HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-04-01 City Council Summary Minutes1
1
CITY
COUNCIL
MINUTEs
Regular Meeting
April 1, 1985
C!T Y
OF
PALO
ALTO
ITEM PAGE
Oral Communications 5 5 9 4
Minutes of February 25, 1985 5 5 9 8
Minutes of March 4, 1985 5 5 9 8
Consent Calendar 5 5 9 8
Referral 5 5 9 8
Action 5 5 9 8
Item #1, Regional Water Quality Control Plant 5 5 9 8
Maintenance Building and Warehouse
Item #2, Gas Rate Decrease 5 5 9 8
Item #4, Request of Planning Commissioner Jean 5 5 9 9
McCown for Leave of Absence 9/1/85-1/1/86
Item #3, Policy and Procedures Committee Recom- 5 5 9 9
dation Re Stop Sign Update
Item #5, Parking Lot J Steel Fabrication Testing 5 6 0 6
Item #6, Amendment to 1984-85 Human Services
Contract with Senior Coordinating Council
Item #7, Request of Mayor Levy and Vice Mayor Cobb
Re Limitation on Speaking Time for Councilmembers
Adjournment to Closed Session re Employer/Employee
Relations: 9:35 p.m.
Final Adjournment: 10:45 p.m.
5 6 0 7
5 6 U 8
5 6 0 8
5 6 0 8
5 5 9 3
4101 /85
Regular Meeting
April 1, 1985
The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the
Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, at 7:35 p.m.
PRESENT: Bechtel, Cobb, Fletcher, Klein, Levy,
Renzel, Sutori us , Woolley
ABSENT: Witherspoon
Mayor Levy announced that a Special Study Session re Landfill and
Syx5ee Park Development was held in the Council Conference Room at
6:15 p.m.
Mayor Levy announced the need for a Closed Session re Employer/
Employee Relations to be held after the regular Cite Council meet-
ing.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
1. Leahannah Hunt, 550 North California, represented concerned
citizens about the Jordan Pool closure. They were concerned
that City staff apparently made the decision without public
input. The school district's population was compacting, but
not the City's as a whole, and they needed to maintain as many
recreational facilities as possible. Close to 300 signatures
were obtained before the public was informed by the media
about the possibility that the pool would not operate that
summer. Palo Alto could not afford to lose another pool if
they were to maintain the quality of life valued in Palo Alto.
Within the year, the . same citizens saw the Cubberley Pool
filled in with dirt. The concensus was that the Rinconada
Pool in the summer was overcrowded. Several families ex-
pressed concern about the many swimmers and the influx of non-
residents. Rinconada was heavily used in the winter by both
the masters and conditioning classes. In the middle of
January, 1985, adults in the conditioning class had to share
j lanes with as many as four people, which was exacerbated in
the summer. They requested Council help to maintain the qual-
ity of life in Palo Alto and that citizens be informed of
major changes in the use of recreational facilities before the
policies were enacted.
2. Lee. Spivack, 488 University Avenue, charged the Zoning
Administrator with dereliction of duty on March 18, 1985. The
Zoning Administrator called a hearing to discuss a relicensing
of the Varsity Theater and he stated in his letter of March
13, 1985, "a public hearing was held on the use permit on
February 28, the manager of the President Apartments, Todd
Lewis, attended the hearing and spoke on behalf of the manage-
ment and residents." . That was untrue, but after the last City
Council meeting, Mr. Lewis was hand delivered the letter of
March 13, 1985. The Zoning Administrator said it was my
assumption that Mr. Lewis, as the resident manager, had noti-
fied the tenants of the hearing. Mr. Spivack suggested that
an administrative officer holding an adversary hearing with
two conflicting parties was remiss in his legal obligation
when he pretended that an onerous representative represented
the tenants and tried to impress that the resident manager was
a tenant. ` He insisted that a hearing be held to determine the
correctness of his claim. If he was found to be wrong, he
would apologize. It was academic because for the past II
years, the Varsity Theater, with all the charges and police
documentation still got its license. He did not know what to
do. After 1I years of abuse, he had to pay $90 to appeal the
decision. Regarding the hotel under construction, the resi-
dents of the President ` Apar►tments were ' were not notified.
5 5 9 4
4/01/85
When a two-year project was undertaken on Cowper Street ten
feet adjacent to 36 apartments, the i easehoiders were in
jeopardy. common sense indicated they should be notified.
Upon Mayor Levy's advice that Mr. Spivack's five minutes
expired, Mr. Spivack requested that the record reflect his
objection. Further, that Mr. Brown wanted to hold the last
hearing without benefit of a verbatim recording and he refused
to continue the hearing until a recorder was obtained.
WELCOME ENSCHEDE VISITORS
Mayor Levy wel comed Joop and ' Truues' Eenl;,hoor.n, v i si tors from
Enschede, The Netherlands.
3. Michael Rota, 2071 Middlefield Road, bel ieved the Jordan Pool
should be saved because it was frequently used by many people.
If it closed, many people would have to use Rinconada Pool and
Paly Pool which were not usually available because of other
activities. Last year, Jordan Pool had lower rates than
Rinconada, and he bel ieved the lessons were better. As pool s,
the Winter Lodge, and schools and the playing fields were
1 ost, Palo Al to became 1 ess of a famil y pl ace.
