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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-04-08 City Council Summary Minutes1 CITY COUNCIL MINUTE3' Regul ar Meeting April 8, 1985 ITEP4 Oral Communications Minutes of March 4 and March 11, .1985 Consent Calendar Referral Item #1, Deloitte, Haskins & Sells - Annual. Audit Services Refer to Finance and- Publ is Works Committee Acton Item #2, Main Library Miscellaneous Improvements Phase III Item #4, Purchase of Transformer for East Meadow Sub station Item #5, Sol ar System Installations Item #6, Auctioneer Ordinance Agenda Changes, Additions and Del eti ans Item #8, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System - Bidder Selection Item 10, Joint City Council Meeting with the Planning Commission re Land Use Planning and Traffic Rec ess I tem #9 , Proposed Request of Councilmember Fl etcher re Amendments to the Smoking Ordinance Item #7, Foothills Park' Dam Item #8.1. (Old Item #3) Dowtown Park North Design and Contract Administration Adjournment to Closed Session re Personnel Final Adjournment: 12:36 a.m. CITY OF PLO ALTO PAGE 5 6 1 0 5 6 1 1 5 6 1 1 5 6 1 1 5 C 1 1 5 6 1 1 5 61 1 5 6 1 1 5 6 1 2 5 6 1 2 5 6 1 2 5 6 1 2 5 61 3 5 6 2 8 5 6 2 8 5 6 3 4 5 6 4 0 5 6 4 2 5 6 4 2 5_.60 9 4/08/85 f Regular Meeting April 8, 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.rn. PRESENT: Bechtel, Cobb, Fletcher, Klein, Levy, Renzel, Sutorius, Witherspoon< ABSENT: Woolley Mayor Levy announced that a Closed Session re Personnel was held in the Council Conference Room at 7:00 p.m., and that Council would resume the Closed Session at the end of the regular City Council meeting; ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 1. Douglas L. Graham, 984 'lima Way, represented the Barron Park Association, who elected a new Chairman, John Joynt. He said that he and Sam Sparck would continue to chair the Barron Park School Site Committee; Bob Moss, the Creek Committee and Zon- ing and Land Use Committee; Will Beckett, the Traffic Advisory Committee; Ken Arutunian, the Bol Park Advisory Committee Chairman. 2. John Joynt, 3589 Laguna, Chairman of the Barron Park Associa- tion, looked forward to working with the Council. Regarding the stop sign discussed last week, he and Will Becket went to the homeowner who was thinking about trimming the hedge. 3. Jack Morton, 2343 Webster Street, represented the Trust for Community Skating, which had enough signatures to put the first part of its two -fold item on the ballot. The first item was whether community ice skating would continue to be offered in Palo Alto. Although they were not done gathering peti- tions, they believed they had in excess of 3,200 signatures. As well as conducting the initiative, they were engaged in extensive discussions with Mr. Peery about the nature of hie offer to exchange parcels. After meeting with Mr. Peery and the City Council Subcommittee on Community Ice Skating, they wanted to discuss the question of whether the Council might be willing to formulate and place on November's ballot the second part of their initiative to authorize the land swap. They believed it might be possible to preserve the parcel on Middlefield ds dedicated parkland by exchanging the parcel on Geng Road. In order to facilitate the exchange and shorten the process, it would be useful to have staff's help in defin- ing the parcel . The vacant lot was imprecise and there were no maps to indicate the precise boundaries because it was within the Baylands Preserve. He requested . staff assistance for questions regarding the initiative process, environmental. impact report, negative declaration, and the extent of devel- opment that LM -3 zoning, if passed by the voters, would per- mit, given other Council actions would al 1 . 4. Hel imah Van Tuyl 4017 Middlefield Road. said people favored the idea of submitting the utter of community ice skating to the voters. The second initiative related to the idea of a land swap. Mr. Peery made an offer regarding the land swap and was interested in discussing the wording with staff. It. would allow the C1 ty of Palo Alto to .own 3.74 acres in the Midtown area on Middlefield Road. They believed the issue should go to the voters. The text of the second initiative was essentially the vacant lot at the corner of East Embarcadero and Geng Road be undedicated, rezoned the same as the adjacent commercial devel opment, and exchanged for the 3.74 acres on West Middlefield Road, which included the Winter Lodge property, and the 3.74 acres on Middlefield Road Would be dedicated as parkland for recreational purposes. If the initiative went to the voters and passed, then the land would become dedicated parkland. They were offering the Council the option of passing a resolution to put a measure on the ballot to allow more options. If Council passed a resolution and put the issue on the ballot, but did not include the dedication of the Middlefield parkland, then Council would have the option in five years to resell the 3.74 acres, and develop senior housing, low income housing, less ,dense housing in that area and/or dedicate the property as parkland. If the Council chose to put the matter on the ballot, the overall total development of the parcel could be looked into in the future. MINUTES OF MARCH 4 AND MARCH 11, 1985 MOTION: CouncilMember Sutorius moved, seconded by Cobb, approval of the Mantes of March 4 and March 11, 1985 as sub- mitted. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Woolley absent. CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Levy removed Item #3, Downtown Park North, from the Consent Calendar. Councilmember Klein advised he would not participate on Item #5, Solar System Installations, due to a conflict of interest. Referral ITEM #1, DELOITTE HASKINS & SELLS ANNUAL AUDIT SERVICES - REFER FINANCE AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTCE (F1W 2-1) Action ITEM #2, MAIN LIBRARY MISCELLANEOUS IMPROVEMENTS - PHASE III CWC � :245:51 Staff recommends that Council: 1. Authorize the Mayor: to execute a contract with Hodgson Con- struction Company in the amount of $101,250; and 2. Authorize staff to execute change orders up to $15,000. AWARD OF CONTRACT Hodgson Construction Co. ITEM #4 , PURCHASE OF TRANSFORMER FOR EAU MEADOW SUBSTATION( JTT 3j (00:238:5) Staff recommends that Council: 1. Authorize the Mayor to sign the contract with Federal Pioneer Linited/FPE for $142,071; 2. Authorize staff to execute Chang_ a Orders to the Agreement of up to $1,500 for additional services; and 3. Appropriate $143,571 from the Emergency Plant Replacement Reserve to finance the replacement of the transformer. AWARD O CONTRACT Federal plower LS*ited/PFE 5 5 1 1 4/08/85 CONSENT CALENDAR - MOTION CONTINUED ORDINANCE 3611 entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY' OF PALO ALTO AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 1984-85 TO PROVIDE AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF A POKER TRANSFORMER° ITEM #5, SOLAR SYSTEM INSTALLATIONS (UTI 3N3) (CMR:254:5). Staff recommends that Council authorize the Mayor to execute pas- sive solar energy systems contracts with Alten Products Company and Helios Solar, Incorporated. AWARD OF CONTRACTS Alten Products Company Helios Solar, Inc. ITEM #6, AUCTIONEER ORDINANCE (LEG" 5) ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING entitled 'ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL ALO ALTO AMENDING SECTICN 4.10.060 OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE DEFINITION OF AUCTIONEER° NOTION PASSED maanimeosly, Woolley absent, Klein °° not partici- pating on Item 15, Solar System Installations. AGENDA CHANGES t ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS City Manager Bill Zaner said Item #3, Downtown Park North, would become Item 8-A. ORAL VOTE TO TAKE ITEM #8, SUPERVISORY CONTROL, BEFORE ITEM #7, FO TRILLS PARK DAM ITEM #8 SUPERVISORY CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM BIDDER StLEc'T1 N (UTF i-1) CCMR:252:51 NOTION: Counc1lmeaber Fletcher moved, seconded by Klein, to adept the staff recommendation to proceed with negotiations with the first ranked firm, Landis i Gyr Systems, Inc., and to negoti- ate concurrently with the second ranked firm TeJas Controe Inc. in the event an agreement is not reached with Landis & Gyr Sys- tems. Staff is to return to Council with the Negotiated agreement for approval. Vice Mayor Cobb asked if there were any guarantees that the selected vendor woul d meet the system specs and what protection the City had against overruns with Landis & Gyr since it seemed to be an issue with the other bid. Director of Utilities Richard Young said the two vendors provided a demonstration of the type of equipment requested by the City. It was hoped that cost overruns would be handled within the frame- work of the contract documents Mayor Levy believed the 12 -year payback period was high and dis- cussed it with members of staff since it was greater than the City's normal standard. It was recommended because it would dramatically increase the efficiency: and safety of the system, and the savings in operations could be substantially greater than the 12 -year payback period would otherwise imply. NOTION PASSEb. aaanimsasly, 144,1 y absent. 5 6,1 2 4/08/85 i ITEM #1O JOINT CITY COUNCIL MEETING WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION RE LAND USE PLAgNIND AND TRAFFIC (PLA 3) (CMR:252:5) Chief Planning Official Bruce Freeland said staff developed some anxieties over the studies presently underway. Staff was con- cerned about four different aspects of its work: 1) the slow pace of progress being achieved to date on a series of studies al ready assigned; 2) the one -area -at -a -time, piece -by -piece approach being - taken in order to make headway on the studies might lead to con- flicting results or might not produce the kind of overall product the City would feel good about in the long run; 3) through exper- ience, staff learned that it was beginning to work in portions of the City with some severe traffic congestion where it might be necessary to do more environmental review work than it was previ- ously accustomed to, and that there were many parts of town not yet assigned that perhaps should be; and 4) the total job might be larger than the level of effort presently available in terms of looking at the land use patterns in the City. He showed a trans- parency which listed the various studies assigned and which were presently underway: The Downtown Study; the San Antonio Road Study --both the GM and the CS properties in that area; studies of all of the CS zoned properties -throughout the City including a lot of land along El Camino Real which: lay in different stretches of El Camino; and many studies along the Willow/Sand Hill Road Corri- dor on Stanford University lands. Generally, staff should com- plete the studies at a pace of about one every three months in order to get through the list, but the present pace was more like one every four to six months. With the precedent of doing an environmental impact report for the San Antonio Road study, the pace would be slower. If staff was only concerned that it was going slower than i t hoped, the Commission and the Council could relieve the anxieties by telling staff it was okay, but from staff's point of view, the pace was not even the central issue. The bigger issues were that staff was indeed taking the fragmented view. The San Antonio GM area was one small piece, and staff would be doing the CS areas along El Camino in many segments: The south part of El Camino; the Traynor study, which was the small- est; properties along the College Terrace portion; and properties on Lambert Avenue and Urban Lane. Breaking the City up into such small pieces was the only way staff could manage the studies in terms of the types of traffic analysis that had become accepted and expected from the Commission and public when dealing with the land use studies. Breaking the City up also meant that staff might discover things in one _area that it would have wished it had known when it dealt wd 4th another. Some apparent inconsistencies had begun to emerge. Moreover, staff found it was dealing with parts of town where there were environmental concerns. Some intersections in town operated at level of service "E," which was a level of traffic ..congestion what was normally considered toler- able, but which the City might have to live with. Many of the areas left to study were under the influence of those locales with already adverse traffic conditions. Previously, when staff did land use studies, they were able to say honestly that when they made changes, they did not have an adverse environmental effect. Under the current conditions, even though they might reduce devel- opment in different parts of town, the amount of development that might still be able to occur would produce levels of additional trip generation that would impact > al ready severe traffic conges- tion, which was the situation staff discovered in the San Antonio Road area. For that reason, staff was "doing an environmental im- pact report (EIR). EIRs were time consuming, and not only were they laborious to produce, they had public hearing schedules which required time by the Commission and the Council. If for no other reason staff suggested : combining studies, in order to reduce: the number of separate EIRs to be produced over the next few years. "Combining" meant larger studies, and the bigger the study staff took on, it was more difficult to deal with present resources. Some of the other areas of town that had been studied and might: need study in the future were California Avenue, East Bayshore, Maximart property, and Park Boulevard. About a year ago, staff surveyed all the multiply family districts to identify areas where staff believed the densities might be high or inappropriate in terms of transition to lower density neighborhoods. The staff report presented some, information in the form of graphs on parts of town and in general there was a great disparity between the existing level of development in portions of Palo Alto and the amount of development that would be permissible under the zoning. Regarding the CS areas subject to additional study, it was note- worthy that the average floor area ratio (FAR) for CS properties, mostly along El Camino Real, was only .35 FAR, whereas present zoning allowed a 211 FAR. The .35 seemed to relate to the size of building that could be supported by at grade parking because it was a figure that appeared in many parts of town. The report also noted the Welch Road office area which had a .3 FAR whereas zoning was substantially higher at .75 FAR. Since the report was pre- pared, staff looked at other parts of town and the CS area around College Terrace had a little higher FAR --the existing average was .39. Staff also looked at the CN properties and the average existing FAR was .32. It seemed that throughout the