He believed a more coherent system was needed --a 1 and use pl an
mechanism which involved a more centralized approach and a mecha-
nism by which cities could have a veto over extreme pro growth
positions, which meant someone had to have the authority to make
decisions which affected transportation and land use at the same
time. To create a separate County Transit District merely meant
one more governmental body, and instead of the 15 cities in the
County, there were 15 cities, the County and the County Transit
District all with separate turfs to protect. He emphasized that
the problem of overcoming separate turfs to be protected was a
huge one. He bel ieved the motion was a step towards making that
probl em worse. There coui d not be effec tine 1 and +use p1 anning
without sensible transit planning, and there could not be sensible
t; ansi t pl anning wi thout effective, intelligent land use pl anning.
To separate them further would exacerbate the probl ems. There
were many advantages expressed for having a County Transit Dis-
trict separate from the administration of the County. executives
and separate from the control from a policy standpoint, of the
County Board of Supervisors, He submitted that those problems
were people problems. There was no guarantee that a new group of
people wo ul d manage the Di strict any better . He agreed that the
present system was run inefficiently, but the creation of a separ-
ate Di strict did not mean it would be run more efficiently. There
was no inherent structural reason why the County executives and
the Board of Supervisors coup not run an efficient system. Coun-
cilaaember Sutorius' questions were to the point. The County Board
of Supervisors and the County Executive were not overburdened.
There was nothing unique in the County Board of Supervisors, there
were many layers of government that ran far bigger establishments
than the County Board. If the District was not being run proper-
ly, it was a severe indictment of the present County staff and the
peopl e, other than Supervisor Mc Kenna, on the County Board.
Peopl a problems were not solved by creating a new agency especial-
ly when the new agency would cause problems in and of itself as to
how to get the County on a sensible basis with regard to its
transportation and land use planning so everyone did not choke on
traffic by the year 2000. He hoped they woo ul d look to more effec-
tive means of running the County government and give some agency
enough power so that the land use/pl anning dec isians were not done
in a piecemeal way.
Councilmeatber Bechtel concurred that better land use planning was
needed in coordination with transportation planning. The proposal
was not a separation of transportation planning from land use
planning. It was not a separation of the Transportation Agency
from the County Board of Supervisors, but the Transit District,
and there was a difference. The Transportation Agency was respon-
sible for averal j transportation planning for the maintenance and
construction of roads and highways, airpor=ts, etc. That was not
the day to day operation of the Transit Di strict. Five years ago,
she al so believed there should not be a separation, but she
watched how little time the. Board of Supervisors spent on major
Transit District issues. Major and specialized decisions were
required and people needed to devote time and energy. Councll-
member Kl ein mentioned that other - Boards of Supervisors --
Congress, 1 egisl atoms, etc. had as much work as the County Board
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of Supervisors, which might be true, but Santa Clare County was
the only county that operated a Transit Di strict. San Francisco
had final budgetary processes, but had a Public Utilities Commis-
sion to operate the day-to-day portions of the Tran.si t Di strict.
No other transit district was operated in the same manner as Santa
Cl ar a County' s. The County Transit Di strict had the 1 owe st fare
box recovery ratio of practically any other transit district, and
there were two ways to improve the fare box recovery ratio. One
was to double, triple, or quad, up1 a the fares charged and poten-
tially lose all the passengers; or, two, decrease costs. If some
of the $25 million in operating costs coul d be saved as pointed
out by the consul tant, i t would be a good way to go. To those who
expressed concern about accountability, and whether it would be a
less visible layer of government, she submitted that the BART
Board of Directors were visible as were the Golden Gate Transit
Authority Board. Peopl e were aware when their fares woul d change
or that there might be a charge for parking in _ a BART parking lot.
She bel ieved the measure was five years overdue, and urged Council
support of the motion.
Councilmember Fletcher requested full reproduction of the County
Grand Jury Report because it showed berth the compl exity of the
Iran sli t District and its various functions and facets, none of
which dealt with overall land use, which was the responsibility of
the Tran sporation Agency, and because it detailed how the Transit
Board did not have the kind of cl use supervision that a large com-
plex operation warranted. It needed a Board fully responsible for
the Transit Di strict probl ems and not overburdened with other is-
sues. The Transit Di strict was presently a $330 mill ion operation
and was going to expand into the light rail field. With the pres-
sures of transportation associated with added growth in the Comity
and the three studies underway, there was sure to be additional
transportation in terns of bus feeders into the light rail system,
and it looked as if there might be extensions of the light rail
and other forms of rail transit. It was becoming an increasingly
compl ex operation, and deserved exclusive attention from one pol i-
cy board. As pointed out by Supervisor McKenna, development was
primarily in the cities, and she guaranteed there was no way
cities would say they did not know how to handle their own devel-
opment. Supervisor McKenna was well aware of the problems of I and
use pl anning as president of the Association of Bay Area Govern-
ments (ABAG), and would not advocate something that would have a
negative impact on the issue. If she believed keeping the Transit
District Board as the Board of Supervisors would help the land use
pl mining issue, she wo ul d be the first to advocate keeping the
status quo . She urged Counc i1 support of the motion.
Councilntember Witherspoon pointed out that land use planning on a
piecemeal basis was the way almost every city wanted to do it. It
might not be practical from the transportation point of view, but
she did not see anyone advocating that someone el se make land use
decisions for the cities. She agreed that the Transit District
must get up to speed--pretent land use issues, let alone future
ones, were not even addressed. She hoped a separate board would
devote the energy, ingenuity and charisma necessary to get a $300
mill ion transit district operating efficiently.