4. Debbie Mytel s, President, PTA Council , 2824 Louis Road,
thanked Mayor Levy and the City Council for proclaiming April
D through 14 as "Child Abuse Awareness Wee.k.° The most recent
statistics from 1982 ► stated there were 1 .3 mil lion reported
cases of child abuse in the United States. The figures
included things 1 ike nonaccidental physical injury, sexual
assaul t, willful cruel ty, unjustifiable punishment, and negl i-
gent treatment of children. It went down to 3,000 cases per
day. Including unreported eeees, some experts believed there
were as many as 6.5 million children abused annually in the
United States. Local statistics for Santa Clara County found
that last year there were over 9,000 such cases. The PTA
Council was concerned that most abused children were abused by
parents who were themselves abused, and part of the problem
was a vicious circl e of poor parenting which repeated itsel f
many times. The PTA Council worked with school s and other
educational efforts in parent education. They expressed their
support for such City services as information and referral
which tied people into parental stress hotlines, where they
could call and get support before they beat children. They
expressed support for City programs such as the. Mid-Pelninsul a
Support Network, which provided care for children and women
who were battered in their homes. In the area of sexual
moi estation, it was found that in 85 percent of the cases
reported per day, children were mol ested by a friend or rel a-
tive. A new tactic in prevention measures had to be taken
with the children. The new programs in prevention taught
children to say " no ," and to tell trusted adults; also, that
they could refuse any kind of unwelcome touches or anything
they felt uncomfortable with. The other thrust of work with
children in prevention was in the area of telling children
that they needed to tell people. that someone was bothering
theme They needed to know there. were adults with whom they
could._talk. They expressed. thanks to the City for the pro-
grams being carried out -by the Pol ice Department, with School
Resource Officers who went into: the schools and talked to kids
in the classes and helped them to understad. that they could
say "no,' and that they •need to tell other people., They
appreciated the work being. done by the City and !moped that
when funding etc. came up, that the Council would' keep its
mind open to the -needs of children in the community as well as
throughout the country.
5. Mike Lee, 164 Hawthorne, said it was obvious to him how criti-
cal Downtown Park North was to the future of the :neighborhood.
As the park went, so went the neighborhood. It must be a
totallyconservationist approach, fully historically based, a
zone of existing green tranquility or they would become °condo
5 5 9 5
4 /01 /65.
,ours try" forever . The c a stro phe was supposed to occur at the
end of May when thing s were better resolved , but it was ha p-
pening on April 4. The neighborhood must put its sanity
first. An up-to-date survey was never done of the existing
trees and Christine's 62 -year Wi steria vine was a symbolic
ex am pl e.
6. Tom Reid, 151 Waverl ey, said that in a month or two, the City
would be in construction of the park they wanted for so long.
He urged that Council not fal ter in following the path the
City had laid out for itsel f. Mr°. Lee circulated some `plans
and had some ideas about saving some of the trees, but he
pointed out that the current process allowed for most of his
good ideas to be considered in due course. The concept pl an
for the park, which was approved, conserved the majority of
the large trees. The key thing was to demolish the houses
that were vacant and boarded up to get the lay of the land, to
contract with a landscape architecture firm, be able to do the
final design, and get on with the job the City pl awned so many
years ago.
7. John Frederick, 421 Everett, supported Mr. Lee' s plea to save
the Wisteria at 235 Waverley. The bulldozers were scheduled
to roll on April 4, and he previously expressed his reserva-
tions as to .the excl usivity of the planning process; namely,
proper ads not being placed in the paper and insufficient
public notice given to all members of the neighborhood who
wanted to participate. He spoke to the issue of the EIR,
namely, whether an accurate survey was done of the existing
flora and he spoke to the issue of preserving the house at 421
Everett, something which the City resisted all along. He
requested that Council consider whether it wanted to see the
62 -year Wi steria, pl ant go or whether to proceed with the
demolition of the three houses that would not involve plant
life of that type and reassess the Wisteria at the April 15
community pl anning meeting. He reminded the Counc 11 that some
of the issues they believed were dead were still alive and
deserved attention.
8. James Morley, 160 Waverley, asked regarding Downtown Park
North, that Council reconsider the sunken bowl design and be
open to a slat park which was cheaper and offered fewer secu-
rity problems, and see to it that all possible trees were
saved and n<, earth was moved until the site coul d be reviewed
with most of the houses removed. He wanted to see the City
Arborist inspect the Wisteria plant and devise a way to use
the plant in a park arbor.
9. Nori Hall , 488 University, President Apartments, objected to
the Zoning Administrator's des ision of March 15. They be-
lieved the New Varsity should not be permitted to have music
of any kind at any time. They objected to both interior and
exterior musical performances. The noise level in the epee t-
een ts was invasive and offensive. It interfered with their
daily 1 Ives, their conversations, their abil sty to enjoy music
on their own stereos and their sleep. Many objected to the
musical performances and the antics of people who attended
the simply because staying up to 11:00 p.m. to outwait the
onslaught meant staying up past their bedtimes. Others ob-
jected to the noise because it interfered with overall peace-
ful enjoyment of their premises. Several tenants frequently
monitored the noise by; calling the Police Department when
performances continued past legal ` hours. Lieutenant Louie
could attest to their vigilence. They .found, that while the
Police responded quickly, being forced to play watchdog was
irritating and debilitating. They were now barraged ,with con-
struction noises throughout the day and Many needed to sleep.
Several were forced to nap in the lobby, the Senior Center or
"the Library. The town of Woodside revoked the Hitchrack
Tavern's Use Permit on tilareh 5 when neighbors complained about
5 5 9 6
4/01/85
noise and rowdy behavior. The residents expected leaders of
Palo Alto to respond in an equally compassionate manner to
their request. Many lived at the President Apartments for
years and planned to stay. They all wanted to take full
advantage of Palo Alto's ambiance and downtown location with-
out interference by New Varsity activities.
10. Tony Badger, 381 Hawthorne, believed the City should get on
with Downtown Park North. He agreed with the idea of taking a
look at the matter after the' area was cleared and save as much
as possible. If possible, they should clear out the houses,
save the Wisteria vine, and take one last look, with the
architect, to see if the plans made sense.