City where properties were developed in the past using at grade parking, the range was about .3 to .4 FAR even though the zoning allowed more. Staff believed there were economic pressures which made it possi- ble for parking solutions other than at grade parking and that people might be interested in taking the City up on some of the additional development potential in the zoning, Staff suggested a more aggressive posture in the areas that might be assigned for land use study and move into a Comprehensive Plan update program dealing with the remainder of the studies at one time in a more comprehensive manner. Staff requested that Council consider au- thorizing traffic consultant services to supplement City staff resources on a •temporary basis. Staff was interested in the kind of work done by Carl Stoffel for the California Avenue Study and more recently for the San Antonio Road Study where, as land use concepts were developed, they were expressed in terms of the amount of traffic that might be generated, which amount of traffic could be looked at in terms of level of service. In turn, addi- tional growth impacts could be identified and mitigated. Staff was not asking to be relieved of the thinking associated with the strategies for development. If a comprehensive study were under- taken, it might take 18 months to complete. Staff envisioned it would include a major EIR to clear the air on many of the environ- mental issues related to growth. In the meantime, staff believed those portions of town severely underdeveloped relative to their zoning should be dealt with in such a way as to reduce the poten- tial for excess development. Specifically, the CS, CH and OR zones should be reviewed by the Commission to consider a much lower FAR which might be adjusted again at the end of the study. It would be something similar to the existing 5,000 square foot limitations in CS zones on offices. Further, staff believed Town & Country Village should be reviewed, It also had an existing FAR of .35 and a 3:1 FAR under its CC zone. It hard the potential for a lot of additional development. He referred to a letter from Traynor & Silver, dated April 3, 1985 (which is on file in the City Clerk's Office), which suggested their willingness to take a Planned Community (PC) zone approach to their property. Staff believed that was a reasonable proposition. A moratorium was not intended, but rather having rules to prevent excessive development while the areas were .being studied. Staff had no objection to a PC zone being processed. A PC zone would have to be carefully considered because of the levels of service and the immediate concerns in the location. Staff suggested - that it continue the rezcning of the Stanford Shopping Center, the 13 acre area along the Creek, etc. Planning Commissioner Mark Chandler asked about the areas, colored in grey on the map presented to the COu c it , that were not pres- ently Assigned for study. 5 6 1 4 4/08/€3 Mr. Freeland said the grey areas were commercial and industrial parts of town that were not presently assigned for study and which merited some attention. The areas included all the CM areas and the Stanford Industrial Park. Planning Commissioner Ellen Christensen asked whether the area at the corner of Arastradero and E1 Camino was Traynor property or whether some of it was other properties. Mr. Freeland said the . Traynor study just looked at the corner where the Traynor properties were located, which was in the midst of a larger CS zoned area. If it was dealt with as a small piece, it made more sense to look at the whole area which surrounded it. Councilmember Fletcher asked where the neighborhood traffic studies would fit into the process. She realized that Barron Park waited for a long time for a study of their neighborhood. Chief Transportation Official Marvin Overway said the neighborhood traffic studies were not included in the particular study. Staff intended to proceed with those studies on a separate course using existing staff. It was also planned to take the issue to the Policy and Procedures (P&P) Committee in early May. Councilmember Sutori us asked Mr. Freeland to elaborate on the "...inconsistencies resulting from actions taken at different times in different areas are already becoming apparent and will probably increase as more areas are looked at in isolation..." Mr. Freeland responded that in the California Avenue Study, staff chose to ignore, out -of -hand, the level of service "E" intersec- tion at Page Mill and El Camino as something beyond staff's abil- ity to deal with. In California Avenue, staff allowed a 2:1 FAR and did not establish annual growth limitations. In about one and a half .months, Council would hear recommendations from the Down- town Study which might end up with similar or more restrictive recommendations for growth in the Downtown, which sight create the interesting situation of California Avenue possibly having more readily developable regulations than the downtown. In the series of GM studies, staff found as they moved first from the East Bayshore area to Park Boulevard and San Antortlo, that they made decisions on new zoning overlays which were perfectly tailored to the locations where the overlays were invented, but which did not quite fit in the next area. One of the issues being discussed with the Planning Commission on the San Antonio Road Study was how many of the additional overlays they were willing to create to put into the City's zoning ordinance. They were forced either with creating a zoning ordinance that might grow complex beyond all reason in order to make individual decisions, or with rues that did not quite fit .one location because they were invented for another. Councilmember Sutorlus said Item 2 of the recommendation spoke to the Planning Commission initiating hearings on a temporary zoning restriction of either .4 or .5 to one FAR for all CS, CM or OR zones and to consider appropriate zoning for Town and Country. Staff said it referred to those portions of CS, Ch and OR that were identified as remaining areas to be studied. He asked for clarification. Mr. Freeland said with regard to the CM zone, it referred to all CM zones in the City because none were currently under study. Regarding the CS zone, they were talking about a general changeita the CS district. In the Downtown, they might come up with dif- ferent rules,, and the zoning In the Downtown may or may not ;remain` CS in the CS area or a new CS overlay might emerge. In the mean- time, there was a moratorium on , all development in the CS zone and, until the Downtown Study was completed, how the rules would affect them wad' moot. Regarding the San Antonio Road area, there 5 6 15 4/0€3/85 was a suggestion for a CS zone with a .3 FAR, and he wanted to consider; it again. He was inclined toward a simpler ordinance with 2ne standard to apply to all. With the OR zone, there was only one, and it would all be affected. Counc 1l member Sutor i us asked if staff intended. the FAR apply to whatever was built within the zone so that if it was "mixed use," it would apply to the net development on the parcel or whether it woul d be worth considering toward commercial development. Mr. Freel and sai 4 staff was deliberately not specific on that point and it was something the Planning Commission would want to review in the course of considering the idea. He preferred to allow housing to occur at a much higher rate. In the Downtown Study, staff looked at the relative traffic impact of commercial and housing development and there was a great advantage to housing over commercial even though the total volume of housing might be greater in terms of traffic generation. He believed that gen- erally the City could support much greater mounts of housing with less traffic impact than commercial. Vice Mayor Cobb asked about the legal difficulties in terms of the "1essatorium." He was concerned about some of the comments rai sed in the Traynor letter. City Attorney Diane Lee said she was not conversant with the legal di fficul ties raised in the letter and believed they were more equitable issues for Council consideration. As she read -the letter, it suggested there were many equitable considerations. Vice Mayor Cobb said staff suggested something up to about $200,000 as the cost for the consultant services. His reaction was that it might be a big undertaking, and he asked if $200,000 was a realistic figure. Mr. Freeland said the figure was an educated guess, and staff tried to guess on the high side. On the other hand, staff did not want to promise i t would be a lot less. If Council was interested 'h in pursuing the approach, the next step would be to work up more details, a specific scope of services, begin talking with consul- tants and trying to get a more solid number. Staff guessed that $200,000 was in the ballpark. Council member Renzel asked for clarification regarding the Traynor property PC zone request, that it was based upon putting in the .5 FAR everywhere and presumably treating it as "the zone" until such time as final decisions were made in the comprehensive study so that if a PC was requested, it would be compared with the zone which then existed. Mr. Freel and said a planned coarmun i ty zone would set its own standards, He imagined there would . have to be an EIR and that it would be a major undertaking for someone to process a PC zone with the present information on that area. Councilmember Renzel asked about the costs involved if they dealt with the areas piecemeal and at a slower rate .instead of taking the comprehensive app►xoach. Mr. Freeiand said there could be potentially great costs in terms of allocation of staff resources to things like preparation of EIRs . He did not believe the City was staffed to do the level of environmental review that some of the studies might require, and would almost certainly'' request some .additional outside consultant help. He did not, know whether it would add up to more `or: less. It was. a big underRtaking to stay the same way theywere going, nd it was a big undertaking to change it 1 i Councilmember Renzel said in terms of dollars_ shR understood they were "damned if they did and damned if they did not." In terms of infrastructure and general citizen desires for the community, she asked if there might be major problems besides the congested in- tersections without a comprehensive approach. Mr. Freeland believed the major concern was a lack of belief and confidence in the land use policies throughout the community. He was Yoncerned that as each project went to the Architectural Review Board (ARB), there would be a .land use battle, which he believed was a result of the fact that there was no community con- sensus or "buy in" to support existing city policies. He did not know there were the sorts of other hard..City service implications that staff would know more about by the comprehensive study, but believed there was a major question of attitude and whether devel- opments were able to rely on present zoning. He did not believe they could in many parts of town. Councilmember Witherspoon said the staff report correctly identie fled the major concerns: Increasing traffic and future conges- tion. She believed they needed to evaluate the consequences of a "containment" policy op traffic on future sales tax revenues. She saw no provision for a consultant or a staff study to identify what those impacts were likely to be on future sales tax revenue. Mr. Freeland said that was a good point. Regarding hotels, staff believed there might be some selected uses in CS zones for residential -like characteristics in terms of traffic generation and also major plums from a City revenue point of view. Such things as hotels should be looked at and perhaps there was a basis to allow more of therm. In terms of the sales tax per se, the City might forego some larger stores, but did not request an economic consultant as part of the study. They might wish to consider it. Councilmember Witherspoon believed the City was handicapped because it had never taken the time to find out where the majority of the sales tax revenue was now generated and where the City wanted it to be generated, etc. She was concerned that as the City kept making the land use decisions, it did not know what options were being cut off for the future. She welcomed either the Planning Commission or staff deciding where and when it should be plugged in. City Manager Bill Zaner said staff had some detailed sales tax information which could be aggregated in such a way as to not dis- close specific information for any one firm and provide it to Council. Councilmember Witherspoon said she would like to see the informa- tion and believed it provided a baseline. Will Beckett, 4189 Baker Avenue, Chairman, Barron -Park Traffic Committee, and said he worked hard the past three to four years to lay out a logical outline as to where the., problems were. Ili turned out that most were on El Camino .Real. 'They had a situation where Evergreen Park was ahead of there, and they were waiting for that study to finish. He complained last year that they wanted to continue with their study and not continue with the Evergreen Park Study if it was going to take much longer. At,that time, he was assured they would get started by August, 1984. Their study was delayed several times, and he was annoyed. They were slated to start as soon as Evergreen finished, and he was concerned that the comprehensive study not delay the Barron Park. Traffic Study any further. As traffic increased on E1. Camino, it increased the Barron Park problems, and if any development in the future created an additional problem on El Camino, their problems became that much more severe. They ` had narrow streets ' i n Barron Park, the right hand turns from El Camino going into the Barron Park area were dangerous, there were poor visibility problems because of the 5 4. 