Counc ilmeMber Renzel said she appreciated the presentations of the
Council's distingui shed visi tors, but shared many of the concerns
expressed by Counc ilmember Klein with respect to separating 'the
Transit >Di strict from the Board of Supervisors. She was concerned
about special districts, and her experience as an elected repre-
sentative indicated that especially mere the Boards were not full
time but rather attended meetings and received some type of per
diem was that the organizations tended to run by themselves with
staff basically setting the pot icy. That left little room. for
accountab il ity either of staff to the Board or the Board, to the
public. The terms of office tended to be long, and there was no
real way to plug in and make those groups accountable.. She
5 5 7 9
3/18/85
believed the Board of supervisors, while not having direct land
use control over what happened in the c i ties, at l east had an
awareness of what was happening in the cities and the problems
being caused thereby. For that reason, acting as a Transit Board
might al so pl ug that type of information into the decision making
process. If that was not happening with the current setup, there
should be a way for the Council to pressure the Board of Super-
visors to pay more attention to the transit decisions and that
there should be stronger interest on the part of the cities in
that regard. She was concerned about establishing a separate dis-
trict because of the difficul ty for members of the public to find
out where and when they met, who they were and how to get in touch
with there and have any impact, because her experience was that
staff tended to set the policy in those organizations and the
boards went al ong with it and did not apply any more interest than
was seen in some instances with the Board of Supervisors acting as
the Transit Di strict. At least the Board of Supervisors were
people the cities knew, could approach, and deal with on a regul ar
basis. She would not support the motion. She was .al so concerned
about expressing an opinion on tho subject independent of the bill
Council did not like because it tended to add support to the bill
regardless. She believed procedurally it was not the time for
Council to take a position favoring the change when the proposed
legislation was not good.
Counc ilmember Sutorius said he appreciated the contributions from
Supervisor McKenna and Commissioner Lave. He found himself in a
position where much of the Grand Jury Report cited many adminis-
trative and operational areas of concern, but he was not persuaded
that the findings in each situation was unc orrec tab 1 e in the
present mode of operation. Many of the things expressed were the
kinds of things that easily occurred if overl poked in any type of
operation whether it be a transit distict, utility, retail store,
etc., and several of the areas examined were not necessarily ger-
mane excl usi v el y to the Transit Di strict. How someone invested
their funds, pension plan processes, workers compensation follow
up, and analysis were basic day-to-day kinds of things that any
organization should attend to. He was confident that with the
caliber of the representation in the the District, a separation
was not proven and he would not support the motion.
Councilmember Klein said regarding land use, there were examples
around the country of creative proposals which allowed comm4`nities
to have the say in land use they presently had, but with same
overl ay which prevented some communities from in fl icting their
will upon the others without their consent. In Santa Cl ara County
such a bill was cl ose to passage a little more than 10 years ago,
and with the necessary pol itical willpower to do it, it was not
out of the question. It was only San Jose's opposition at that
last moment which prevented the legislation from passing in the
1970s Further, by divorcing the Supervisors from the County
Transit District, they would be taking a step backward from the
already weak system. Weak as it was, the County was able to do
some coordinating with land use, but among the 15 cities in the
county, I f transit was separated out, they were making an already
difficult role muoh harder. He bel ieved they woul d rue the day
when they tooka step backward from what they really needed, which
was better 1 and use p1 ann ing .
Vice Mayor Cobb said he was persuaded by the arguments of Counc i1-
membees Klein, Renzel , and Sutorius because he saw no reason why a
County Board of. Supervisors could nothave a rel ationsh4.p with a
b ody which special ized in transit, much Like the Council had with
its planning Commission. He was worried, using the Saeta Clara
Valley Water Iii strict (SCYWO) as an example, that they were boards
with enormous responsibil ities and deal t with much money, and he
questioned whether one person in a thousand had any = idea who the
members of the SCYWO were. Since few people knew who belonged to
the Boards,, when people .`ran for el ec do n, it took Muc h money to
5 5 8 0
3/18/85
J u se , which was hard to raise for the obscure kind o f organiza-
tions even though they had enormous responsibiitles, and the
result was that incumbents were el ected over and over without ap-
propriate chat l enege, which was not in the interest of good
government. He bel ieved there was a way to structure the Di strict
such that cities could be represented and the visible supervisors
who were known by the voters could . be responsible for the dec 1-
lions without making their work load untenable. The 1 inkage
between land use planning and transportation was critical. A
separate board would serve the function of building a bigger sys-
tem to meet a bigger demand whi c to wa.s an endl ess process and went
nowhere,
Counc Member Fletcher believed those who spoke to the land use
connection to transpore tion pl anning ignored the fact that trans-
portation planning was done by the Transportation Agency, and
would still be under the Board of Supervisors. Further, the
Transit District had an advisory board called the Transportation
Commission who had a committee system which worked much like a
Planning Commission. It dealt with the various issues and speci-
fic proposal s. They went through much work over a period of sev-
eral weeks on an .issue, and made recommendations to : the Transit
District Board who got politic al pressures from the Board of
Supervisors. Without the benefit of all the background informa-
tion that the Transporation Commission had which brought them to a
par ticul ar concl 'Asian, the Board of Supervisors on many occasions
voted regardless of the Transportation Commission's recommendation
much to its frustration. The Board of Supervisors did not look at
the issues in depth, but responded to pressure people who attended
their Board •meetings. The SCVWD dealt with subj acts which people
were not worried about except in .terms of contamination. Basical-
ly, everyone used the transportation system and 99 percent were
unhappy. There was -no way that any Transit District Board coul d
be as invisible as the SCVWD Board because people wanted .to Com-
plain and would find out who to complain to. Those people would
have to listen and be responsive. The Board of Supervisors were
el ec ted based on the 1 arg er i s sue s the County faced other than the
man ag cm en t o f the Transi t Di str is t board . She bel ieved those ar-
guments were invalid and that a separate Transit District Beard
wouid result in a vastly improved system.