11. Sam Sporck, 4089 Laguna, said a party was going on marking the
end of the ice skating season at the YMCA Winter Lodge. Th.e
party would be the last because it also marked the end of 27
years of recreational ice skating at the address on
Middlefield Road. It was due to the good offices of the City,
as well as the Palo Al to YMCA and the efforts and contribu-
tions of many individuals that skating did not end two years
ago. He thanked the City for ' its assistance. The end was
there for the Minter Lodge --.it fell victim to economic circum-
stances and he regretted its passing. For more than 25 years,
people of all ages and all levels of skill had a lot of fun at
the Winter Club and the Winter Lodge. As a parent, he was
g rate.ful to .the rink because there were few, if any, places in
the City that provided a more Wholesome atmosphere for young
people. Palo Alto was well served by the ice rink and the
City would be diminished by its absence. He urged support of
efforts to reestablish recreational skating in the City.
12. Franklin Bradley, 337.3 Cork Oak Way, was on assignment from
his government class to spend two hours at a City Council
meeting. Since he was there, he decided to use the oppor-
tunity to speak about SAFE RIDE, which was a program run by
the - Red Cross that - signed up teenagers who would- confi-
dentially drive other teenagers home. who were under the influ-
ence of drugs or alcohol. It helped to keep drunk drivers off
the road. The teenagers were at the Red Cross building with
an adult supervisor at night. The problem was that it was a
small program, and there was not a lot of support from any
major branches of local government besides the school s.
Thousands of people were killed every year by drunk drivers,
but something could be done.
Mayor Levy believed the SAFE RIDE program was worthwhile.
13. Lynn Chi apel l a, 831 . Colorado, was concerned about 24 -hour
booze being sold ein Midtown, 24 -hour businesses going up in
` Midtown, 24 -hour recreational drugs being encouraged in
Midtown and easily available in the park and behind several
well-known businesses. " She wanted to see the 24 -hear business
limit not allowed in the neighborhood commercial area. She
u) ,derstood a new video store would open in the area and was
zoncerned that it would be °a 24 -hour business or run until
12:00 or 1:00 a.m. She was concerned that traffic -went up
from less than 1,000 estimated trips in 1974 to over 3,000 and
.sometimes: 4,000 trips., dependent upon What was going on in the
area She was concerned that developers in the : area cut down
all the trees, and -she saw no recourse taken. She requested
consideration for Midtown e
MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 25 1985
Counc ilmember Woolley submitted the following correction:
Paje 5508, second . to the last paragraph, change the second sen-
ten
ce read: "She asked that staff explain to the public why
the City did not pay the cost of the hookup between the under -
grounding part grid the homeowner' s house."
MOTION: Couicilrember Bechtel moored, seconded by Cobl`, approval
of the Minutes of February 25, 1985 as corrected.
NOTION PASSED unanimeesl y, Witherspoon absent.
MINUTES OF MARCH 4 , 1985
Councilmember Sutarius said he had difficul ty considering the
minutes of March 4 because there were missing pages.
NOTION TO CONTIiiOE: Councilmember Sutoriaas leaved, seconded by
Levy, to continue approve of minutes of March 4: 1985 until April
8, 1985 City Council meeting.
MOTION PASSED unanimously, Witherspoon absent.
CONSENT CALENDAR
NOTION: Councilmember Klein moved, seconded by 5echtel , approv-
al of the Consent Calendar.
Referral
None
Action
ITEM #1 , REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL PLANT MAINTENANCE BUILDING
WXREHOlJSt Dri I
Sta ff recommends that Council
1. Award a contract in the amount of $814,391 to Page Construc-
tion Company for the constructlon of the Water Qual ity Control
Pl ant Maintenance and Warehouse Fac ll ity; and
2. Authorize staff to execute additional change oriers to the
contract, if necessary, not to exceed ten percent (81,440) of
the original contract amount.
AWARD OF CAMSTROC TIAN CONTRACT
Page Construction Company
ITEM #2 GAS RATE DECREASE (UT I 1-1) (CM R: 237: 5 )
Staff recommends that Council adopt the resolution confirming the
actions take:: by the City Manager - to effect gas rate changes on
November 19, 1984 and January 1, 1985, resul ting in a gas revenue
decrease of approximately five (S) percent.
REMOTION 6364 entitled °RESOLOTION OF TNE CPUNCIL OF
T! cflr or PALO ALTO AMENDING UTILITY` RATE SCNRROLES
G-1 An G -E0 AS A PESILI OF TRACKING PM GAS RATE
C NA NGES"
M T Ill PASSED seQn imeasl .f , $i thlr spool obsemt A
BRING FORWARD ITEM 44, REQUEST OF JEAN McCOWN FOR LEAVE (W ABSENCE'
AHEAD OF ITFW 43
MOTION: Mayor Levy moved„ seconded by !teazel, to bring forward
Item 04, Request of Jean McCown for Leave of Absence.
MOTION PASSED unanimously, Witherspoon absent.
ITEM 44 , REQUEST OF PLANNING COMMISSIONER JEAN McCOWN FOR LEAVE OF
ABSE (CE T/178MOTION: Vice Mayor Cobb moved, seconded . by Klein, that the
relvost of Jean McCown be granted and se temporary appointment be
made to her position, bet ask the City Clerk be directed to accept
applications for one temporary pesi tioa only from August 1, 1905
to March 20, MI6.
Councilmember Bechtel said Commissioner Chandler was granted a
1 eave of absence from mid -September to mid -March, and Commissioner
McCown' s request was approximately one month less. She asked
about the rational e for only one temporary appointment for the two
positions. She bel ieved Counc it decided to have a teniporary
appointment when it discussed Commissioner Chandler's leave.