1 7 4/08/83 As Cod syss proximity of the buildings with El Camino at the corner of all those intersections. Those things needed to be addressed quickly and before any further developments. He hoped Council carefully considered their problems with whatever proposals were made that evening. Anything that could speed up the Barron Park Traffic Study would be appreciated. He believed it was important to note it was not a major study they were talking about. They were talk- ing about safety improvements --striping of streets, bike paths, pedestrian walkways on Los Robles and improvements for the commer- cial depth of El Camino and intersections into Barron, Park going into El Camino. Frank Riddle, 310 University Avenue, President of the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber advocated a comprehensive look at zoning in Palo Alto, and believed it would lead to a rational, overall zoning approach with input from all sectors. They commended the approach and were willing to participate in the studies. The Chamber already scheduled a meeting with the Plan- ning Department in May to discuss the subject. He strongly urged that Council hear Councilmember Witherspoon`s statement about the trade-offs. The economic vitality and viability of Palo Aito was important and the tax dollars generated from the business commu- nity were an important factor in the City's overall quality of life. He was concerned about the general vague statement regard- ing Counci l member Sutori us' "1 essatori um" on development during the study period. Mr. Freeland said he was not suggesting a mora- torium for the period of time, but he suggested that they look at what the lessening of zoning might be in the interim. Ton often a figure used on a temporary basis became the benchmark and might or might not be the appropriate density in the final analysis. Marc Hynes, 499 S. Sunnyvale Avenue, Sunnyvale, represented the Traynor property owners, and said Mr. Freeland commenced his pre- sentation by saying that staff had some anxieties over the slow pace of the study. He assured that his clients had an equal anxiety and their anxieties were not lessened when their proper- ties were considered for a lumping with part of a comprehensive study. It was said their property was the smallest study of all and their concern was that If it was added into a comprehensive study, there would be a loss of an objective look at their .proper- ty. He made a slide presentation, and said in 1978, it was pro- posed for the Comprehensive Plan that the entire depth of their property be zoned CS. The existing CS zone served as a ,buffer to what in effect was predominantly residential property. When the Traynor property name was used, the two properties on the corner of Charleston and El Camino were included. He pointed out that it created confusion because it showed a much higher percentage of CS zone than really existed on the properties actually owned by his clients. For that reason, his clients wanted their property to be called out and studied separately by the City. The property was changed to its present predominantly residential zoning largely as a concern of the jobs/housing imbalance. Some said the jobs/ housing imbalance concept was nothing more than a claim by San Jose that they were tired of providing all the housing while they saw the northern communities getting all tha jobs. Regardless, it was recognized that with housing at one location and jobs at another, as the residents got to their Jobs, the end result was the traffic problems being discussed that evening. The Traynor properties presented a unique situation to provide the solution to the traffic problem because they represented an attempt to meet the jobs/housing situation wherein the parcel provided opportuni- ties for both jobs and housing. If jobs and housing were provided on one parcel, traffic was not necessarily added. Those who could live and work on the same parcel were not clogging the roadways. Another aspect which made the Traynor properties unique was the signalized intersection. The existing signal controls coupled with the resultant traffic movements onto and off of the property should allay many -of the fears regarding traffic congestion When considering the existing traffic controls and the ways in which the property could be accessed and provide outlet, it was unfair to lump the property with all others in the City which presented different problems. Thirteen percent of the Traynor site was CS, which was the necessary buffer for the residential development which existed behind the CS zone. Regarding whether the letter submitted by his client presented legal or equitable issues, the letter principally rai sed equi table considerations. His clients believed it was unfair to take their property and put it in ,a coma prehensive study where for another 18 months it would be studied after having been studied for approximately one `year. A temporary restriction was a burden all must bear as part of living in an en- lightened society. When a temporary restriction was indefinitely prolonged, it could change into oppression, which was a legal issue. Bob Moss, 4010 0rme, was a member of the Barron Paris Traffic Com- mittee, and concurred with Will Beckett. The City presently had six intersections which operated at level "E" and three which operated at level "F." Two of the ME" and "P" level intersections were directly adjacent to Barron Park, which was one of the reasons they were so concerned about traffic and why the El Camino Study was so important to them. He was glad to see that staff suggested the comprehensive review of the potential for build out and traffic, and remembered late Councilmember and Planning Com- missioner Frances Brenner repeatedly saying that if they only looked at the potential build out and addressed themselves to that, they would know what a mess they were going to get into. He remembered the then Planning Director saying it would not happen -- no one built to the maximum. The plan was adopted with three serious false assumptions --that they needed a high FAR in order to have diversity in design; that the high FAR would not hurt because no one would build out to that maximum; and that no one would be able to build out to the FAR anyway because it was uneconomical unless one built underground parking, which was too expensive. There was nothing wrong with reducing the FAR in the CN and CS zones tomorrow if not that evening. He believed .4 or .5 was reasonable. The only reason those zones had a high ratio was because historically that was on the zones when the zoning ordi- nance was adopted. The figure was pulled out to coincide with existing zoning at the time the Comprehensive Plan and the zoning ordinance were adopted. It was appropriate to continue with the CS studies along El Camino and include the Traynor properties because the properties were relatively small and because those properties --especially in the Barron Park area --but also in College Terrace, directly abutted residential. The overdevelop- ment of those properties woul d have a serious; adverse impact not only on traffic, but on the adjacent residential neighborhoods. He suggested a significant adverse impact was at El Canino Way and El Camino, the property directly adjacent to the Traynor property, which property was developed to 100 percent of the zoning enve- lope. Regarding the staff request for a consultant, based on what happened during the Comprehensive Plan review in 1974 through 1978, it was optimistic to think a study could be done in 18 months. When the Comprehensive Plan was ' being worked on by the Planning staff, many additional planners were hired specifically for the task. It was a limited term, but it was known that it could not be handled with the in-house resources. Rather than hiring consultants the staff should be augmented . by from two to four positions fo.r a period of two to four years, which might .be more effective and cheaper in the long run. As the City was developed, there was no less need for -Planning staff, there was more. The rationale in 1977 and 1978 was the Comprehensive Plan would be developed, would only have to be fine-tuned thereafter, and that additional help would not be needed. Even though it might take longer to-.. staff up, while doing so, the City could proceed with the smaller studies like the El Camino, CS study. He admitted to a certain prejudice regarding the amount of money -the, City spent on consultants, but believed staff could use more help. and wanted to see permanent good people hired to help everyone over the long term 5 6 1 9 4;08/85 Douglas Graham, 984 11 ima Way, believed the staff recommendation had the strong appeal of logic and tidiness, and made sense if it could be done without adding to complexity, thereby stretching out the time that all the study work could be completed. Staff and the Commission could integrate their knowledge gained in one study area as applied to another, and believed the process woul d logic- ally occur regardless of whether they encompassed the whole thing in one formal study and one document or whether it was done piece- meal. Lumping the studies into ono from a practical standpoint might result in reducing the members of the general public who would effectively partici pate in the pi inning process. He was concerned about all the special studies which were targeted to specific areas. People who were concerned about specific areas might turn out and provide some good input. It might be desirable to reduce the quantity of the public input, but he was concerned about the quality. He was concerned that if the City got too com- plex, they would be there until the end of the century doing it and it would lead to a lesser degree of public interest and focus on the important issues. Mi 1 l Davis, 344 Tennessee, commended staff and believed their report was an excellent step forward. She appealed to the Council to include the Traynor property at the corner of Charleston and El Camino in the step forward. The Traynor property was never part of a study that considered i t along with other devel opment throughout the City. It was time to look at the whole picture. Her neighborhood always felt the cumulative effects of all the developments should be considered together. The ci ti tens were concerned about traffic and "sand use in Palo Alto, and those in her neighborhood felt the City heard their appeals for a compre- hensive analysi s of how the property devel opment woul d impact her neighborhood as well as the whole City. I t was good planning procedure to consider all of the sites together. Planning Commission Chairperson Pat Cullen supported the staff recommendation. The Commission spent much time and effort study- ing the individual areas, and a year ago postponed the Comprehen- sive Plan with the idea that taking a more focused look at the individual areas would add to the total of the Comprehensive Plan. I t also caused them to realize the differential in the areas and the way they were treating them. She was uneasy about the number of different overlay zones being created, and to tie the whole thing together into a comprehensive look at the City would not, she hoped, detract from the focus on the individual areas that required special attention:. ,She bel ieved in the idea that they. needed han EIR which would help'. to see the City as a whole in terms of .the development they now realized, not only as potential , but actually taking place, the traffic being produced by that develop- ment, plus the traffic coming in from other sources over which the City had little control. She urged that Council,: accept the staff recommendation to make an overall comprehensive plan out of the individual plans and to allow the Commission to focus on it in a broader area and to incorporate it in what was hoped to be the beginning of a Comprehensive Plan by the end of 1985. In terms of the Traynor property, she believed because it was in a critical area, it was important to incorporate it as well. She urged that Council return to the Commission the FAR . that would be put in place .temporarily. She was not in a position to make a recommend- ation that evening as to what the temporary FAR should be, and wanted to see more data on it. She also urged particul arty that Council incorporate the Town A Country Village- complex which had enormous development potential under the present zoning. . Planning Commissioner John P orthway agreed with Commissioner Cullen. While the Planning Commission did the studies for San Antonio Road, he became apprehensive that they were developing what he tensed the almost' zones. It t occurred to him when he talked with Mr. Freeland that perhaps they should have the public 5 6 2 0 4/08/85 hearings first and then do something on a comprehensive basis, which seemed to be what was evolving. He supported the staff recommendation and suggested that in order to achieve maximum pub- l is input, the hearings could still be broken down on an area by area basis so that the individual neighborhoods and people could attend the public hearing when their area of concern was specific- ally being heard. The input from the public was important and the reasons ' the) started going down with their 'almost zones" was because the input was .specific to specific areas of town. It was important to get the specific input about the individual areas and take that information and.. synthesize it into zoning that weight be applied citywide. Planning Commissioner Chandler asked the question about the area in grey on the map because part of the area might be subject to rapid development on a much larger scale than what was there now. He particularly referred to the area which adjoined the College Terrace neighborhood along California Avenue where one smaller R&D facility was vastly enlarged opposite the Garrett house. He believed there was significant potential -for similar activity elsewhere An that area and if the matter was referred to the Com- mission, he requested it have the opportunity to consider other areas as well which were indicated on the map as being suitable for inclusion in the study. He shared Commissioner Northway's view about what went on with the San Antonio Study. He urged that serious consideration be given to leaving a significant housing potential on the sites in addition to whatever commercial level was included. It would provide property owners, such as the Traynors, with a significant amount of flexibility and not put them in a position of being "at bay" until a study was completed many months down the road, It might also help serve some broader community needs. Planning Commissioner Joseph Hirsch supported the staff recommen- dation for the reasons provided by Commi ssior=er Cullen. Looking at the level of service map attached .as Figure 1 to the report, if those were the grades his children brought home, he would feel bad --there were too many "F's"; "D's"; and "E's," and not enough "A's" and "B's." In the Downtown Study, the ability of the road- ways to hold the traffic being generated was "driving the town." He was concerned about that and believed most citizens and resi- dents were too. He liked the idea of a comprehensive land use study of areas which would have a significant impact on the road- way network. In addition, over the time he was on the Commission, he saw many projects with small incremental additions starting to nibble away at Palo Alto and somewhat change in a small fashion each unto themselves what the City was. He believed the compre- hensive view of areas with significant impacts on the City would be worthwhile. In the past, he and Commissioner Christensen were both concerned about the Traynor property, and his views were unchanged. It was a sizable piece of property adjacent to an intersection which was starting to feel the impact of many proj- ects, and it still had not received the impacts of the project on El Camino Way. He urged it be included as recommended by staff. Planning Commissioner Ellen Christensen said regarding the Traynor property anything the City did in the area by way of interim zon- ing would not preclude an applicant from making application for a PC since a PC operated somewhat independently of the zoning ordi- nance, El Camino Way was a dangerous corner, and she was con- cerned when she saw .the representative from the Traynor property put the map up there showing ingress and egress out of the prop- erty onto that corner. The corner as presently organized was hazardous even without considering the already congested nature of Arastradero and El Camino. 