Councitmeta ber Bechtel agreed wi th Co uric ilia em ber Fletcher. Land
use planning would continue to be done through the Transportation
Agency which would not be separated. In response to 'lice Mayor
Cobb' s comment that the relationship between the Pl anning Commis-
sion and the city Council was simil ar at the Board of Supervisors
level with the Transporation Commission, it was not so. There was
not that same kind of rel ationshi p, and she urged Counc it support
of the motion.
Mayor Levy thanked Supervisor McKenna and Commissioner Lave for
attending the meeting. There was no question that transit was a
problem in the County and the question was how to solve it. He
had problems wi th the motion both in terms ofpot itical theory and
business administration. In terms of political theory, it .: was
dangerous to fragment the government as it Was al ready very frag-
mented. In Santa . Cl ara County there was the Water Di strict, Open
Space Di strict, Board of Education. Conservation, 10 sanitation
districts, many fire protection diStricts, and as mentioned by
Vice Mayor Cobb, most people did not know their representatives.
The motion meant the candidates for the Transit. Di strict would not
get the publicity and attention in an election because in any
election, they •would face national, state or other local candi-
dates who would command the newspapers and radio. It meant the
candidates would have difficulty raising funds. It cost much
money to run for office, and particularly with the Transit : Dis-
trict, it was more likely that there would be special interests
funnel ing those funds to - the candidates because in the case of
transit, there .was much money -involved. = The pay would be a token
--50O per month was. the most that any :Transit District in the
State or Northern California paid, which, when contrasted against
the high expense of securing a seat, would result in not having
the best people seeking the particular office. The candidates for
a transit district would not have the broader perspective that
transit decisions demanded. From a pol itical theory standpoint, a
separate district meant building a separate empire. That did not
have to take place, but it would. Although there might be a
transit planning agency in one place and a transit district in
another, there would be a lot of fighting over who made the deci-
sions. From a business standpoint, the problems seemed to be man-
agerial , not so much pol icy problems. In any event, selecting a
different board as was mentioned would not solve the poi icy prob-
lems and might not solve the management problems. The Board of
Supervisors could, if they wanted to be more energetic , work on
the management problems and study whether the management c om po si -
tion and organization chart was proper. Another problem with a
separate district from a business standpoint was that it would be
a new entity and would take a. long time to get going. It would
have to be entitl ed to a longer waiting period and everyone would
be on hold to see whether they could accomplish their job. He
seconded Vice Mayor Cobb' s comments regarding the el ec torate' s
knowledge of their candidates and the comments made by Council -
member Klein that it was not a good idea to have a separate pub-
licly elected transit district. It was an invitation to further
mismanagement.
MOTION FAILED by a vote of 4-5, ilochtel , Fletcher, Wel l e,y,
Witherspoon voting a aye .°
NOTION: Csencilmember Klein moved, seconded by Cobb, with
regard to AS 580 (CorteSei, than C►eeeil go en record as stating
that it is preferable to retasi l the Soar! •f Sepervi sors as the
transit board. It would be •arise toe have transit planning deci-
sions made by a body that focuses oel on transit issues. Trans-
portation planning most be done 1Ni context of land use plan-
ning.
Counc il member Witherspoon pointed out that Council spent one and a
half hours on the issue and it was not a Palo Alto issue. She
woul d not support the motion because she did not want to get
transit planning and land use issues mixed up with the Board of
Supervisors. She did not want them doing land use planning, and
she did not believe any other city dial either. If it was prefer-
able that the; Board of Supervisors continue as a transit board,
that was fine, but she did not want the land use matters
involved.
Countileember Bechtel_ would not support the motion. When the
letter was submitted, she requested the letter be drafted such
that it show a spl it vote of the City Council .
*$T*1I) PASSES by d veto ef. 6.4, Secbtel , Fletcher, Woolley,
Witherspoon toting *no.'s
Counc lleeeber Fletcher said 511 290 was a bill by Senator Foran
from San Francisco to raise the gasoline tax by five cents per
gallon. two cents of the tax would go to cities and three cents
would go to the counties. It would benefit the. City in that it
would supply funding for maintenance and road work, but she had
some problems with the hill. The bill allocated $250 million for
transit, but it ce from the General. Fund, which -meant it must be
voted on each year during the budget hearings and was not guaran-
teed beyond the year the bill passed, assuming it did. Further -
lore, it could he vetoed by the Governor, and if he chose, the
transit funding could be eliminated. The State had sufficient
funds for maintenance and rehabii itation and there riffs an articl e
in that morning's f an Jose Mer<curz -.beat hundreds of mill ions- of
dollars in short fail iiselitlenotice and rehabilitation. She ascer-
tained that the riesen for the projea'ted short fall was because
the state was on a highway building binge and 'used' its resources
to build new roadways an the purpose -of the bill was to enrich
that highway budget. Council .needed to consider the purpose of
the bill and its resul t. For insta►`ti;e, the Century Freeway in Los
5 5 8 2
3/18/85
1
1
Angel es, the most expensive freeway built by the State, took five
years of highway funding for the State Just for -the one freeway.
Shortages were identified by the State by going to the Regional
Transportation Agencies and requesting their 10 -year wish list of
what they wanted to have constructed. Three cents would go to the
counties and cities. The cities would get one and one-half cents
out of the five cents which was in addition to the two -cent gas
tax increase and the Foran SB 215. It was al so in addition to the
five cent federal gas tax instituted in 1982, and in. Santa Clara
County they were saddled with a one-half cent sales tax increase
to feed into the State freeway system and were told that if it
were a gas tax, it was equivalent to a 15 cent per gallon gas tax.
She believed Santa Cl are. . County al ready did. its share for the
State freeway system. She saw no Justification for the Council
endorsing the bill.
RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION RE LITIGATION FROM 9:00 p.m. TO 9:35
RETURN TO ITEM #10, REPORT FROM COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
NOTION: Counc11wewber Fletcher meted, seconded by Svtorius,
that Council go eta record in ',petition to SS 115 regarding
investments.