Vice Mayor Cobb did not believe it was necessary to have both
positions filled. As a former Planning Commissioner, he bel ieved
the Commission could work nicely with one less person. Further,
Commissioner Chandler' s was the longer absence of the two, and if
one was going to be filled by appointment, it seemed logical to
fill Commissioner Chandler's. During the- period' when the Commis-
sioners were on leave, there was the holiday period in December
when little was done. Me bet ieved Commissioner McCown' s absence
was relatively short in practical terms, and he did not bel ieve it
was appropr=iate to have two appointed Commissioners at one time.
Mayor Levy said Commissioner McCown' s leave began on August 1, and
Commissioner Chandler' s on September 15. He asked if it would be
appropriate for Council to make its temporary appointment to begin
on August 1 and extend through March 20; which was when `Comniis-
si oner Chandl er' s leave" expired .
Vice Mayor Cobb had no problem with the temporary_ appointment
being from August 1 through March 20. Hi s only 'argument was that
one temporary appointment was sufficient.
MOTION . PASSED unanimously, Witherspoon absent.
Comm issioner'McCown thanked the Council for its action.
ITEM f3, POLICY AND PROCEDURES (P&P) COMMITTEE RECOMMFNDATION RE
ST 'P II GN SYSTEM" U IfAT. (PIA 49T( :244:5)
Counc ileember Woolley said that out of the 24 .locations presented,
The P&P Committee suggested that two locations have stop signs,
had other suggestions for three, and suggested that Council might
want to consider one. Regarding Eathibit No. 7, Country Club Drive
at Alexis, the P&P Committee recommended that the stop sign be
installed although staff did not make the same recommendation.
Staff did not believe the location followed the 61 guard and. go"
pattern throughout the City because Country Club Drive was a cul-
de-sac, but the P&P Committee said that since the neighbors on the
cul-de-sac wanted to have the stop sign, and the stop sign would
be on a local street, and Alexis Drive was a collector street, it
would not be a problem. Regarding Exhibit No. i1 California
Avenue at Park Boulevard adjacent to the fountain area at the end
d
of California Avenue, staff and the P&P Committee recommended a
stop .sign on California at Park., Regarding Exhibit 416, Webster
at Forest, Forest currently -had stop signs and the request was
that Webster also have stop signs. In 1983, red curbs were
painted and "no parking'' signs were installed to improve the
5 5 9 9
4/01/85
visibility, and since that time, there had been no related motor
vehicle accidents, but there were two bike accidents. The PAP
Comma :tee had a split vote on the recOmmendations, but unanimously
recommended to review the intersection again next year. Regarding
Exhibit 22, Everett/Byron/ Webster, the request was to remove the
stop signs on Everett at Byron and to add stop signs on Everett at
Webster. When the neighborhood representative was consulted, he
indicated that the neighborhood preferred to keep the status quo.
Staff recommended the painting of one set of curbs at the corner
of Everett and Webster, and the. P&P Committee recommended that all
four sets of curbs be painted- at that corner. Regarding Exhibit
24, Amaranta at Cereza, the Barron Park Neighborhood Park Associa-
tion requested the removal of three stop signs at that location.
The PTA did not approve the removal of the stop signs as indicated
in its letter, dated March 20, 1985 (which was on file in the City
C1 erk' s office) , and the P&P Committee was interested in obtaining
further reaction from the PTA. Staff recommended that they be
allowed to work with both groups and report back next year on the
intersection. Regarding Exhibit 6, Parkside at Scripps, when Mr.
Mecham attended the meeting, he was asked whether his request was
discussed with the Greenmeadow Neighborhood Association, but it
had not been discussed. The Greenmeadow Neighborhood Association
submitted a letter to the. City on March 20, 1985 (which was on
file in the City Ci erk' s office) , and she suggested that Council
might want to consider the adoption of that stop sign.
NOTION: Conncilaember Itoolley moved on behalf of the Policy and
Procedures Committee regarding Stop Sign System Update the follow-
ing:
1 e The installation of a stop sign at the intersection of Forest
and Mobster be reviewed again et the next anneal stop sign
review;
2. Painting •f red curbs on Webster as well as Eierett; and
3. Adept the staff recommendation that only one change be made to
the existing 'Step Sign Intersection Plate which involves the
installation of two stop signs at the intersection of
California Avenge and Park Boulevard, with the exception of
Exhibit #1, changing the staff recommendation from not
iastel l lag a stop sign et the intersection of Ceentry Club
Drive at Alexis to installing a stop sign.
RESOLUTION 6366 entitled 'RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIr.. OF
willrriTr o ALTO ANiENOIPiG THE CITTWIOE STOP INTER-
SECTION SYSTEM NAP'
Vice Mayor Cobb clarified that the nature of the motion was such
that for items like Exhibit 18, Meadow at Ross, the stop sign
would remain in effect.
Transportation Engineer Ashok Aggarwal said that was correct.
Janet St. Peter, 2139 Nigh Street, supported the recommendation.
that stop signs be placed at California and Park.
Bob Moss, 4010 Orme, said regarding Exhibit 24, Amaranta and
Cereza, there was no justification for the sign. When the Barron
Park Traffic Committee was established in. 1978, they asked City
staff about the sign,. Staff believed it discouraged through traf-
fic from going along -Aiaran to Subsequent to that, the Barron
Park Traffic Committee did a license plate survey and . established
that less than five percent of the traffic along Amirante was
through traffic. The step sign hied no effect ,in _ detering traffic
because those who used the street had to use it. As long as the
stop sign existed, it tended to deflect traffic off of Marmite
through Georgia, through the school parking' ° lot, and down Orme.