5 6 2 1 4/08/85 Vice Mayor Cobb said with regard to the comments by the Bareon Park Association, he shared their comments and believed they waited too long for the traffic study. It overlapped with some of the areas the City wanted to review given the emphasis on El Camino, and he asked for confirmation that staff would get on with. that study. Mr. Overway said if staff proceeded with the consultant study, there would be staff resources available to proceed with the Barron Park Study in parallel. He could not say they were not related, but believed the issues with which Barron Park was con- cerned coul d be addressed at the same time the other study was underway. Vice Mayor Cobb hoped if Council undertook the recommended study, it would focus on the idea of cumulative impacts. He asked if the entire study needed to take 18 months. He understood getting the table cleared, obtaining all the data, getting the methodology in place and deciding how to deal with all the piece's, but once that was done, it was not clear if it would be possible to start spin- ning off pieces as they went along. He asked if there was any reason why they could not begin the spin-off results earl ier than the final period. Mr. Freeland believed it would take 18 months. The 18 months would be from the time funding became available. It would be .a major study --the consultant selection process would take several months, and once a consultant was on board, staff believed it would take eight or nine months for the consultant to gather the needed traffic data and do the analysis. At that point, staff would be writing the final reports and environmental impact reports, which would take four or five months to process, and have all the hearings. Staff would start the land use work immediate- ly, but the time it would take to get the traffic consultant, get the results, write the EIR and process the EIR hearings was how staff arrived at 18 months. He stressed the 18 months was from the time the money became available. Vice Mayor Cobb believed results were at least two years away given Mr. Freeland' s comments. He saw a need for a comprehensive look at the problem which was the only way the City woul d ever get at the whole, comprehensive, interactive kinds of problems. He worried about .controlling the costs of what was undertai,ien, and also about controlling the schedule. He did not want to see' the study become the Planning Department` s never-ending story. If Council undertook the comprehensive look, and he believed it was a good idea , the way it was structured was important. He concurred with Commissioner Northway's comments about public •involvement. If it was properly structured, the public involvement would work. if not, it would become an enormous arena in which things would take more rather , than less time. The structure could also deal with how to control the cost, how to ensure that it was being done on time, and perhaps the question of whether there were ways to get some earlier resul is as well. It was important to return to Council with a structure that coul d work and not just be another sink for consultants to pour their time and bills into. It had happened much too often to the City. MOTION: Coencilaeariter Witherspoon wooed, secoaded by Menzel to adopt the staff recommendation tot I. Approve the cpascopt of a comprehensive Iasi oso study of com- mercial aced i a siestri al areas) Omd if rct staff tt prepare s scope of work , obi bead#art *Wrote for traffic and air '+ a*l i ty coasoltaet services, for review by the Filmes and Psbl is Works CoOnitkost. es port of the 9415-$6 Widget; 5 6 2 2 4/08/85 Motion Continued 2. Direct the Planning Commission to initiate hearings on a tem- porary zoni 4g restriction of either a 0.4 or 0.5 to 1.0 floor area ratio for all CS, CM, and OR zones, and to consider appropriate zoning for Town and Country Village, and 3. Include the Traynor study as part of the comprehensive land use study. 1 Counci l member Witherspoon agreed with the need for a comprehensive approach, which was what Council got away from a year ago when it tried the local approach. She referred to key sentences in. CMR:248:5; on page 4, "It is already too late to use land use policies as a means to avoid severe traffic congestion." On page 10, "Greater attention should be given to developing overall strategies for dealing with the general problems accompanying future growth." So far, including that evening, they were still fussing with traffic, but as she pointed out, there were other important considerations to be taken into account when Council took its comprehensive approach. She hoped all the important con- siderations were not turned over to consultants. Shebelievedthe Council, Planning Commission and City staff were charged with setting those policies and somewherealong the line they tended to focus on traffic at the expense of many of the other important considerations. A work session might be considered because she believed before spending $200,000 on a consultant, they should focus on exactly what they wanted the consultant to accomplish. She did not believe that was contained in the report. It was not clear to'her what policies in the Comprehensive Plan would be focused on, and what policies should be accomplished with the con- sultant report other than to reduce traffic which the report said could not be done anyway. They could reduce future traffic, but had to live with the present congestion. The community wanted everything to come to a griading halt and to return to 1910 if possible She did not know how that could be explained to a consultant, but she realized it was the overwhelming public sentiment. There were property rights in Palo Alto, and that the City could not just decide to cut all the zoning down to zero. She realized why the consultant was needed, but the Council must focus on what the consultant should do. She hoped the Planning Commission and the Council would set one or two broad but specific policies to be accomplished in the study, and then ask the consultant to provide some scenarios. > Council would take. those scenarios and say in this zone we could do :this, this and this, and know the results. She wanted to see some broader results than just the traffic count and the air pollution study if possible. The City would then get its $200,000 worth, and the study would be worth it. She did not want to spent $200,000 for another study to say the traffic congestion on El Camino and Page Mill would be. whatever with whatever zoning on the Traynor property or some other zoning on some other property because she already knew it. Her motion did not necessarily mean she would approve the budget amendment when i t returned unless i t had what the staff promised, which was a really tight scope of work and some hard questions for Council and the Planning Commission to answer before going off on the study because she did not believe it was presently, clear. Council member K1 ei n applauded the idea and believed it made sense. He had been concerned for a long time about staff being short- handed, and recalled that Council had to force additional staff members on. the Planning Department about a year or a year and a half ago. It was high time to move forward on a more comprehen- sive approach. He echoed Vice Mayor Cobb's comments about 5 6 2 3 4/0 /85 As Corrected 5/06/85 figuring out some program to move along faster. Mr. Freeland cor- rectly alluded to public confidence and perceptions r,f the process, and he believed those perceptions were correct that the City was moving too slowly. Eighteen months from funding as pro- posed by staff would take the City into 1987 and that was too long. There were ways to speed up the -process, and when it went before the Council and the Finance and Public Works (F&.PW) Commit- tee, he would be concerned about methodologies to move forward on a faster track. 'Along those lines, the motion said "for review by the Finance and Public Works Committee as part of the 1985-86 bud- get," and he asked why it could not be done now as a budget amend- ment. Mr. Zaner said there was no reason why it could not be done prior to the budget process, but guessed that by the time staff put together a scope of work and returned, they would be in the budget hearings. The two processes would probably be coincidental. Councilmember Klein was concerned that if they could get the con- :aul tant issue on the May F&PW Committee agenda, human nature being what it was, it would get more in-depth review. If it were part of the budget process with everything else, of necessity it would not be given as much time and study. Mr. Zaner said staff was concerned it would not be in a position to return with anything Council could depend upon in terms of scope of work and dollars required before the middle of May, which was when the budget hearings started anyway. Councilmember Klein believed the City must move faster than out- lined by the program. Mr. Zaner said staff could bring the item to Council as part of the budget process, but independently; that is, as a separate issue during the budget process and highlight it so it was dealt with first and quickly and move, ahead with the rest of the process so it could at least be integrated into the whole process. Mayor Levy suggested that Council proceed with Mr. Zaner's corgi - meats as the interpretation of item 1 of the motion. Councilmember Witherspoon said it was a good idea. Councilmember Fletcher was pleased with the suggestion to move ahead, get some extra help and get through with all the studies. She was looking forward to a comprehensive approach with some temporary limitations on the various zones in the City. She was not as concerned about losing sales tax because from what she saw, the City was developing dense office structures which did not generate any sales tax in any event, and she did not believe it would be a big loss to downzone. She was eager to exempt housing from the tight growth limitations. She believed the comment that it was already too late did not refer to what it could still be if the City did not get moving on a comprehensive plan to control all the growth happening now. AMENDMENT: Councilmember 5u tors es moved, seconded by Klein, to add "non --residential° in Point #2 between the words °1.0° and °floor.` Councilmember Sutorius clarified that it would mean that the zon- ing restriction of either a .4 or a .5 to 1.0 would apply to non- residential floor area, Councilmember Renzel asked how staff would interpret the amendment as working if there were currently a FAR of 3 in a non --residential 5 .6 2 4 4/08/85 zone; she asked if that meant that up to .4 or .5 could be used for non-residential , and the remainder could then be used for res- idential. Mr. Freeland said she was basically correct. A residential den- sity was built into the City's commercial zone, which calculated residential density in the CC zone as one unit per 900 square feet of land area, and that would remain. In the CS zone, the total building could not be more than a 2:1 FAR, but the commercial com- ponent could be no more than what the Commission settled on as a l imitation. Councilmember Renzel said the commercial .4 or .5 would be sub- tracted from the existing FAR in the case of a mixed use develop- ment. Vice Mayor Cobb said peopl e in town were as worried about exces- sive condominium development as they were about some of the com- mercial development. Condos did not provide affordabl e housing, just more market rate housing and some dense devel opment, He was concerned there might. be a rush of conversions to the. kind of high density market priced condominiums as was seen in the Middlefield area which he did not bel ieve was a net boon to the City either. He asked if the City was opening up a different type of problem. He understood the difference in traffic , but traffic was not the only i ssue. Mr. Freeland said the City would not want to leave the residential incentives unless it intended that they might be used, and it was true that in some locations there might be a reaction from the immediate neighbors. In terms of traffic, housing was more advan- tageous than commercial . The relationship of size to the amount of traffic was more desirable. In terms of how much housing to encourage, that was a pol icy matter for the Counc it . Vice Mayor Cobb asked staff to provide information as to the maxi- mum housing potential under the ratios when they returned . Coun- cil should know the alternative. He said 18 months to two years was a long time,_ acrd some people might want to put their proper- ties to some use. If a massive residential devel opment were cre- ated, there would be other probl ems for the City. Mr. Freeland suggested staff could pick out a few areas to do a sanrp1e for Council. Basically the number of units were not rel ated to the fl oor area ratio so much as the si ze of units. The number was primarily derived from a residential density calcula- tion included in the zone. If the FAR was too low, people might not be able to fit in on the property all the units they were entitled to, but the density was set and -:staff did not suggest it be changed. Mayor Levy supported the amendment because it was still desirable to try - and develop residential uses where possible. The intent wasthat the Planning Commission initiate hearings on a temporary zoning restriction. Specifically stipulating commercial did not mean that they should not look at the residential portion, but Council suggested that the residential portion . be treated differ- ently and more 1 iberal l y, which he bel level was appropriate. DIDNE$T PASSED unanimously, ¥..11.y absent. A*END$EMT: Caaoclimember Sutorlus moved, seconded by Cobb., re Paragraph 1, to insert the word "*etkedel egy,,1 li the second lino after "a scope of work; In the third line ibsert the ward *coe- ductine between the r erdt "for and traffics* strike the nerd "aad„." cowtiese with ..air-Apality, end ecoNosit- evaluation" -for. review by the- FAPW Committee. - 5 6 2 5 4/08/85 . Counc ilmembcr Sutorius said hi s rationale for the relatively minor word shaeges was the potential for added flexibility and worth- while accomplishment out of the process. He was not rul fng out the "consultant" type services as suggested in the staff