Mayor Levy clarified that the Mayor should communicate the City's
opposition to the bill' s author, 1 egisl ature, and other appropri-
ate 1egisi.ative committees.
Councilmerrrber Fl etcher said that was correct.
NOTION PASSED unasimeusly, foal 1 ey absent.
Councilmember Renzel said regarding the Governor's proposal for a
new Department of Waste Management, as she- understood the : papers,
the Governor- also wanted to include -the Water Qual ity Control
Board organization under the new urbrel l a department. - Since the
Water Quality — Control Board was taking some strong 'stands with
respect to the toxics in the water supply, she was worried that
the new agency was a way to diffuse the strong effort now being
made by the . Water Quail ity people. She did not know in what way
they .should. try and impact that, but was concerned. that she did
not. regard water quality in the same way as she regarded waste
management= such as disposal' of radioactive wastes and garbage,
etc. She bel ieved Council should closely watch- what was happening
in that area because water quality was something that needed to be
addressed separately. .•
ITEM e8, PUBLIC HEARING: FINANCE, AND +PWIBLIC_ WORKS COMMITTEE
-c nanny HY ETUFFEWriitttrITIFANT Off -CAT -ION
Maa)err Levy commended staff and the Finance and Public Works (F&PW)
Committee on their work.
Counc ilmeabear Bechtel commended the members cif the Citizens"
Advistery Committee-. There were over 41,000,000. worth. of requests
foe.- Community Development .81 oct • Grant (CDBG) funds and., there was
$638, 000 av alt abl e. .fie, al so :commended- .G1 enn Miller for an excel _
lent -,report There, were only, 'a —few areas of differAence_-between
the staff rectie*efdation, the- Ci.tize-ns'- Advisory -Committee : r.etoee-
mendation and ultim-ately the F&PW Committee recommendation. The
Citizens! Adv i-sor,y Committee= recommended del etioft. of $15;003 to s be
spent- for curb tuts to make streets and -sidewalks more accessible
to the hand iieapped , Staff 'put -those se back „i n ant- the F&PW Commit-
tee al so del eted them . The F$PN Committee del eted the $15,000 for
eiirb oats bet sure theye,bel 'leveed- the - moneys 'she ul d come from the
General Fund budget and curb cuts were to be.brreught up during the
budget preparation period
5 5 8.3
3/1 8 /8 5
MOTION: Councilmember Bechtel for the Finance and Public Works
Committee moved re 1955-$6 Community Development Block Grant
Application that Council make the .following findings:
1. The proposed 19$5-06 MG Program will net have a significant
environmental impact;
2. The twelve proposals recommended by staff are to be included
in the 1985-$6 CDR Program; and
3. The staff be artheri zed to sub. t an application to HJB to
include the Pale Alto 1905 -iii Print's", certified to be coasts -
tent with the City's approved Cumun1 ty Development Block
Grant Pl aad; and make the following changes: the $15,000 that
is indicated for Cerb Ramps for N*usdicapped be deleted and
farads allocated as follows: $10,000 to Pee Facility Comple-
tion and $4,500 -additional to ►AMC Administration; $250 addi-
tional to PAAIRS; and $250 to MCHF.
RESOLUTION 6363 entitled is RESOLb° 1011 OF THE COUNCIL OF
LOO r ALTO APPMliYZ $G THE USE OF 19$546
COliNURITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS°
Mayor Levy declared the public hearing open, and receiving no
requests from the public to speak, he declared the public he.. ►:tg
closed.
MOTION PASSED aanaminossly.
ITEM ill, PUBLIC HEARING: PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION! RE
STREET- PIA 3-6 )
NOTION: Councllmember Klein moved, seconded by Cobb, to adopt
the Planning Commission recommendation that the proposed parcel
sap will mot have am adverse envirnmeaatal impact and find that
the exception ter an el -host depth on Parcel 2 should be granted
becalms*:
1. There : are special circumstances or conditions affecting the
property, incl edlag that the original parcel is an *xcep-
t1emal ly large parcel, but -the existing bone was coarstrected
far back ea the parcel, thus requiring that the new lot lime
be located where it is;
2. The exception is necessary fsr the preserafatlea end eac$`oyment
of as sabstanttal property right of the petitioner in that the
original parcel is more thaw large newish for two houses and
both prep sed lets exceed irea requirements;
3. The gramtimg of. the Mention will mot be detrimental to the
public welfare •r injurious to ether.property 1s the territory
in dutch the property is situated in -that bath lots are wider
than required and Lot 1 is deeper thee regal red; and
4. The granting of the eucept#ea Will net violate the require-
ments, soils, peal ic1•s or spirit of the law in that only the
width/depth rel atlsilskl p of Lot 2 weul d be affected, end as
d.slgmed, the let will, provide the equivalent buildable area
as` lots of steadard caaftneration.
The preliminary parcel map be approved with the conditionsthat:
A. A covered parlous space be provided ea Lot H; and
B. The covered steraade area elmict is within the ; rear setback
Lot 1 be r oe ed .
1
5 5 8 4
3/18/85
Mayor Levy decl Bred the pubi is hearing open, and receiving no
requests from the public to speak, he decl ared the public hearing
closed .
NOTION PASSED saaai.essly.
ITEM #1I FINANCE AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION RE
IUMAW STAY -ICE gSIDA MI -8)
iCMR: f92
Councilmember.. Bechtel noted that at its recent meeting the F&PW
Cori ttee swi tc hed from specific dol l ar amour' is to spec i fi c pro-
grams with the Community Development Block Grant Program to the
Human Services priorities for fiscal year 1985-86. As a reminder,
it was previously determined by the Council that rather than
responding to requests for funding for a particular service, it
was better to be pro active and first determine the needs to see
if those needs were being provided for in the City of Palo Al to.