Orme was ` the street that carried the school traffic. The
5 6 0 0
4/01/85
installation of the sign on Amaranta at Cereza was a hazard to
children going to school. The PTA counted children going down
those streets and during the rush hour there were only 13 children
on the street. He assured the Council that more like 70 or 80
children, plus the school buses went down Orme. If the stop sign
remained, people were deflected from Amaranta to Orme. The Barron
Park Association was adamant that stop signs in Barron Park were
useless except for those intersections with an expressed, demon-
strated need for traffic safety. They requested that the stop
sign be removed. Regarding Exhibit B-19, Wilkie and Meadow, the
actual observation on -site did not justify the retention of the
stop sign. Staff reported a 60 -second delay during the morning
rush hour at that stop sign. Meadow was a collector street which
carried an excess of 9,000 cars per day. According to the State
Traffic Warrants, a collector street with that high volume of
traffic should not he blocked by stop signs. There was no safety
reason for blocking the street with a stop sign, and he bel ieved
it was dangerous because traffic backed up from Meadow and Wilkie
all the way to El Camino Way, especially -during - rainy days.
Regarding Exhibit 18, Meadow and Rc.ss, he believed it was a mis-
take to install the stop sign in the first place. fie hoped
Council would return to rational traffic planning and eliminate
the .three stop signs which did nothing to benefit the community.
He pointed out that Councilmember Fletcher referred to the stop
sign study in 1976, which said the average speed through a stop
sign in Palo Alto was 8.75 miles per hour, which meant that if
half the cars stopped, half the cars went through at 17 miles per
hour. He observed that not even ha i f the cars stopped. Since
1976, with the proliferation of stop signs, the observation of
them became much worse. He suggested a limit on stop signs, and
removal of the ones which did no good.
Will Beckett, 4189 Baker Avenue, Chaired the Barron Park Traffic
Committee, and clarified that they requested removal of two stop
signs at Amaranta at Cereza--not three. It was important to note
that the PTA letter indicated itreally was not a school crossing
as indicated in the F&P Committee, and he agreed the vegetation at
the corners of the intersections were too tall and should be
trimmed. He believed .after the trimming, the stop sign could be
removed. It was importaet to consider that Amaranta at Cereza was
a collector street, not a school crossing, and if the neighborhood
requested a stop sign installation now, the staff recommendation
would be no. The short cut eireated by the stop sign was us ta l l y
most evident with the sports car set who liked to use the "S
curve on Georgia to go through the school parking lot and go up
Orme. He recommended , that Council .request the vegetation be
trimmed at the two intersections and the stop sign be removed.
Penny Rau, 4211 Pomona Avenue, rep;'esented Juana Briones, PTA, and
said when she heard about the rsemovai of the stop sign, she
believed it was important to look at the people who lived between
Los Robles and Georgia and east of Aaranta to find out what those
people felt about the removal. Everyone she tal ked to believed
removal of the stop sign would create an unsafe situation for
their children. She received a letter frog. Will Beckett concern-
ing the stop sign and why he wanted it removed. She went to the
stop sign location on _ a' school morning at 7:30 and stayed
until .8:30 a.m. and Charmaine Moyer, Chairperson of the PTA
Traffic Safety Committee went a few days later during the noon
hour.. When she went there, about 166 stopped at the stop sign and
had ` to slide through the stop signs to see oncoming traffic. If,
the vegetation were removed, she asked bow it would remain trimmed
and maintained because it was dangerous, perticul arty for the
people on Cereza. She agreed the stop sign should be removed
after the v eg a to t i o n was r em ov ed .
Councilmember Renze1 asked about Ms. Rau` s impression of the
interaction of .the school Children with the cars at the, stop
signs.
5 6 0 1
4/01 /8S
Ms. Rau said the morning she observed the intersection, it was
rainy and there were only three children, and he bicyclists were
all adults. There were no children going down Cereza, all were
from Amaranta. Regardless of the number of school children, she
would not feel safe pulling out of Cereza with . the vegetation.
Even with the stop sign in place, the corner was not safe.
Doug Mecham, 230 Parkside, represented the Greenmeadow Association
regarding the three-way stop at Parkside and Scripps, Exhibit 6.
The objective was to minimize the risk of accident and possible
death. Parkside Drive acted as a feeder to Scripps and the many
homes in the area, but often motorists sped through and around the
corner. In the past six months, there were a couple of near -
misses, but it was only one portion of the traffic problem in the
area. There needed to be a three-way stop. There were many
children in the area and the stop sign met . the "guard and go"
policy and would help protect residents who backed out of their
driveway. With a stop sign, people would pay some attention. The
traffic volume did not seem sufficient to warrant stop signs, but
it was interesting to note that on Briarwood there was far less
traffic and a couple of stop signs a short distance from each
other. There was a stop sign a block away at Parkside and Nel son
which met the "guard and go" policy, but did not lnfl uence the
traffic from Alma through Parkside onto Scripps. In terms of
adequate gaps :for children to cross, where children were involved,
simple gaps in the traffic pattern were insufficient. The
Greenmeadow Association believed the driver of a car needed to be
made more aware of children crossing. He recommended the City
consider installing the three-way stop.
Mayor Levy asked for clarification that Mr. Mecham represented the
Neighborhood Association and not merely the Board of Directors of
the Club.
Mr. Mecham said he represented the Board of Directors,but he made
a presentation to the Board. He also sought the opinion of many
neighbors and could provide a list of names if Council desired.
His presentation was made to neighbors down Scripps itself, as
well as up and down Parkside.
Mayor Levy clarified that Mr. Mecham represented the Board of
Directors of the Swim Club.
Mr. Mecham said yes.
Frank Bradley, 3373 Cork Oak Way, was on assignment from his gov-
ernment class, and spoke about the stop signs in the Barron Park
area. Regarding the stop sign. at East Meadow and Ross Road, he
believed that if his car was within 18 inches from the curb, it
was legally parked. Someone who ran into it was in the wrong.