report, but the staff report also tried to emphasize that 1t was not a traditional "consultant" activity. By asking that staff return with the scope of work and its methodology, he tried to permit the combination of those services which most economically, effectively and professionally needed to be secured outside, but balanced with those things that might best be performed by in-house staff whether it be current staff or current staff with some augmenta- tion. For exampl e, Council heard it was feasible for the Barron Park Study to proceed with existing staff if a consultant were hired, which told him there was leeway for how resources could or should be used . Council shoul d inc rease that 1 ati tude and hear back from staff about the best way to proceed without leaving them in the position of having to guess that an augmentation of force might not fly. The reason for adding economic evaluation was to identify in the work program how the economic consequences would be assessed in _the process. He did not intend to spell out a limit or a floor, but wanted to provide a latitude for staff to return with a sound proposal which used force effectively and assured that ..they would not get to a mid- or end -point in the study and have something happen where something was left out. Councfimember Bechtel had no problem with the first part of the amendment, but was concerned about adding an economic scope of work to the study. It was a massive study, and to throw in the word "economic" could add several years to a study, considerable expense and much staff time. She heard the various Councfl- mernbers' concerns that growth continued in other portions of the City while Council took the time to study. Council made some inconsistent decisions and if Councilmember Witherspoon was con- cerned about the sales tax implications of some of the decisions, staff al ready said they could provide Council with some informa- tion from different parts of the City without adding an economic component to the study. She would not support the amendment. Counc ilmember Fletcher suggested the economic evaluation be sep- arated for purposes of voting. She had similar problems to those of Councilmember Bechtel, and remembered that one reason the California Avenue Study y took so long was because it contained an economic factor . It could add years to the overall study i f included. AMENDMENT DIVIDED FOR PURPOSES OF TOTING' CouncMember Klein joined Councilmersbers Bechtel and Fletcher in not supporting the economic evaluation portion of the amendment. It could significantly extend the time of the study and would obscure the debate. He did not believe Council got its moneys worth from the economic analysis on Cal ifornia Avenue and bel ieved it was less 1 ikeiy to get its moneys worth on a City-wide basis. The broad economic facts wereclear from the start. If develop- ment potential were reduced, the City would receive less tax income in the long run, but that information was not required to move forward with regard to the quality of life issues at the core of the particular proposal . In .. the interest of saving the City money, getting the .process going in a timely fashion, and not fuzzing everything up in a morass of irrelevant data, he suggested that the economioc coal nation not be done as suggested. Councilmenrber Renzel concurred with the remarks of Counc ilmembers Bechtel r Fletcher and Klein. The broad economic impl ications were clear at the outset, and Counc ll . knew that to offset tax losses, there .eight be infrastructure needs that were :dollar costs to the City, and, those broad factors would be bal aneed. The citizenry was concerned about what happened in the comncun i ty and how it impacted the quality of life. She opposed the ecos onic evaluation portion of the emendment Counciimember Witherspoon appreciated the concerns, but the amend- ment was a concept of how to proceed for the F&PW Committee and for the Committee to make decisions on the scope of work. She wanted to hear what staff proposed by way of an economic study. If it seemed too clumsy, elaborate or inappropriate, that was when it should be killed. She wanted to put the burden on staff to see how they would proceed. .Just because the citizens were only interested in reducing all growth if possible did not mean Coun- cil , as the decision makers, should not have more behind its deci- sion. Councilmember Sutorius said the California Avenue Consul tan Studies were devoted extensively to the Parking Assessment Dis- trict formula which was the major economic cost of all of the associated charges and was a significant factor in the study dura- tion. Along with the concerns expressed in the Council Chambers about the consequences of nrowth was a concern about "bouts quing" and the loss of character, personal sty and profile kinds of local services intended for a residential utilization as opposed to utilization by the office occupant who went home to the distant city at the end of the day. He believed for any land use study, it was important to know the composition of what was created. FIRST PART OF AMENDMENT REGARDING THE WORDS AND ECONOMIC EVALU- ATION* FAILED by a vote of 3-5, Cobb, Sutorius, Witherspoon voting *aye,* Woolley absent. Councilmember Klein was concerned that deleting the words "consul taut seirvices" did not signifcant iy expand what needed to be presented to the F&PW Committee . He understood the wording to mean that staff had to provide a compl ete outl ine of what the en- tire department would do under the proposed plan-- not just what the consultant would be doing. Mr. Freeland hoped Council member Klein' s understanding was incor- rect. He cl ar i fled that staff was being asked to consider whether substitution of staff or a consul tant for some of the traffic work was feasible, and he had no problem with that. Regarding air quality, it wasperfectly clear that staff could not do it, and no staff substitution would be requested in that area. Councilmember Klein clarified that the question was whether staff or the consul tart could better handle the work. Councilmember Sutorius said that was correct. SECOND PART OF AMENDMENT REGARDING ', METHODOLOGY, AND BUDGET ESTIMATE FOR CONDUCTING TRAFFIC, AIR QUALITY EVALUATION" PASSED aaanrisoosly, Woolley absent. Councilmember Renzel concurred :with the staff recommendation. It was }l ear the c#ti zenry was not pl eased with what was happening in the community, and it was clear the City's mechanisms for deal ing with the matter on an area -an -area basis were getting it further behind and causing difficulty. She believed the comprehensive approach was a good way to get a handle on the situation, and hopefully see that the community continued to develop in an acceptable way to the citi zenry. Mayor Levy,_, supported the main motion. The City cl early needed a comprehensive epproach to land use. Palo Al to rents were extreme- ly high and if the City did not prudently act, it .risked develop- ment at substantial Metrppol stars levels. In the interregnum, the FAR .should be liberally restricted. The end result was another story. He was aghast -that the consul tent costs were expected lin be $200,000. The City could purchase a low-income: single family 5 6 2 7 4/08/85 here for that much. He hoped the costs would be less than that. He agreed with Counc iimember Witherspoon about traffic and said the City clearly had many "D" and "E" level intersections. He did not see a way out of that without building substantial traffic generators on the City's main roads. He agreed that the City must move expeditiously. MOTION AS AMENDED PASSED unanimously, Woolley absent. COUNCIL RECESSED FROM 9:55 p.m. TO 10:10 p.m. BRING FORWARD ITEM #9, SMOKING ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS MOTION: Coonc f l member Fletcher moved, seconded by Renael , to brim Item #9, Smoking Ordinance, forward. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Woolley absent. ITEM #9 REQUEST OF COUNCILMEMBER FLETCHER RE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE N -2) Councilmember Fletcher said the Palo Alto Municipal Code presently specified that in restaurants, one-third of the seating be prodded for non-smokers, but it applied only to restaurants of 50 seats or more. It was cl ear that the one-third ratio was inadequate. She received complaints from residents of long waits to be seated and she stood in a line at a restaurant where the people behind her were seated first because they were willing to sit in a smoking section. In deciding the appropriate percentage to be set aside for the non-smokers, she concluded that 80 percent for non-smokers and 20 percent for smokers would reflect current patterns. She was especially convinced after taking a trip to the east coast a couple of weeks ago where the airl ines in both direc- tions had less than 20 percent seating for the smokers. Caltrain recently cut hack on the smoking sections on the commuter trains because of the greater demand for non-smoking than they were providing.. In small restaurants of 50 seats or less, it was ineffective to have a smoking section without the smoke intruding on the non-smoking area. She proposed that small restaurants be required to make a choice of prohibiting smoking or permitting smoking. In either case, the chosen policy must be .posted at thj entrance to the establishment. Prior to bringing the matter to the Council , she met with the Chamber of Commerce who supported. the restaurant proprietor deciding whether to provide a smoking or non-smoking restaurant. She was asked to take care of the problem at the work place where in the present ordinance two-thirds of the lounges, cafeterias and lunchrom areas were required to be set aside for non-smokers. The problem arose when there was a fall area because the smoke could not be confined. She intended that smoking not be allowed in lounges, lunchrooms and cafeterias at the work place if the square footage was less than 650 square feet. MOTION: Coenciliember Fletcher moved, seconded by genzel , to direct the City Attorney to draft amendments to the smoking ordinance to the effect that: A. Section 9..14.COO l Eating establishments seating SO •r mere persons set • aside BO percent of the seating capacity for son -smokers and smoking aress be clearly identified by signs; 2. Eati ag establishments seating fewer than 5O persons either: a) Prohibit smoking in the . entire area; or, b) Permit =eking; and c) Most a a•ti ce of the preferred pea icy at the •streece to the premises. 3. Fifty :percent of outdoor eating stating he reserved for non-smokers. MOTION CONTINUED B. Section 9.14.090(2) 1. Two-thirds of the floor space in the office work place cafeterias, lunchrooms, and employee lounges exceeding 650 square feet be maintained for non-smokers and no smoking be permitted in areas smaller than 650 square feet. 2. Fifty percent of outdoor eating seating be reserved for non-smokers. Councilmember Renzel believed eating establishments of less than 50 persons were exempted because it was felt it might be a hardship for them to comply with dividing up their restaurant. It was not done because it was felt the restaurant could not deal with the problem. She wanted to add that restaurants under 50 persons could comply with the 80 percent non-smoking rule. Councilrnurnber Fletcher sai4 that was fine. SECTION A(2) (b) SHOULD REAR: *Permit smoking and comply with the .80 percent non-smoking rule;* Mayor ! evy clarified in paragraph (BM) that two-thirds of the total floor space in lounges exceeding 650 square feat be set aside for non-smokers. Councilmember Fletcher said that was correct. Vice Mayor Cobb was worried about the 80 percent figure in one place and the two-thirds figure in another. He asked if the 80/20 ratio was something which created a situation where it was impos- sible to carve out 20 percent of a restaurant because it WAS too small. He asked if any discussions were held with people who operated the small facilities. Given the choice, he believed the very small places would go with all smoking rather than no smoking. Councilmember Fletcher said the two-thirds figure was contained in the motion because it was the standard in the ordinance for the work place. She did not intend to revise the entire ordinance, but was not adverse to going .:80/20 if that was preferred. Regarding the 80/20 figure, she ani Mayor Levy were advised by the proprietor of Theo's restaurant on University Avenue, that he never needed more than 20 percent of the seating set aside for smokers. She referred to a letter from Hobie's Restaurants (which is on file in the City Clerk's Office) , which endorsed the 80 percent non-smoking area proposal. They opined that a 20 percent area would accommodate the smokers. When she was at Hobie's and questioned the employees, the ratio was two-thirds for non- smokers, and yet non-smokers had to wait to be seated plus there were non-smokers sitting in the smoking section in order to_ be seated more quickly. She said one car out of five was set aside for smokers on CalTrain because there were seats Available when they had more than one car for smokers and there were people standing in the non-smoking cars. Regarding the restaurants with fewer than 50 seats, she suggested that rather than prohibiting smoking in the entire, erea, they could say that 80 percent be reserved for non-smokers because they hadthe option of not having any smoking. Robert Lewis, 3470 Kenneth,' said it was nice to talk about rooms by themselves, but in thr restaurant industry, sometimes air transferred from one room to the next because of -the ventilation systems. 