If not, an RFP would be put out to see if there was someone who
might be willing and able to provide such a service Through the
able work of a citizens committee and members of the:. Human Rel a-
tions Commission (HRC) , those fields of servicie were ev al seated in
earl ier reports and updated in the suppl emental report. The vari-
ous programs were evaluated, and the F&PW Committee discussed the
process and believed there needed to be a window period by which
if someone missed the entire apps ication process of responding to
an RFP and still had a good program, there would be a process by
which those peopl e coul d still submit an appl ication.
NOTION: Ceuncilmeaaber Bechtel for the Finance aid Pohl lc Works
Committee moved that Council approve the Henn Relations Commis-
sion's priorities and recommended actions re human services for
the purposes of the 1! 8S..86 budget preparation.
Richard Roe, Chairman of the Human Relations Commission, said it
was the second year the HRC util ized the process, adithorize:d by, the
City Council. It was an involved process and each year the HRC
learned different things that made it possible to improve. The
HRC fel t good about the recommendations where an increase in the
1 ev el of service was needed-- hopefully to be provided by the
City.
Vice Mayor Cobb said the staff report noted that instead of recom-
mending priorities for service, the HRC. chose to make service
1 ev el recommendations. He asked if that wa.s seen as a permanent
change in the p,oce{s.
.Mr. Roe said , not n ec e s sa r i 1 y . The HRC still had to ev ale/ate how
the process went that year, but he .had no personal . judgment. It
was a different way of doing things, and it seemed right gleerti\_the
deeel opment of the process. •
Count i1mast ber tai therspoon learned a 1 of from the meeting and
believed it was interesting to approach the matters from a dif-
ferent angle. Instead of people coming in.1wtth a service to pro-
vide, the - HRC said what services it- believed should be provided
and then requested- an RFP. , She, said one of the recommendations
was for, - a youth '.center- - a/coffee. house type of thing-- thing --because
=there was a perceived need; a1nong those surveyed ;by the. 4Yo.uth Coun-
cil for a, place where kids Could go and;•.call-I their own. She had
grave concerns about getting into that business, but other than
that she believed the .recommendations were- good. She wondered if
there were so many youth oriented servicos suggested because, there
was an active Youth CO WIC 11 who made the surveys among their
peers. .
Mr.; Roe ben laved the presence of a Youth Council: was felt, in the
report becease they did the surveys and had some feelings' about
what was needed He, cI aarified that he did not ben ieve all of the
areas identified as needing further development were necessarily
5 5 8 5
3/1.8/85
specific recommendations. Those were items affirmed as being
areas of concern and the HRC did not believe, at the conclusion of
the process, that it had a specific recommendation. There needed
to be more exploration of those sorts of issues and one way might
be to see what kinds of proposals carne in. There.were many who
might not want to return to the experiences of ten or more years
ago,. _but that did not mean those were the only type of youth -
focused activities that could take place. The Youth Council and
others were beginning a process of defining a `focus of activity to
meet some of the needs of youth and the appropriate forum for that
activity. He did not want Council to read more into the recam-
mendat1ons than there as. Particularly in the areas of counsel-
ing, they essentially identified areas of concern, but did not
make defined statements of exactly what was needed.
Councilmember Woolley said the City had progressed since adopting
the human services resource •allocation process of putting the
Council in a position of actually initiating services. The possi-
bility existed for someone in the community to submit a proposal
to the City, and it could happen when the matter was returned to
the F&PW Committee. Staff would- not only mention proposals but
would have recoranendations for them as well.
Councilmember Sutorius agreed about the need for a window period,
but believed certain organizations would receive certain recommen-
dations in terms of funding at the HRC level and the F&PW process,
and when the new previously unsubmitted opportunity was explored
and evaluated, it might receive favorable treatment and be identi-
fied by staff and accepted " by the F&PW Committee and Council.
Council would have to make a decision. The potential existed for
something that al ready worked its way through the process at a
proposed level of funding and seemed satisfactory to be subjected
to sore reduction ass a result of that window period having brought
in something else that needed funding.
NOTION PASSED unaeimeesiy,
ITEM #12, APPEAL OF MICHAEL LEE FROM THE DECISION OF THE
AT 41a-
3 43) (CIkirR:223:5)
Planning and Development Analyst Ray Hashimoto made a correction
on page 2 of CMR:223: 5. ;The two-story structure was 3,310 square
feet --not 5,000 square feet.
Chairman of the Architectural Review Board (ARB) Virgil tarter
said the project was heard over three meetings. Additionally, the
applicant, Mr. 0ai , had three neighborhood meetings. At its third
meeting, the ARB voted unanimously to recommend approval.
Appellant, Nike Lee, 163 Hawthorne, showed photos taken by Jim
Morley, and said the surroundings in the area had not changed in
25 years. He believed the condominium project towered around its
surroundings and in no way rel ated to the adjacent buildings. It
appeared the project was designed totally out of scale. He agreed
with the ARB that the park needed substantial change. He under --
stood some of the houses would be torn down the following week,
and he did not understand how that could happen since there was no
approved architectural design of the park.
George Dal, 535 Arastradero, 0101, believed the project was well
designed. He received input from the neighbors in terms of design
approach and appreciated the input of the ARS and planning staff.
He believed the appeal was uncalled for because he and many neigh-
bors went through a long process of many meetings, and three teet-
ings with the ARh. Mr.. Lee .only attended the last meeting and his
remarks were in contrast to the feeling of the other neighbors and
the findings of the ARB. lie urged that,. Council deny the appeal.
e
John Long, 332 Ki pl ing, said Mr. Dal received much input from many
sources. The project might not .be ideal, but it fit within the
neighborhood and was ,accepted by almost everyone. He saw no
reason to hold up the project.