That particular intersection was frequently used by teenagers
going home late at night trying to beat their curfew, which meant
they drove fast. The problem persisted and the residents were
constantly .annoyed. He did not believe the stop sign was a mis-
take, because it was a dangerous intersection. Now that .a stop
sign existed, cars stopped and people on bicycles could al so
cross He commended the Council .for putting in the stop sign.
„�
Councilmesber Bechtel asked. about the intersection at Amaranta at
Cereza and the possibility of pruning back the shrubbery. She
believed the City had a four -foot -height limit at intersections,
and wondered how that might impact a stop sign decision.
Mr. Aggarwal said if the bushes could be trimmed at the location,
the need for a stop sign would not be as it was. There was a
section in the Palo Alto Municipal Code which gave the City autho-
rity to ask the property owners to trim the bushes, but that was
only at uncontrolled intersections --not at controlled inter-
sections- and ft arenta at Cereza wtats a controlled intersection.
5 6 0 2
4 /01 /85
Cnuncilmember Bechtel clarifi u that s f top sign were not
there, it would be considered an uncontrolled intersection.
Mr. Aggarwal said yes.
Councilmember Bechtel said it might be better to remove the stop
sign and then ask the property owner to remove some of the vegeta-
tion.
Mr. Aggarwal said if the stop signs were removed, it became an
uncontrolled intersection, and in that event, staff could approach
the property owner.
AMENDMENT: CooncilmeMber Bechtel moved, seconded by Cobb, re
Exhibit H. to add the stop signs (three-way) on Parkside at
Scripps.
Vice Mayor Cobb was an associate member of the Greenmeadow
Association for a long time and there were periods of time when it
was a quiet area, but there were al so periods of time when the
pool wa s, in heavy use and there were many kids and adults using
the intersection in all direc tions. As pointed out by the letter
from the Greenmeadow Association (which was on file in the City
Cl erk' s office) , there were a, growing number of chi i dren in the
area and they pool got heavy use. He believed it was appropriate
to add the stop sign.
AMENDMENT PASSED unanimously, Witherspoon absent.
Gouncilmember Renzel clarified that there could be no stop signs
in order to reque st trimming of the shrubbery.
Mr. Aggarwal said if two of the three stop signs were removed, it
became an uncontrolled intersection.
Councilmember Bechtel remembered when the stop sign at Amaranta
at Cereza was put in and the idea was to discourage through traf-
fic from going down George and Orme. There was not -much traffic
on Marmite, but she was concerned that school children be pro-
tected. If they were less protected with the existing situation,
she believed Council should find that out, The Committee recom-
mendation was that staff and the PTA continue :to work and evaluate
the situation until 1986, which she believed was tc.e long to
wait.
AMENDMENT: Councilaemrber Bechtel: moved, seconded by DielleyF, to
coating* d1scessieo of the Aoaraeta/Csreaa stop sign to folly
evalsoate the alternatives and to rotor% to Couch within three
months.
Counc 11member ' Wool ey suggested that when staff reviewed the
intersection, possibly moving the bar forward on Cereza so that
the car would go further forward before stopping, might help to
improve visibil ity. e
Co.uncilmeaober Fletcher said the initial request for a stop sign
had to do with speeding She had problems relying on a private
property owner to keep the shrubbery trimmed. It teas something
that could be cumbersome to enforce and there could be long time
i apses between the time the request los made and the ac tua1: trim-
ming. She saw no harm. in the stop sign and was not convinced
there was more danger for cars to go on a more circuitous route-
at 1 east they were not going 50 mil es per hour.
Coonc iletember Klein 74as concerned about studying what seemed to be
a straightforward,nerrowly confined probl es He asked what addi-
tional information might be I ear_;ed
Councilmember Bechtel understood from the to s►ti ion y that there
were approximately three children that rent one way, but she did
not hear a count on how many children went the other way. Per-
haps, the chain that used to be up at the school could be put back
up to alleviate the problem and make it safer for the children.
She bel ieved additional information could be obtained.
Councilmember Klein was not persuaded and believed the issue was
clear. He could see arguments on both sides, but could not see
creating a mountain out of a mol ehill . He bel ieved staff had suf-
ficient things to study and did not think they should be burdened
with a straightforward question. He would not support the amend-
ment.
Councilmember Sutorius rev awed the location prior to the meeting
and believed the Barron Park Association recommendation was under-
standabl e. He appreciated the vegetation probl en and wished he
had more time at the site in order to contact the resident whose
house was at the corner and find out their reaction to improving
the safety and visibility by trimming their shrubbery. He. was
curious whether the property owner was a member of the. Barron Park
Association and whether any contact was made with that individual
to see whether they would improve the safety by trimming the vege-
tation. He- did not bel ieve it was a necessary -stop sign and was
torn between the amendment and Councilmember Kl ein' s concern about
another review via the continuation. He would vote against the
amendment.
Counc ilmember. Renzel heard the PTA say that regardl ess of whether
the stop signs were removed, an important safety factor was the
vegetation< It might well be that the owner of the property was
unaware of the probl ems the vegetation caused, and as part of
Councilmember Bechtel' s amendment, the owner might be willing to
vol untarily lower the vegetation, and then the Counc 11 could eval-
uate the stop sign issue by itsel f with the visibil ity corrected
and some dry weather counts of the use of the intersection. There
were 160 cars counted and how many of those tran sported school
children was uncl ear. She bel ieved that would be important infor-
mation because the route people used in dry weather might be
different.
Mayor Levy supported the amendment to review the matter within
three months. At the same time, he requested that staff review
that element of the Municipal Code which sounded like a Catch -22
to him, that the City could not trim unless it was an uncontrolled
intersection. Yet, untrimmed bushes at an intersection forced the
City to put in stop signs for safety reasons. He was not clear
about the problem and suggested the Municipal Code needed a review
in that regard. He believed the first order of business .would be
trimming the shrubbery, and that for public safety, there should
be some way for the City to do the trimming without it being left
to the discretion of the property owner. He bel ieved the Munici-
pal Code should, if possible, provide the opportunity to do that.