5 6 2 9 4/08/85 Frank Riddle, 310 University Avenue, Palo Alto Chamber of Com- merce, thanked.Councilmember Fletcher for inviting the Chamber to participate in the discussion. While the Chamber preferred that market forces prevail _ in such a situation, he believed Council - member FI etcher's proposal followed what al ready happened in the marketplace. He found that the 80/20 ratio was pretty accurate, and the industrial studies he read indicated that nod- smoking was a growing trend. He was sure the Director of Health and Safety within Pacific Bell would applaud that type of action because they encouraged giving up smoking whenever possible. The Chamber had no objection to the proposals and believed it would be interesting to have kept the unrestricted smoking for the smaller restaurants because it would then be a true test of how the people felt. The owners would quickly discover whether permitting smoking was an economic hardship or an economic boom. The only other comment from the Chamber was enforcement of the 50 percent in the outdoor areas, particularly in the campus type environments. Those people were not against the policy, but believed the difficulty of desig- nating which tables were smoking and not outdoors might be a prob- lem. With the history of cooperation by management, he did not perceive it as a major problem. James Morley, 160 Waverley, favored the direction of the smoking ordinance. He occasionally sat in smoking sections in a rest- aurant because the line was so long for the non-smoking area.. There was a problem in small places like Carl's where the wind blew in from the door and one had to carry a wind sock to deter- mine which way it was going and sit accordingly. He supported the new direction. Doug McDonnell, 3649 Ross Road, worked. in a typical "air .condi- tioned" building in Palo Alto, which meant that 15 years ago some- one put in some kind of an air conditioner and then reconfigured all the offices so people were breathing secondhand air from the office next door. It was clear the smoking ordinance was a relief to many people. In terms of the proposed refinement, he believed it was just the refinement that everyone would support and that the management of the various businesses or employee workplaces would find it acceptable. He urged Council support. Gloria Wall, 291 Creekside, commended the Palo Alto City Council for the addendum to protect non-smokers in the workplace about a year ago. The original ordinance covered hospitals, theatres, and public meeting places, and five years later one-third of the Palo Alto restaurant space was reserved for non-smokers. The fears that the no smoking ordinance would cause employers to lose busi- ness or create tensions between workers requiring mediation did not happen. She understood the complaints from businesses and workplaces were minimal and amicably resolved. The restaurant scene was still something else. A recent Gallop poll showed - that third only to loud noise and bad service, the complaints for no smoking sections increased in the greatest number. The complaints were from people under 25 years old and over 50 years. The age groups were not to be ignored because people under 25 and over 50 ate out a lot. Palo Alto lead the way in applied knowledge of how smoke free air could promote good lung health and she commended and reinforced the Council's steps to provide a realistic 80 per- cent of restaurants seating for .the more than two-thirds adult population that did not smoke. She urged Council support. Ed O'Dwyer, 5992 Cahalan Avenue, San Jose, was Vice President of the American Lung Association of Santa Clara County.. The Council- had a long history of recognizing and doing something about the problem of secondhand smoke, and he commended them. Once again, Palo Alto was taking a step to bring things more realistically in line with the population. Mervyn Field's poll indicated in Cal ifor'hia, three out of four Californian s did not smoke. He i/6889. 1 suspected that in Palo Al to, these numbers were higher: He rernm- mended that Council consider, as was done in a few other cities, requiring the host or hostess ask the person entering the restau- rant about their preference. He supported Palo Al to s efforts to keep the air clean Councilmember Klein did not see the logic in language which would allow a less than 50 Seat restaurant to have a mixture of smoking and non- smoking when that was not all owed in section (13) (1) for working establ 1.shments, cafeterias, lunchrooms and lounges with less. than 640 square feet. He suggested that the protec tion was necessary even more for a small restaurant because with a 40 seat restaurant, people were sort of "cheek by jowl" with the people there, and one would inevitably be affected by two tables of people smoking more so than in a larger restaurant. He believed Council should follow the suggestion of Mr. Riddl e and put those restaurants to the market test. He bel ieved the result would be that virtually all of them would go for prohibiting smoking entirely which would be a benefit. AMENDMENT: Councilmember !Cl ein moved, seconded by Cobb, re Sects us A(2) (b) , that the 1 angrage be returned to "Permit unrestricted smoking." Mayor Levy asked if there was anything to prevent a restauranteur of a small restaurant of less than 50 seats from designating a no smoking section without the 80/20 language. City Attorney Diane Lee believed the owner of a 50 person or less restaurant had two choices: 1) entirely smoking; or 2) entirely no smoking . Councilmember Renzel said if the intent was to alert people before they entered one of the small restaurants that there was apt to be smoking inside, the restauranteur could designate to permit smokers, but could restrict however many tables they wanted for non- smokers. If the real problem was to keep non- smokers from having to breathe smoke, if they chose to enter voluntarily when the restaurant permitted smoking, that could be done. Ms. Lee said if that was what the Council desired, she could draft the ordinance that way. Construing the language in front of her in response to Mayor Levy' s question, she believed if Council wanted it to provide that when smoking was permitted, it could be done on some percentage basis rather than a total basis. Councilmember Renzel bel ieved it was absurd to expect that because they permitted smoking, they would have to mandate smoking. She clarified it was notice to the non-smoker what the motion was concerned about. Councilmember Fletcher said that was correct. She suggested the section read: A. Prohibit smoking in the entire area; or B, permit smoking; and post a notice of the col icy at the entrance to the a sta b 1 i shay en t. AMENDMENT RESTATED: in Section A(2)(b) to read 'Permit Smoking° deleting the word 'unrestricted.' Councilmember Renzel said that with the understanding that the modification essentially all owed a restauranteur to go back to the 80/20 or 60/30 or whatever was wanted but that they: had to post notice that they were a smoking restaurant, she had no objection to the amendment It all owed for non- smokers entering a small restaurant to know they were apt to he subjected to smoke. She supported the amendment. AMENDMENT PASSED _ unabnimossi y, *Polley absent. Vice Mayor Cobb compl imented Councilmember Fl etcher He would probably have moved more cautiously because he was such a fanatic on the subject and was afraid to impose such an intensely held personal opinion as public policy, but she provided him with an o pportunity to exercise it without letting his fanaticism show. He believed a great service was done to the community and he thanked her. Councilmember Renzel commended Councilmember Fletcher for putting her observations to work in bringing the matter before the Coun- cil . She al so noticed that Palo Al to came a long way from when she used to ride the bus from Washington D.C. to Williamsburg and there were four rows where non- smoker s could sit and the rest of the bus was full of smoke, and the same was true of the airl Ines. Councilmember Bechtel preferred to sit in a restaurant that was 100 percent no smoking. She was bothered by Council imposing another bureaucratic regul ation and the exampi es cited by Counc il- member Fletcher of the airlines, trains and buses, the trains had the fl exibll ity of being able to respond to market conditions just asthe airs Ines. Airl Ines were required to provide either smoking or non-smoking as the passengers requested and .they had flexibil- ity. If, by a fluke, the airplane was full of smokers that requested smoking seats, they could move the seats. There was not a magical 80/20 or two-thirds/one-third. Restaurants were al so able to have- the fl exibll ity, .and the example of Theo` s that had an area they expanded or decreased depending upon the demand was o ne riliich was responsive to the market. She was bothered by magically corning up with 80 percent. Her experience was in most I arger restaurants in Palo Al to, smoking sections tended to be o ne-third, and the non-smoking sections tended to be two-thirds, but it depended on the configuration of the restaurant. Some were ideally able to separate the smoker s from non-smokers just by the layout of the restaurant. When Council imposed such a restric- tion, they were adding a bureacracy she bel ieved was al ready being responded to. She was uncomfortable with adding the other layer. She believed,.it was unnecessary; that the publ is was al ready push- ing the restauranteurs to do it. Council would not be doing any more than the public already demanded. She suggested separating the 80 percent portion for purposes of voting. Mayor Levy was persuaded that smoking was injurious to the heal th o f the people near the smoker. Because it was a heal th problem, it became a proper subject for City Council consideration. He disagreed that because a certain portion of the population had to wait longer to be seated than another portion of the population that Council should enact an ordinance. The question was whether Council should go further, and he was satisfied that it should. The ordinances on the books protected those people who needed a no smoking area for health reasons. He had not personally heard from members of the publ is that the City's ordinances were inadequate. He was surprised that only four members of the public spoke and expected to see far more because of the importance given to the subject over the;. years and because a significant article was pl ac ed in the local `°news pa per publicizing that the issue would be discussed that evening. The fact that there were few speakers and that he heard from no members of the public lead Mei to believe that proper 1 egiel ation was on the books. The examples given -- Amtrak, the airlines, certain restaurants --were proof that the marketplace worked. . The one or two thirds depending on the loca- tion would still hold, and, therefore, members of the public con- cerned about heal th still had an opportunity to be in a smoke -free environment. . lie did not believe it was necessary to move to a more ex'tre a position -- the present position was bal anced--it satisfied him as a non-smoker and one who sat in non-smoking areas. He would not support the motion. 5 6 3 2 4/08/85 Councilmember flcnzol was also in a few restaurants where she had the choice of waiting fur a non-smoking table or leaving because she refused to sit in a smoking section. Plenty of. people were bothered by smoke, but were not adamant enough to walk away. Unless something was said, the restauranteur was hard put to measure the kind of business lass suffered as a result of that kind of policy. Regarding the percentage of smoking versus non- smoking comporting to the layout of the restaurant, if the res- taurant currently permitted 67/33 percent or 25/75, they could switch them and make whatever wao the smoking section, non- smok- ing, and vice versa. It seemed to her t.At the numbers were com- parable enough that if there were a layout problem, it could be dealt with.- She believed eestauranteurs would most likely welcome a.regula.tion that put them all:on an equal footing. She suspected that much of the reluctance of restaurants was because of the con- cern about the competition and whether they would drive business elsewhere. She remembered when the movie theatre provision was put in, the City was told by the existing Palo Alto movie theatres they would all go out of business and everyone would go to Menlo Park for the movies. As pointed out by a member of the public, people cheered when the movie theatre put on the screen that smok- ing was prohibited by the Palo Alto Municipal Code. The fact that restauranteurs were not in attendance protesting suggested to her that they too would welcome the .ability to make the restrictions without the threat of putting themselves at a disadvantageous come petitive position with other restaurants. They. knew the statis- tics and that 75 percent of Palo Al tans were non- smokers. Councilmember Fletcher pointed out that smokers did not smoke while they ate and yet the smoke impinged on non-smokers who were eating. The marketplace was not taking care of the problem-- Theo's was the only restaurant she knew besides the Good Earth where they. had the 20 percent set aside. The City had evidence of two restaurants which said they required no more than 20 percent for a smoking area. Currently, the majority part of the rest- aurants were smoking and smoke drifted. to the non-smoking area, and in essence, it was not much of a non-smoking area. The lack of public reaction to the newspaper article indicated to her that there was not much opposition. The fact that the item was heard after 10:00 p.m., people might not have stayed, but en the other hand, if there was opposition, Council would have heard. She was grateful for the support of the Chamber of Commerce. Councilmember Klein did riot believe Council was going "to ex- treme." The burden of proof was on people 3. rho smoked --it was they who were asking for an extreme position; it was they who imposed. Health rights for everyone else were first and it should be . the exception that smoking was permitted. People were not allowed to do other.. things which damaged the health of others, and even though it was sometimes a minor annoyance, it was an annoyance that people should only be subjected to under restrictive condi- tions.