John Fredric h, 421 Everett, lived directly across the street. He
was not involved in the pi anning process, but commended Michael
Lee for bringing the matter up for further discussion. ,Council
needed to review the transformation that the neighborhood would
undergo with development of the park and specifically the type of
structures to surround the park. The surrounding structures would
be ripe for intensification as the park was developed and there
would be an escalation in building up in some of those places. He
bel ieved Council must decide what type of residential neighborhood
should surround the park. It was an attractive house and the plan
seemed to sacrifice the entire existing structure.
Trish Ward, 412 Everett, was responsible for the initial appeal on
the project. Through the past four months of working' wi th Mr.
Dal , she saw .a dramatic- change- from the original:. design, and there
was much more of the character of the neighborhood. It was not -
perfect, but that was not to be expected in a world of compromise.
She supported the proposed design, and whit e it did not incor-
porate all of the el en eats, it was a majority opinion. She recom-
mended that Council support the project and deny the appeal .
NOTION: Vice Naylor Cobb roved, seconded by Klein, to adopt
the staff recommendations to upheld the decision of the Architec-
tural .Review- Beard, and the Director, of Planning and Community
-Envireament and- approve the ,project design, ine1 ediag the fol low-
•ing, finding; and 'conditions. • The project -design is consistent
with the standards. of :review set -forth .iae Sectirs -16.48:128 of the
Municipal Code in that:
•
l , .The prspesedt betiding .design, with .the wood siding.e wood .vie -
dews,. asphalt, tile roof, porch -entries, and sassing-, creates a
project with a single-family character that is compatible with
the immediate environment sf the site;
2. The finish . matsriml s and textures- of the project elevations,
notably the wood siding -0 wood trim, , wood wi ndews and : aspleal t
shingles,. make the project -compatible with= the sirroundieg
structures, *amply : the -single-family belie at 412 Everett at d
the tee -story apartment hemse at 302-316 Ki pl fog Street; and
3. The landscape design concept aetll ixing a variety of new trees,
slerebs and droanicever•si-:fn concert with the existing- 'vegeta-
tion, creates a desirable nod: functional eev4ronment,
Witb tlee fellowing condit1aas:
1. The developer shall submit drainage plans to pebl is Works/
€ngiseerisg: -for approval prior •te , submittal for building per-
- _ mi t, .- r
2. Broken or badly cracked sidewalk caarb mod getter Shall
rsplac ed,ie,-accordGa ece' Ci'ty:snevi fi.e stions;: -
3f Issuance of. a street permit from the, Department of
Works i s required . for : work :11 ' tit* ` pibi is
To facilitate the •fetdreinstal It*ti*re £et solar demonic 4eotter
heating, the appl icant shall prepl mob each df the rail s -
stek d:-ie .pi.himy; eeetlsg Palle AI WA- 4 140es Department
. S l ar •frepi oohing Speci ficmtioos; : , , : , .,
The applicant shall install a aeon redwood fence al en! .,tom 'side
and rear property lines; and
i, *11 landscaped area; will hk automatically irrigated.
5 5 8 T
3/18/85
Vice Mayor- Cobb said the process of public involvement seemed to
hav e worked well with the particular item. The fac t that there
was not a storm of protesters supporting the appeal was ample evi-
dence that the appeal should be denied as was the fact that the
neighbors were clearly together on the compromise as something
they could live with,
• Council member Witherspoon commended I overyone involved with the
process. She believed the design was much better than originally
proposed. As much as she loved the old houses around town, she
realized they must be replaced from time to time. The proposed
project was satisfactory, and she believed it was in seal e with
the •neighborhood.
Councilmanber Renzel said once the tentative map was granted, the
property was destined to be redeveloped. She disagreed that the
project was in 'scale with the neighborhood and bel Vetted a 30 foot
high cottage was not exactly a true concept. Never°thel ess, some-
thing would be put on the site within the zoning paraiaeters, and
the proposed project attempted to coordinate with the neighborhood
who seemed satisfied. She would reluctantly support the motion.
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
ITEM X13, TRANSPORTATION 2000 STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS (PIA 4)
(CMR:22`4: s
Councilmember Bechtel commended staff 'for an' excellent report.
140TlONb teuutilaaaember Recktel moved, seconded by Setarlaas., to
adept the staff recommendation supporting the : seven recomzrende-
tisns of the Traosportatieea 2000 St*dy, as ` fellows, and cemmatn1-
'cater such. action °in writing to the County Board of SVpervi'sorsc
Reconaeaendati•e 1 - The baseline highway improvements (including
the Measure' A and other 'projects) are: a necessaaryr part -of the plan
for satisfying fntare : tranupertati•ra needs. Those projects shoel d
proceed ' eapaed i tiousl y and 'should include Commuter iae•t were
operati•nal ly feasible;
Recommendation 2 - Transp•rtat#sea Systems Mssagomeot actions,
loci *ding ridosiariaj = improvements and Contester Lagos, _ are needed
loge all corridors and sleami'd-be'aggressivel°y, purtaaad.• , County's
Gods' tee low Committer skevtd -develop a spec fie • attidn' strategy
to, sreet the tariget of approximately '3Rt percent •f` Commuters ' aaEsing
carpool s, vanpo•1 s, bicycles and other connote alternatives;
Recesoendati•a 3 Trask • line transit improvements capable of
attracting 10 percent of meant ttips ` shoal4' be developed !n
corridors chewing the greatest need, The Buadaalr s Corridor LIST
project is already underway in that cerr . %der y""� €"?'or" r ' or "rai l
prefects which shoal 4 be given top priority at this tine %cl ode:
Seaaiti la 'Corridor The ''Santa ' Clare' -Cia'r*ty pre-
erree ai rna vs, • • ng the Alternatives Anal ys1 s/RE IS
phase, should be sopperted for 1mp1 eaue*tatioa
*11.S. 101 Corridor Jima ' Co otyia"pref#ra'ied ` pia trim the
crorri t #11174 Stodgy shoed be supported
•
Raec•amoaedaatie0-4" - Rlrect conalectiaraait,:b•ti..n existing end pl annit4
rail systems shoal/ be a top,, priority. Tha Transit District
Shoal d prpcttd " aia th the feat l sgi on ' pre3' te': ° .: t = ,
*The 4e,a olipNeaait of the ' Cahill and Alain ' stttfags linking
Can train = and tMe ad.1.p •Corridor Li t'I: `= ar►a$ict Planning
should include- a Light tail conoectie0 from Cahill . to
'dointtoluo Saga is se
r, s;
5 5 8 8
3/18/85
-POTION CONTINUED
*Detailed planning (as a part of next phase of the Fremont/
South Bay Project) for interaadel statiops serving LRT/BART
in farm Springs or Milpitas and LRT/Ca1 train in Mt. View 'or
Sunnyval e;.