He requested that the Municipal Code be reviewed within the next
three months, and at that time, his incl inatfon would be to remove
the stop signs.
Mr. Aggarwal said at the controlled intersection, the Director of
Transportation had the authority to announce an intersection as
being hazardous and under those situations, the City could go
ahead and trim the bushes.
Mayor Levy assumed that if .Council acted to postpone further dis-
cussion of the matter for three months., during that period, staff
could see if the intersection was hazardous and ask the homeowner
to tr im the bushes.
Mr. Aggarwal said yes.
5 6.0 4
4/01 /85
AMENDMENT FAILED by a vote of 4-=4, Fletcher, Klein, Cobb,
Sutorlus voting "no," Witherspoon absent.
AMENDMENT: Councllmember Satorlus moved„ seconded by Cobb, re
Exhibit #24, to remove the two stop silos en Amirante at Cereza
and in the process of removing, appropriate steps be taken to work
with the property owner to improve safety by improving visibility,
and ask the Barron Park Traffic Committee to assist.
•
Councilmetber Fletcher asked for clarification that the City had
the right to trim the bushes or only to demand that the property
owner trim the bushes.
Mr. Aggarwal said the City generally tried to work with the prop-
erty owners to get the bushes trimmed.
Councllmember Fl etcher said it would probably be a period of
months before action was taken if the property owner did not
respond sooner.
Mr. Aggarwal said initially, the City gave a 15 -day notice, which
was more or less a friendly notice, and then there was another
15 -day notice to say if it was not done, the City would take legal
action. The City never had to take legal action.
Councilnerber Fletcher said the legal action would probably take
six months. She was concerned about the process, especially since
there was a goad chance that the property owner was an absentee
one and that the property was .a rental. She was not convinced
that Council was doing the safest thing for the neighborhood. She
would notsupport the amendment.
Co unc ilmember Bechtel said she wal ked the neighborhood last
October with a member of the Barron Park Association, and noted
that the distance between Los Robles and Mayfield was about one-
hal f mile at the most and there were three stop signs on Amaranta
in that short distance. She preferred more time and exploration,
but the other alternative was to retain the status quo. She
bel ieved the City had too many stop signs, and would just as soon
there be fewer.
AMENDMENT PASSED by a vote of 6.2, Fletcher, Wenzel voting "eo,"
Witherspoon absent.
Councilmember Renzel understood that staff would continue to moni-
tor Webster at Forest and have it on next year's 1 ist for reeval u-
artion and that the red curb markings would be installed without
any fur ther ac tion by the Counc 11 .
Fir. Aggarwal said that was correct.
Councilmeaober Sutorius said in the event the owner of a 1 ate model
Mercury Cougar, License No. 775 UNS, was listening, that person
was one of the reasons the peopl e at Webster and Forest were con-
cerned. That person per_si sted in parking in a red marked zone,
and he hoped that would not be happening the next, time Council
r=eviewed the matter. Regarding the curb parting at the Everett/
Byron/Webster comps ex , the painting of the, curbs aims r-eferevited at
25 or 30 feet which was apt to use up many parking spaces f f the
painting was that long. Already at the intersection of Everett
end Webster, was a fire plug on one corner and, he judged that the
red :painted zone associated with that fire plug was somewhere
between 17 and 19 feet, ° which seemed sufficient in terms of length
to improve the visibility, particularly if the recommendation was
that there was going to be red painting at all four 1 ocaations.
The potential effect was` that three parking spaces would be Post.
MOTION AS. AMENDED PASSED emanimoesly,,, Witherspoon absent.
ITEM #5, PARKING LOT J STEEL FABRICATION TESTING (PLA 4-6)
( CMR: 211 .-s
Director of Public Works David Adams said staff requested that
Council ratify the performance of the testing laboratory for the
extra work they did and authorize staff to make payment for that
work.
Counc ilmernber Klein asked if the additional testing and work had
anything to do with the delays they were reading about in the
papers.
Mr. Adams said no.
Counc ilmember K1 ein esked about the del ays .
Mr. Adams said the delays were principally associated with the
anchor bolt probl erns. There were some anchor bol is that were bent
and had to be replaced, and in the process of looking into that,
they discovered that the bolts did not meet specifications and
many of them had to be removed.
Councilmember Klein clarified that the inspection services being
discussed had nothing to do with the anchor bol ts.
'Mr. Adams said no. They were discussing the fabrication inspec-
tion services in Reno, Nevada.
City Manager 8111 Zaner said regarding the recent newspaper
accounts and the del ay of the project, staff had full time inspec-
tors on the job. The contractor's work was not the most exempl cry
and the City' s inspectors were carefully documenting the: job, and
the City was keeping in contact with its attorneys. Most of the
delays were caused by the contractor and his subcontractors and
not by City official s.
Mayor Levy asked if Council could be confident that the City would
not have to redo Parking Lot J as it did the City Hall.
Mr. Zaner said that was the objective.
Counc it member Bechtel presumed the City` s contract with the con-
tractor was such that if there were delays, the City would get
some offsetting money if they vent beyond certain I imits .
Mr. Adams said there were provisioru for liquidated damages.
Mayor Levy asked for clarification of the request to "ratify
performance."
Mr. Adams said it was essentially the legal jargon for saying they
needed to have the work recognized formally by the Council in
order for staff to make payment. Staff was assuring Council that
the work was performed.
NUM: Mayor Levy moved* secorrdod by Klein, to adept the staff
recossendatien t� . satlfy the performance and approve additional
payments to Mleiafelder 11 Associates Ia the amount of $O,32O for a
grand tital of $1$,324.