- He, therefore, believed it was appropriate. When talking about market conditions, it was important to remember the airline example was not appropriate because they knew in advance who their customers would be and had the computer capability of adjusting. A restaurant did not know who might come in and was in .a different situation. Beyond that, there was the question of the moral authority of the . law andhe believed the City's present ordinance where it used a onethird non-smoking/ two-thirds smoking was from a different era where the message there a was that smoking was still the majority and those who felt smoking was an imposition and . a. health hazard were some type of minority. The : contrary was; true -- whether the number was two-thirds/one-third or 80/20, At still seemed that the smokers were in the minority and they should be the ones segregated off. The statement of the law was they were the exception and not the rule. Councilmember Fl etcher' s motion was a service to the public, provided . the right answer and gave the moral authority a local governments should provide on the i ssue. 4/08/83 Councilmember Bechtel said in the interest of consistency, ahe asked Council to consider having eating establishments seating 50 or more persons set aside two-thirds of the seating capacity for non-smokers, which would solve the problem of the restauranteur. If the restauranteur wanted to be more restrictive, they could do a 90/10 or whatever else they night want to do. AMENDMENT: Covicilmesber Bechtel moved, seconded by Setorius, in Section (A)(`i) that eating establishments seating 50 or more persons set aside two-thirds of the seating capacity far non- smokers and smoking areas be clearly identified with signs. COuncilmember Sutorius believed the logic behind Councilmember Bechtel's amendment was sound and it was helpful to have:unenimity on such an issue. He was aware that Council was discussing direc- tion to the City Attorney, that the matter would return, and when it did, it would have had the benefit of any publicity attending that evening's meeting and the publicity attending the agenda item itself when it returned as an actual . ordinance change. He would be guided by whatever happened at that time. If the amendment for two-thirds passed, and 1f'- the ordinance returned that way and if it were clearly demonstrated that 80/20 had cleen logic, that was fine. He believed a two-thirds/one--third reversal was sound logic, and he supported the amendment. Councilmember Renzel opposed the amendment. While the amendment made the ordinance consistent with the office ordinance, she believed the 80 percent figure was more reasonable. The presump- tion seemed to be if it was a standoff and there were smokers and non-smokers at the same table,. the non-smoker would give in and go to a smoking table. She believed the motion put the smoker in that position and arbitrated the decision in such a way that mini- mized the impact on other people. The 80/20 tended to more close- ly reflect the desires of people while they ate. The City's ear- lier ordinances were more liberal in that respect because of the potential of mixed tables and assuming the non-smokers would then go to a smokers table. For the protection of the non-smokers, they probably had a better chance if the tables available were nbn-stoking. AMENDMENT FAILED by a vote of 2-6, Bechtel, Set:arias voting 'aye,* *.alley absent. NOTION DIVIDED FOR PURPOSES OF VOTING FIRST PART OF NOTION (PARAORAPN A) PASSED by a vote of 7le Levy voting '"no," Woolley absent. SECOND PART OF NOTION (PARAGRAPH It) PASSED by a .vote of 7-1, Levy voting mossy. Yselley;absent. ITEM #7 FOOTHILLS PARK DAM (PAR 2-15) (CMR:229:5) Director of Public Works David Adams introduced Pat Stone, Supervising Engineer, in charge of the project. Council was being asked for direction on a difficult problem because of the expense involved and the sensitive: environmental issues. Staff proposed the following options, and he pointed out there ware variations for each option. The first option was to drain the lake and con- vert it to a grass area for approximately $250,000; the second option was to fix the dam using park sites for material disposal and for borrow , areas° . Staff selected borrow and disposal areas which might vary as environmental assessments were made. There would be an improvement if an improvement could be found. It would cost about 5600,000 under current estimates. .The third option was to haul in: all new material and to haul Out all old material for an'estimate ,te of about $1.3 . million. The 'bottom l i ne" was whether to preserve the lake, and if so, at what cost. Councilmember Witherspoon asked what fed the lake --whether it was a spring or a seasonal creek. Mr. Stone said the lake was presently being fed by the Blanco Water Tank which was near the proposed site. Councilmember Witherspoon clarified with staff if water was not imported, there would be no lake. Councilmember Witherspoon understood a drainage system was neces- sary and she asked if that was because of the swale during the winter. Mr. Stone said yes. The runoff during the winter period would create a ponding effect and a drainage system was needed to take care of it. City Manager Bill Zaner said staff attempted to program one of the alternatives into the Capital Improvement Program being developed, which would be presented to Council in a matter of weeks. Staff took the second alternative; that is, the one which allowed for the lake to be restored, but used the park both for painting the new fill and for the disposal area, and placed that in the CIP at a cost of about $600,000. Those funds were now in the draft CIP and the CIP could be made to work for next year and still be held under $3,000,000. If Council decided on the third alternative, the one that cost about $1.3 million, it would drive the capital improvement program next year to about $3.4 or $3.5 million. Councilmember Bechtel said the City Manager's comments were en- couraging if Council went with the second alternative. She asked about the implications of a "no" project alternative. She under- stood an unsafe major dam could cause some serious safety prob- lems. She did not know how deep the lake was or how many gallons of water they were talking about, but her impression was it was only about two to five feet deep. It did not appear to be that much water, and if there was an earthquake, she asked about the implications. Was the City required to make the modifications by the State or was it a good idea. Mr. Adams said the people in the Dam Safety Section would not tell the City whether it would be forced to repair the dam, but they were told in all other similar cases, they required the dams\to be repaired or evacuated --and sometimes evacuated and repaired. Although the City was not told it had to do it --it had to do it. Mr. Stone said the lake was approximately four feet deep, and staff calculated about 1,900,000 cubic feet of water. It meant the equivalent of a river the size of the South Fork or the American or the Stanislaus River which flowed -between 5,000 cubic feet per second and 10,000 cubic feet per second during the Spring runoff period. The amount of water in the lake would essentially create a flow that would last fo►r about three minutes equivalent to one of the two rivers he mentioned. Even though it was only four feet deep, there was quite a bit of water, which could cause damage to individuals or vehicles. Councilmember Sutorius said the proposed fill site for alternative 2 appeared to have been a borrow site at an earlier time. He was curious as to whether the borrowing from that site was for the purpose of the construction of the dam, and if so, what did the City know about the proposed borrow. sites which were immediately adjacent to the earlier site, .and the soil suitability of where it would be taken from. Mr. Stone .said the existing proposed disposal site was soil mater- ial which was used for : the construction of the dam originally. The present dam embankment :material was not bad, but that material was saturated which created the unsafe condition. The foundation material of the existing dam was defective and a poor t_ypA of material. He spoke of the material which existed prior to the construction of the dam --the material that the new embankment material was placed upon. Councilmember Sutorius clarified the design contemplated going below the fill material and getting into the original soil', and take out all of the saturated, unsuitable foundation material. He asked if it was satisfactory to use Just the fill material from either of the proposed sites or whether it needed to be a special material that first went down. Mr. Stone said the proposed borrow sites would be certified by the City's soils engineer. Testing was currently being done on those sites. The soil materials would be certified to the latest Divi- sion of Safety Dam's specifications and standards. Councilmember Sutorius said if the process was to be undertaken, what were the impacts to the Foothills Fire Station which was recently approved. In that connection, he referred not just to the Station itself which was immediately above the proposed fill site, but the access road and the provision of utility service lines which he recalled were somewhat parallel to the access road and involved going through the proposed fill site. He was not sure how that would be handled if later on there were some fill action and roads. Mr. Stone said staff opined the proposed utilities would not be impacted. The Foothills Fire Facility would be constructed this year, and the utilities would be laid. The electricity would be brought from the Boronda Lake and that would be brought directly up the side of the existing hill to the proposed site for the Foothills Fire Facility. Staff would dispose of material at that location, but he did not see it impacting the particular utility line. The septic system should not be impacted in any way because it would be located right at the site of the fire station and the proposed water line would be from the Blanco tank, which should not be impacted. In terms of the access roads going to the Foot- hills Fire Station, staff would see to it that the side slopes of the disposal site area were kept such that the road was not im- pacted either. Councilmember Sutorius asked about the actual amount of removal staff estimated to determine that actual amount of fill. Mr. Stone said the actual amount of soil material being removed was approximately 40,000 cubic yards which would be disposed of at the disposal site. Councilmember Sutorius asked about the site's capacity. Mr. Stone said staff determined there was was ample space for 40,000 cubic yards at the particular site. Councilmember Klein said the choices were bad, worse and worst. He asked whether there were other alternatives. Mr. Adams said many other alternatives were explored and all were rejected. Staff had the help of expert consultants in the field, had it checked by other consultants, and then had it checked by the people who administered the safety of dams. Staff was confi- dent the alternatives were the best possible with some minor vari- ations. Under any alternative, the lake would be drained during the construction period, and that would, probably have to be done the coming fall with the actual work on the dam done_ i n the spring of 1986. The exact timing was not yet determined, but time had to be allowed for "-drying the area. The fish would be safeguarded, but the lake would be drained. 5 6 3 6 4/08/85 1 Mr. Stone said staff explored four other alternatives which seemed feasible. One was to put down an impervious blanket of either clay or some type of plastic membrane in the lake bed area. It was ruled out because it was possible to puncture the plastic mem- brane during construction. The soil material of the existing lake bed was a soft clay, and if a puncture occurred after the membrane was laid down and the lake was filled, a weak situation would develop and the lake would again have to be drained to make the repairs. Staff explored the idea of pressure -grabbing the dam where they would drill holes on two -foot centers along the entire crest of the dam. The holes would be injected with a type of pressure- grout material sort of like forcing concrete into the pores od the soil extending down however deep was necessary. That alternative was ruled out because it was an untried procedure. It was not commonly done and staff had no way of knowing its effec- tiveness and it was unlikely that the Division of. Safety Dams would agree to the procedure. Staff considered vertical and hori- zontal drains which would lower the water surfaceand make the dam less saturated and more stable. Holes, filled with a type of rock material, would be drilled into the dam and a pumping system would be placed in those holes In order for the water to be extracted. The problem was that the Division of Safety Dams did not like to rely upon any system which depended upon are external source of power --something other than gravity-ato remove water from a satur- ated dam. If there was a power failure, the dam would be unsafe and it could once again re saturate. The horizontal drains would also lower the water surface in the dam .and stabilize the dam. The alternative was not cost-effective since the depth of the trenches had to be so deep; and, from a construction standpoint, it would be difficult to dig a trench that deep in a poor type of material: Two consultants, who specialized in earth- filled dam analysis and construction, ruled out the vertical and horizontal drain procedure. Staff also considered building up the crest of the darn in order to have about 15 more feet freeboard above the water surface. The alternative was not cost-effective because it required a large amount of soil material to be placed on either the lakeside of the crest or the asphalt road side of the crest. It would also be impractical from a construction standpoint. Staff was left with the tried and true procedure the Division of Safety Dams was used to, which placed the stability berm`, or addi- tional soil material on the downstream side. Councilmember Bechtel agreed with Councilmember Klein the alter- natives seemed to be bad, worse and worst. If Council chose Alternative 2, and the lake were drained in the fall, and it rained all winter, and the lake had to be drained more, and con=- struction began in the spring, she asked about the timeframe` involved. Mr. Stone said once construction on the dam actually began, from the time the lake was drained (which staff recommended be four to five months prior to construction), constructing the improvements would take approximately three months. Councilmember Bechtel envisioned the road beneath the dam would be closed and access to the whole lower area of the park would have to be via a different road. Soil would be moved to two other big hills and the lake would be drained so that the closer in part of the park would be unusable for a good percentage of time.. Mr. Adams said that was not necessarily the case. The road would not necessarily have to be closed, but there would be inconven- ience for the park users. The work could proceed with flagmen holding up traffic for the one section of the road which would have to be used for a haul road, which section was along the dam front. A temporary haul road would be built between -road and the disposal or the borrow sites. The park would not necessarily have to be closed. During the environmental review proceee, the possi- bility of closing the park during certain periods of Construction might be considered. } Councilmember Bechtel did not like any of the alternatives, but did not believe Council had a choice. The alternatives took the favorite kite --flying hill and vista hill, but she did not see what else could be done.. There were picnic tables beneath the dam and the safety hazards were severe enough in that it was 1,000,000 cubic feet of water. MOTION. Councilmember Bechtel moved, seconded by Fletcher, to authorize staff to proceed on basis of recommendation #E2 as fol- lows: Repair the dam using a borrow site and disposal site within the park. The scope of work would consist of removing and replacing unsuitable foundation soil at the toe of the dare, as indicated on the dam cross section;, Attachment 1 of the staff report (CMR:229:5) . The unsuitable soil would be disposed of within the. park, and replacement earth would be excavated from a nearby site within the park. Sites, which are being considered for both ex- cavation and disposal , are shown on a site plan, Attachment 1I (CMR:229: 5) . These sites would be examined more closely as to their exact location and size during final