Recommendation 5 - Feeder/distribution systems are critical to the
success of the rail projects end should he given top priority.
The following projects should proceed:
*Development of a specific feeder/distribution plan for. the
Guadale►e Corridor LRT, with emphasis in the Berth First
Street and Great America area,
*Farther stray (In the next phase of Transportation 2000) of
the need for modified or expanded his service irr support Of
the pl alined rail prejecis.
Recommendation i - Supportive land use policies .are-- critical to
the success of the planned transportation systems, just es an
effective transportation plan is critical to a sec:cessful dev.elop-
neet plea. • The Covet, and the cities should work more closely
together to ensure that future land use and transportation deci-
sisna are linked and compatible. As a step in that direction„ the
Trsasportatlan 2000 Steering Coaerittee, _ 1n Phase 2 of the -project,
should join with other commeni ty leaders to persue this issue fur-
ther, leading to a plan of action;
Recommendation 7 --Ike second phase •f Transportation 2000 should
proceed in order to complete the comprehensive Year 2000 transpor-
tation plan Among the elements to .be addressed =are the financing
of the- pl aA,= bas fleet size and service plans for corridors other
then those designated ?Or- rail and identification of additional
highway needs. In the second phase, four system eptlons shoal d be
eYa1 Gated in. detail:
* Rail emphasis
* ems emphasis
* Rs1 arced bus/ra11/TMS. emphasis
* Nighwa,y/TMS emphasis
Particular attentls* should be given in Phase 2 to the land ese
and orowth implications and trade-offs asseci.sted with ,the trans-
psrtatlsn system eptls,es. .
Counc ileeadber Witherspoon agreed wi th all of the recommendations
except for a reservation about No. 1, where commuter lanes were
mentioned. She observed them in Mann County and she was not con-
vinced they were the solution especially where there was. con-
strained room for the highway. She believed it was.a minor point,
and she was happy to support the recommendation.
Counc ilmember Sutori us emphasized Counc ileember Bechtel' s commen-
dation to staff because it was the staffevaluation end ._ei abor'ai-
t1on that helped him with the matter. He hoped he interpreted the
motion correctly that Council would be sending more than Just . a
statement that it supported the Transportation 2000 recommendation
and that the report formed the basis for the response in that
regard.
Councilmeeber Bechtel , Chairman of the. Intergovernmental Council
(IGC) of Santa Clara County, advised that last Thursday evening,
IGC also supported the Transportation 2000 study recommendations
with a few minor: modifications. One modification stressed that
the Fremont/SouthBay corridor and the 0.- S. 101 corridor were of
equal, importance and inserted the words essentially saying that
those corridors that were of equal importance, . etc. It also
stressed thatthe next phase of the work would need to go beyond
5 5 8 9
3/18/85
the year 2000, and that the name be changed to Transportation 2020
or something el se because further types of pl arming needed to go
beyond the year 2900.
Co unc 11 mini ber iloo11'ey said reg ard,ing rec oral etId a,tlo n , No. 1, her
original" idea wa . to suggest that Counc i5 emphasize sits support
for recommendation No. 1, particul arty the commuter lanes 'oh High-
weY; 101. She asked the record ,to. reflect that she favored . the
prepo set
Counc ilmember Fl etcher asked about the modif#Cations Made by the
IOC, ,She was concerned that the 101 ;corridor was listed under the
l:remdnt/ South 'Bay, doi1ridor when - the 'study _showed that the 101 cor-
ridor was le greatest travel demand,`
Aficiif#Wi NT: . ceeec ilaaember Fletcher s®ved ._ second.$ by, Bechtel
to , creed `reco* u iditten No. '.3,aa re; 'I e t i t .0 cif - st,'eSsed the
e �a ity of tae` 101 Corridor iith the trele /South day Cor-
rider. f
1ED ENT PASSED, as nireousl! ;;'
Mayor -Levy agreed with Coude it ember' Wool 1 ey th,a't the use of com-
muter lames* should proceed as` expeditiously and be' as widespread
as possible. Further, far` more e+neke sis ehoul de be given to the
transportations systems anagemert, actions. He 'believed that in
all of the leterest In 'developing hardwares and stateeofethe-act
transportation systems, they forgot they; had an'.autornobil'e distri-
bution system and that the overwhelming number ofcomm ter S ire the
county .preferred to use their automobile. The ..Opportunity .ti._meke
each -tar carry:ode� extra pa, senger� ,pro_vided 'i1 c -h gre 'ter, oppo'rtd-
nat for reluc Lion in automotive .-traffic, than anything 'el se they
could do, Ile billeted commuter lanes and any' pther 'possible in-�
centfve to ,get peppl a out p`f then- own care and to r°ideehare
g :tl't
others would pay reat dividends -at the lowest pdsstb a cost.