Mayer Levy hoped the City was not a patsy when it came to con-
struction of major projects, and that it followed up closely and
made sure it received full value for the substantial moneys it
spent.
NOTION PASSED mwaaineesly, ilithersp.ea absent.
5 6 0 6
4/01/85
I tM #e AMENai'NT T'0 1984-85 HUMAN SERVICES CONTRACT WITH SENIOR
COORDINATING COUNCIL ma II -I) ZCM t: X35: b)
Human Services Administrator Hal Anjo had a correction on the last
1 ine of the first page of CMR:235:5. The increase would go from
$299,335 to $300,213. The amount described in the amendment to
the contract was correct. Likewise, the corrections should be
made in the contract budget attachment, which was attached to the
amendment.
Counci member Klein was concerned about the rationale and why the
City was oily paying $878 rather than the whole $3,000.
Mr. Anjo said that the $3,112 was the total amount of the assess-
ment to the Senior Center for the parking lot assessment develop-
ment charge. Their request was that the City .either pay the
amount for them or_ forgive it. Staff was advised by the City
Attorney .that in order to do that was to make a gift of public
funds, and the other approach was to look at it in terms of the
proportional cost to the City for the total cost of Senior Coordi-
nating Council's (SCC1 doing business. In that regard, it amount-
ed to about 28 percent, which was the wirnount of the contract.
Counc ilmeinber Klein said if the SCC increased its budget fn some
other regard and decided to add another employee, the City would
not feel bound to pay 28 percent: of that person's salary.
Mr. Anjo said that was correct.
Councilmember Klein said if that was the case, it seemed to him
that the City should look at those things on an item by item basis
and if it was appropriate for the City to fund 100 percent, why
not do it.
Mr. Anjo believed the circumstance was extenuating. It was a
charge that stemmed from the City,. and in that regard, the SCC was
basically saying in terms of things beyond its control , they had a
cost to pick up to do business. In terms of personnel costs, the
City worked closely with them because those costs related directly
to the contract budget since so much of it was personnel
Counc ilmember Klein did not see the logic and when the time was
appropriate, he would move that Council increase the SCC budget
by an amount equal to the entire amount. of the bill .
Vice Mayor Cobb was struck that Council was dealing with an $800
item out .of several hundred thousand doll ars, and he bel ieved it
should be discretionary.
11191- ION: . Cometilaemb•r Kl elm mewed , seconded by Bechtel, to
authorize an amendment to add $30112 to .Santa Clara County appro-
priation to pay for parting assessment fee in fall.
AMENDMENT NO. 7 TO CONTRACT N0. 4019
Fiscal Year 1984-85
Councllmeeber Sutorius asked about the rationale for the motion.
Councilme*ber Klein said the charge was not budgeted and it, in
effect, came by actions taken' by the City. He bel ieved it was
appropriate for the City to increase their 'budget by" a like amount
rather than forcing them to either have a deficit or try to raise
money tocover the amount. In the future, it' seemed like itcould
be handled through the normal budgetary process, but since that
was not avail able and since it tame from the City, he believed it.
was appropriate for the. City to foot the entire amount.
Councfleewber Sutorius clarified it would become a . part of the
normal budget process in the future.
5~b_0 7
4 /01 /85
Councilmember Klein said that was correct.
Counc 11 member Fl etcher was concerned that the motion refl ected the
exact concerns of the City Attorney originally. She asked for
clarification about why the request was for less than the full
amount.
Mr. Anjo said the total bill from the City to the SCC was $3,112,
and the original request was that the City either forgive the
amount. or pay the amount to them . He was advised that to forg iv e
the amount would constitute a gift of public funds. As an al ter -
native, he regarded it as a cost ofdoing business. If, in fact,
the SCC 's budget was so tight and the City`s contract represented
2 8 percent of their overall budget, then the cost to the City
would be 28 percent, or roughly $878. Thereafter, the SCC would
be advised that the equivalent charges or the other two- thirds
should be planned for in their other fund development and fund
raising activities.
Anthony Bennetti, Senior Assistant City Attorney, said it was not
a gift of pubs is funds i f the City had a val id municipal purpose
for the expenditure of general funds. The Council al ready decided
that funding the Senior Center was such a public purpose and,
therefore; appropriate to reimburse the amount. The City Attorney
did not believe it was appropriate to cancel or otherwise waive
the assessment since the assessments were valid against nonprofit
organizations.
Counc Member Kl ein said hi s motion incl uded al I the 1 anguage pro-
posed by staff, but it changed the numbers in paragraph B, to read
$302,447.
Mayor Levy said the $300,213 would be changed to $3029447, which
constituted an increase of $3,112. He would support the motion,
but without any enthusiasm. It was easy to get hung up on one
train of 1 oeic or another, and it seemed to him the City was fund-
ing approximately 30 percent of the Senior Center and essentially
that should be the City' s contribution to its overall expenses.
The fact that the City happened to be the cause of the increase
did not mean the City should fund the rhos e thing any more than if
one of their other supporters happened through other areas of its
jurisdiction and caused an increase in operating colts to the
Senior Center- that they would totally . compensete the Senior
Center. The amount was smell, and there was no point getting hung
up on the •small amount of logic one way or the other.
NOTION PASSES try a vet •f 7-1, Uteri vs voting
V1 taterspoie ada san t.
ITEM #7 .RE#UEST OF MAYOR LEVY, AND VICE MAYOR C088 RE LIMITATION
Item cancels ed due to lack of time. No action taken.
ADJOURNNEhT TO CLOSED SESSION RE Et/PLOVER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
Council adjourned to a Closed Session re Employer/Employee Rela-
tions at 9:.35 p.m.
FINAL ADJOURNMENT
Final _ adjournment at 11:00 p.a�o
ATTEST: APPROVED:
assistant c'°ity. G
560 8
4 /01 /85