design, as well as in the site and design review process. The first candidate borrow site, 81, has a maximum cut of 15 feet and width of approximately 560 feet. The second candidate borrow site, 82, has a maximum cut of 25 feet and width of approximately 310 feet. The disposal site, D, has a maximum fill of approximately 20 feet and width of approximately 400 feet. These sites are indicated on a cross sec- tion, Attachment 111 (CMR:229:5), and 1n view analysis, Attachment IV (ClR:229:5). The dimensions are based on preliminary esti- mates, for the purpose of defining a general shape and size of the earth work. The scope of work would require temporarily draining the lake during construction. This option would result in sub- stantial disruption to park users during construction. The sig- nificant environmental impacts include reducing the size of one park hill and creating a new park fill, as well as constructing haul roads to access the disposal and borrow sites. The haul roads would be removed at the conclusion of the project. The estimated cost is $600,000 including hydroseedl ng the new hills, new dam face, and vacated haul roads. Further, direct staff to report back to Council utilizing an environmental review process. Councilmember Bechtel clarified her motion included the in -the - park borrow and disposal site. She completely eliminated the option of draining the lake and being done with it because the lake had an attraction which was important to the citizens of Palo Alto. She asked about whether staff envisioned an entire environ- mental impact report or an environmental assessment. iiirector of Planning and Community Environment Ken Schreiber said staff would begin with a series of analyses in order to decide whether to make some type of mitigated negative declaration or a full environmental impact report. Staff did not presently have enough information to make that decision. Councilmember Bechtel clarified 'her motion included an environ- mental review process --not an EIR per se. Vice Mayor Cobb also believed a permanent draining of the lake of was unacceptable. He agreed with Councilmember Bechtel's motion, but believed there must be a better way. He clarified the cost was about $600,000 and the problems were not anticipated a year ago. Mr. Zaner said staff anticipated repairing the dam, but at a lesser cost. The $600,000 was spread across two years because as indicated by the Public Works staff, construction would not begin until Spring, 1986, and the last payments could be stretched to the next fiscal year. ViceMayor Cobb asked what capital projects would suffer because of the dam repair. 4/8838§ Mr. Zaner Said the capital projects were squeezed very tight and he did not want to pick one that suffered more than others. It would be a tight capital improvement program just like last year. There were two major unanticipated projects -the Foothills Dam was one, and the other was having to build hazardous and toxic mater- ial storage space for the City's own facilities, which would cost $400,000 per year for the next two years just to comply with the City's own ordinances. Vice Mayor Cobb observed the difference between the alternatives was basically an incremental cost of $400,000 spread over two years. He believed the public would want Council to keep the lake up there, but asked if there were any alternatives which suggested drawing the lake down part way in order to dry out the part doing the seepage and perhaps save costs that way. Mr. Adams said no because the problem was with the saturation of the material on the forward edge of the dam and the fact that no matter how much water was there, it would continue to seep through. The extent of water behind the dam was not the problem, Vice Mayor Cobb clarified it was like having a sponge up there that just soaked up the water. If the lake were drained in the fall, and it rained all winter, it seemed like an inefficient time to drain the lake. He asked why not drain the lake at the end of the rainy season when i t would dry out quicker. Mr. Adams said staff was still not sure just when to drain the lake; and with the budget split over two years, it might be drained in the January timeframe. Even though it would rain, staff could get rid of the water and take care of the other ac- tions for the environmental concerns. The rainwater would be drained as it came in so that they would still help the saturation of the face of the dam. Counci 1 mersrber Renzel asked i f there was any way to do a cofferdam or something prior to the dam which now existed. She asked if they could reach the water level at such a place that it .did not seep down . under both. Could they make a small lake behind the existing dam and keep the larger lake behind a better constructed dam above the first dam. Would the water still seep through the medium underneath the whole lake or was it at the face of the dam itself. Mr. Stone said a cofferdam situation would not do the job. If a cofferdam -like material were driven 30 or 40 feet deep and the lake allowed to remain on the other side of the cofferdam, the water would still seek its own level. It would seep underneath the cofferdam and rise to the level it was in the lake. Essen- tially, it would saturate the dam and would be ineffective in lowering the water surface line in the dam nor would it be effec- tive in stabilizing the dam. Counci lmember Renzel said by the; term "cofferdam° she meant any kind of a proper structure prior to the structure which now existed. She clarified that if the poorly designed structure failed, only a small amount of water from the part in between the two dams would actually go out and not present a great hazard to anything. She also asked ''about excavating from within the lake itself to buttress up the end by the reservoir. Mr. Stone said a cofferdam would have to be driven right into bed- rock which was about 80 feet deep. That in and of itself would be expensive. He did not know whether a cofferdam or whatever. could be Joined together for the entire length of 80 feet such that there would not be any seepage. Unless it could be guaranteed, there was , no way that the seepage would not begin saturating again. It might eliminate some, but there were no guarantees es to how well that would work. 5 6 3' 9 4/08/85 Counci lmcmbcr Renzel asked if the Safety Board was more concerned about failure of the earth mass or the resultant flooding or both. Mr. Stone said both° They were concerned about the safety aspect of the dams which were under their jurisdiction --.the failure of the, dams for which they had the responsibility of ensuring the safety and also the consequences of that failure. The dam itself was about 80 feet high and earth filled. Even though the depth of water in the lake was four feet, it fell under the jurisdiction of the Division of Safety Dams. Mr. Adams likened the situation to the failure along 280 in sev- eral places where it had not rained for a long time yet there were currently large slip outs. The Foothill Dam problem would be sev- eral times thR largest of those slip outs and could cause damage just by the earth movement let alone the water, which would still happen with a cofferdam. The Division of Safety Dams was con- cerned about the earth movement as well as the water. Councilrnember Renzel said the City was accustomed to having Boronda Lake and staff might consider returning to Council when it returned with further information whether there was a more appro- priate place to have a lake in Foothills Park. It night be cheaper to look at that alternative rather than to try and pre- serve the particular lake. . She would support the motion. Councilnenber Witherspoon considered the alternative on the floor to be the worst. She could not see spending $600,000, and was convinced it would cost more. She also concluded there must be a better place in the park for a lake where an 80 foot dam did not have to be built in order . to have a four foot deep lake for the ducks to swim in. She would not support the motion. Councilmember Renzel clarified the environmental review process would include alternatives to the project which might offer alter- native lake sites if it seemed appropriate. Mr. Schreiber said the environmental review process would include alternatives. James Morley, 160 waverl ey Street. said if the ground had to be taken, he recommended it be graded such that it looked natural. It would be a terrible visual loss to the park. MOTION PASSED by a vote of 7-1, Witherspoon voti i, Woolley absent. ITIM 08-A (OLD ITEM #3), DOWNTOWN PARK NORTH - DESIC,N AND CONTRACT ADM1RI'T3 ATION (PLA - John Fredrich, 421 Everett, was interested in the idea of modi- fying the design concept plan. On April 153 1985, there would be a meeting at the Palo Alto Times/Tribune building sponsored by the Downtown Park North Neighborhood -Association and the Director of Recreation. He requested flexibility in modifying the original concept design, and said a survey should follow the demolition last week of the seven houses with the idea that instead of an open boil surrounding new plantings, the existing plantings be maximized in the wide open area facing Waverley rather than in the middle of the bl cck . There were points Of design suggested by the demolition that were contrary to the concept design which might 5 6 4 0 4/08/85 allow for lower cost construction of the park He specifically wanted to see the original con ept design implemented to preserve the orchard behind the houses at 244 Kipling and 421 Everett, He suggested reconsideration of whether the houso at 421 Everett could be saved. He suggested the house might be saved by making it a referendum item on the November ballot. He was continually concerned about the way the project developed --not quite on the request for proposal level aad not quite on the fair, open and impartial hearing level so that there was a high degree of involvement of the Downtown Park North Neighborhood Association and the Director of Recreation. He hoped that if the issue of preserving 421 Everett was a refererndum item for the November ballot that it be considered from the viewpoint of whether it could be used as a neighborhood or recreation center with Palo Alto youth involvement. He hoped to see ARB review of the plans the implementation consultant drafted. James Morley, 160 Waverley, thanked the City for saving the wisteria and many trees and shrubs not on the original . survey of the park. The bulldozer operator deserved credit for his skill and thoughtfulness. An unexpectedly beautiful natural setting was revealed as the result of random plantings in the va. ..au s back- yards. He had not imagined the park site would look t{ good all by itself. He requested a hold on the elaborate plan y an out- side consultant and a chance to design around the plants now grow- ing there to keep the park simple and save money in the process. The April 15 meeting about the park was to discuss fine details of the gardens and play area of the original plan. He suggested instead an opportunity to review new ideas in light of what appeared in the wake of the bulldozer. It was a pleasant reality, and he asked that the City take full advantage., Mike Lee, 164 Hawthorne, said Council was invited to look around the site from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Saturday, April 13. Many trees never officially recorded were saved. The park was being designed by bulldozers and the result proved many times better than he ever dreamed. It seemed to be a new approach in dealing creatively with final reality. There was no compromise. North Park was a fitting name. MOTION: Mayor Levy moved, seconded by Cobb, to adopt the staff recommendation as follows: 1. Authorize the Mayor to execute the agreement with the firm of Singer & Hodges, ,Inc. in the amount of $50,745, for the design and contract admaaistratioa services, for the Downtown Park North project; and 2. Authorize staff to execute change orders to the agreement for additional services of up to #7,500,, AGREEMENT - PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING CONSULTANT SERVICES DOWNTOWN PARK NORTH CIF 84-05 Sieger & Hodges Councilmember Bechtel commended the public for waitingthrough the meeting. She asked if Singer & Hodges would consider the existing materials which were preserved by the bulldozer driver as requested by the public. Mr. Adams said the consul tants were wi 1 l i ng to discuss anything at the meeting of April 15. Staff would be trying to go along with the approved basic Master Plan and would take the process through the ARB. Staff would consider other alternatives, but in the con- text of the approved master plan. Councilmember Bechtel clarified the master plan was approved by Council. Mr. Adams said that was correct.. Councilmember Renzel assumed that if the contractor saw the need for some modifications to the master plan, it might return to Council. She asked if the contract price ;were determined by the master plan. Mr. Adams said the contractor's price covered anything that was a slight modification to the master plan. The restrictions were basically due to the grading requirements where trees might have to be removed. Many trees were already saved and there would be a net gain of about 17 trees if the master plan were put into effect as currently envisioned. Councilmember Renzel appreciated there was flexibility as a result of the public input. She thanked the members of the public who had significant influence over how many of the trees were saved during the demolition process. MOTION PASSED unanioawsly, Woolley absent. ADJOURNMENT TO CLOSED SESSION Council adjourned to a closed session re personnel at 12:10 a.m. FINAL ADJOURNMENT Final adjournment at 12:35 a.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: CITY COUNCIL MINUTEt CITY OF PALO ALTO Regular Meeting Monday, April 15, 1985 ITEM PAGE Minutes of March 18, 1985 5 6 4 4 Consent Calendar 5 6 4 4 Referral 5 6 4 4 Item #1, 1985-90 Capital Improvement Program - 5 6'4 4 Refer to Finance & Public Works Committee Action 5 6 4 4 Item #2, Tire Services 5 6 4 4 Item #3, Construction of Bl a..co Water Line 5 6 4 4 in foothills Park Item #5, Cambridge Avenue Undergrounding 5 6,4 4 Conversion Agenda Changes, Additions and Deletions 5 6 4 5 Item #6, PUBLIC HEARING: Planning Commission Recommendation re Application of Laurence and Katherine Moore for Preliminary Parcel Map at 1280 Lincoln Avenue Item #7, Policy & Procedures Committee Recommenda- tion re Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws 7,or Community Access Organization for Cable Program- ming Item #8, Report from Council Legislative Committee Item #8-A (Old Item 4), Grant Application for Roberti-Z'serg Funds - Downtown Park North Item #9, Request of Councilmember Bechtel re Enforcement of Bicycle Regulations in Shopping District 5 6 4 5 5 6 4 6 5 6 5 1 5 6 5 6 5 6 5 7 Adjournment at 9:30 p, . 5 6 5 9 5 6 4 3 4/15/85