Irene Sampson, League of Worsen Voters of Pala_ Al to, . said they
urged that Council approve the Trainsportatiarn'_2000, r _ogeenda-
tions, In a county which continued to grew, in popul atiOn and num-
ber of d obs, they needed to take 'a variety of 'actions' to ,dead with
the transportation probl ems. They were pleased' to see several
pr000sa�l s to reducer., dependence,,ern the ,autoaob11ee:incl gd,ing more
provisions ' fqr Iic, c:1 es, improvement' and' expar` s1oi) , of' eristing
rail and 'bus sere Ices, 'arid new call lines :in cOrri4ors w1 th .hig=h
est demand. The League of Women Voters agreed there must 'be
direct connections, between the systems and that good feeder dis-
tribution systems roust be provided in order to attract a maximum
number of riders._ One, of the most i portant recp -mendatio.ns ad-
dressed the need for supportive land. use pal is ies! The League of
iiomen voters also bel ieved that the , "cities and county.' must work
together to ensure that land use and transportation planning were
coordinated and compatible. The second phase of Transportation
2000 was especially important as it proposed to take a comprehen-
sive look 'at how everyone could work together on financing, in
providing the most serviceable, multi -modal teix and to making the
best land use and growth decisions for the area. They hoped -the.
recommendations would serve ,as first steps in en dogging process
of menagfrig,the coun,ty's transportation needs.
Bob Moss, 4010 0rme,- President of the Palo Al to Civic League, said
the .Cleolc, League took ,an active rose -in the -public Ipa�rticipat1on
Of, Tr la
ansporatlon 2000 last iovember and in January. The `Clvlc.
Leag ,general 1 y ,ag reed -with. the; recomwend ation s of ,1a off; .and, `sit
41 so ,bel.lev.ed that the 101 Corridor h be ould , at- least eOutval,'ent
toy, the-FrAelerlt/Seeth g;y : Corr.ld4r_.„The . Transportation 2.00,0 . re ,rt
stated ;that the ,101 Corrlder t more coot-effectiie ;and had a
greater poteetia1 for transit ridership. pl'us" it ues the most '0011 -
vetted in .the, ;aunty. Further* Council., received left _rs :frog the
Palo Al to Chic League `'( *With -were on fit a in the,_ -City 'C1 ark' s
office) regarding its evaluation of the recommendations.Me
emphasized that light roll should be`` extended beyond the propo ed
5 rs 9.0
3/18/85
terminus around Moffett Boul evard and Central Expressway in
Mountain View and at least to a transportation interface at
Showers and Central Expressway where they could transfer from
light rail to both the bus terminal and Cal Train, which he wanted
to see extended down either Showers or San Antonio to El Camino,
which was another natural terminus. That would create a light
rail -system that went from approximately El Camino and San Antonio
via Central Expressway and California Avenue up into the Moffett
business park area, and then from that part of Bayshore .Industrial
Park over to Lockheed. That would actually serve North County.
As presently structured, the light rail system would tax North
County, but we would receive no benefits. He agreed with the
objection of having to pay taxes county -wide to make up for the
bankrupt 1 and use decisions of cities like Santa Clara which were
groesly overloading parts of their business district. He sug-
gested that Council consider a resol ution that it would be a nega-
tive factor in funding transit in the county if a city were to
encourage, develop or put in place excessive development such as
what Santa Cl are was doing around Marriotts. He was appalled -that
all of the money to be spent for upgrading 101 would be wasted
because the highway would be plugged as a .result of Santa Cl are s
overdevelopment in the Great America. Parkway area.
AMENDMENT PASSED unanimously.
MOTION AS AMENDED D PASSED unanimously.
Councilmet ber Bechtel said the other main transportation study was
the .Peninsula Transit Alternatives Project (PENTAP) who was hold-
ing a series of meetings with members of their committee this
month and next.
NOTION* Coencilmember Bechtel moved, seconded by itenzel , that
staff be directed to attend as many of those public policy meet-
ings as possible and to report to Council on the direction of
these meetings.
Councilaaember Bechtel said the meetings would be fast moving and
she understood there were some people who had special advocacy
points of view as to a particul ar mode of transit and that it was
important for Palo Alto's staff to keep Council informed on wilat
was happening and when Council should be involved further.
Councilmember Fletcher clarified that the motion spoke to hearings
before PENTAP.
Councilaaember Bechtel said if City staff was al ready attending the
meetings, she would withdraw her motion.
Councilaaember Fletcher said staff did attend the meetings and the
next meeting we s cancelled .
Cowancflme ber Bechtel wanted to ensure that all the meetings, in-
cluding those of the smaller committees, were attended.
Chief Transportation Official Marvin averway said he attended
every meeting of the PENTAP policy board of aaleich he was aware.
The studies were going forward in parallel. The PENTAP study was
somewhat delayed because of the differences of opinion on the
policy board and, therefore, i t dropped behind . He understood
they were going to meet again that Friday.
Comaeilaesber Bechtel asked Mr. Jverway to report back to the
oncii on the meetings,
Comte 1lWNW' fetcher said there was _a technical_ advisory coawit-
tee tho i* ?tried at .eke outset of the study, Of which she was a
Somber. Staff alt. attended those meetings. A report vas given
at tie U** .af the _werl4l*b Neil the next PENTAP meeting wo ul d
release the ,lock/seat for public review, rah i c h would be the report
for Council
L e u s �-! w h w i was
Mr. Ovcrwa,� au .. . that report w�a avail , staff intended w
forward it to Council in the same manner it provided the report on
Transportation 2000.
NOTION WITHDRAWN
CANCELLATION OF MARCH 25',,1985 MEETING
Mayor Levy announced that the March 25, 1985 City Council meeting
was cancel ed.
ADJOURNMENT
Council adjourned at 10:45
ATTEST:
Assistant City clerk
,APPROVED:
ayor
r
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3/18/85