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1985-04-15 City Council Summary Minutes
0 CITY COUNCIL r�inures 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 Blanco Water Line 5 6 4 4 in Foothills Park Item #5, Cambridge Avenue Undergrounds ng 5 6.4 4 Conversion Agenda Changes, Additions and Deletions Item 16, PUBLIC BEARING: Planning Commission Recommendation re Application of Laurence and Katherine Moore for Preliminary Parcel Map at 1280 Lincoln Avenue Item 11, Policy & Procedures Committee Recommenda- tion re Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws for Community Access Organization for Cable Program- ming 5 6 4 5 5 6 4 5 5 6 4 6.. Item #8, Report from Council Legislative Committee 5 6 5 1 Item #8-A (Old Items 4), Grant Application for 5 6 5 6 Roberti-Z`Berg Funds - Downtown Park North Item 19, Request of Councilmember Bechtel re 5 6 5 7 Enforcement of Bicycle Regulations in .Shopping District Adjournment at 9:30 p.m. 5 6 5 9 Regular Meeting April 15, 1985 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, at 7:35 p.m. PRESENT: Bechtel, Cobb, Fletcher, Klein, Levy, Renzel, Sutori us, Witherspoon, Woolley Mayo: Levy announced that a Special Meeting re Interviews for Cable Incorporators was held in the Council Conference Room at 6:15 p.m., and on April 22, 1985 at 8:00 p.m., Council would select three of the applicants for the Cable Incorporators. MINUTES OF MARCH 18, 1985 MOTION: Councilrearber Sutorles waved, seconded by Klein, approval of the minutes of March 18, 1985 as submitted, MOTION PASSED unanimously. CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Levy removed Item #4, Grant Application for Roberti-Z`Berg Funds from the Consent Calendar. MOTION: Conncilmeabar Witherspoon moved, seconded by Cobb, approval of the Consent Calendar. Referral ITEM #I, 1985-90 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM - REFER TO FINANCE AND PUBLIC WORKS COMIttTTEt (FIN 3) (CMS: Action ITEM #2, TIRE SERVICES (FIN 9-3) (CMR:259:5) Staff recommends that Council authorize the Mayor to execute a one-year contract with Lawrence Tire Services, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $20,000. AWARD OF CONTRACT Lawrence Tire Service Inc. ITEM #3, CONSTRUCTION OF BLANCO WATER LINE IN FOOTHILLS PARK (1)AR 2-I6) (C 4R:266: Staff recommends that Council approve the Improvement Ordinance providing for the construction of the Blanco water main in Voothi l l s Park. ORDI CE FOR FIRST READING entitled 'ORDINANCE OF Tick COWL of T r CITV;O 'AL; ALTO APPROVING AND AOOPTIMO A PLAN FOR THE -IMPROVEMENT AR CQMSTRiiCTION OF RLAMCO HATER LINE AT FOOTHILLS PARK° ITEM R5 CAMBRIOSE AVENUE UN0ERGROUNU1NC CONVERSION (UTI 8=9) (CMR: — Staff recommends that Council adopt the two resolutions: iftslat COUSENT CALEMg►-►R (Cou t'' RESOLUTION 6366 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF Lo ALTO APPROVING PLANS AND SPECIFICA- TIONS, CALLING FOR SEALED PROPOSALS AND FIXING LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE WORK WITHIN THE TIME SPECIFIED' CAMBRIDGE AVENUE UNDERGROUND UTILITIES ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 27 RESOLUTION 6367 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITT OF PALO ALTO PRELIMINARILY APPROVING ENGINEER'S REPORT, APPOINTING TIME AND PLACE OF HEARING PROTESTS AND DIRECTING NOTICE THEREOF, . AND DESCRIBING PROPOSED BOUNDARIES OF ASSESSMENT DISTRICT AND DIRECTING FILING OF BIUNDART MAP" CAMBRIDGE AVENUE UNDERGROUND UTILITIES ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 27 MOTION PASSED unantsronsty. AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS City Manager Bill Zaner announced that Item #4, Grant Application for Roberti-Z'Berg Funds would become Item 8-A, i i ITEM #6, PUBLIC HEARING: PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION RE APPLICKTtOti OF LAURENCE AND KATHERINE WOOkE FOR F ELfM.INA "FiaaC lam`—ArT t . Councilmember Sutorius noticed, in the EIA on ..page 7, paragraphs 4(a) and (c), that reference was made to the large Deodar cedar proposed for removal. Staff suggested that perhaps it be looked at by an arborist for recommendations for possible retention. He noted no comments in the Planning Commission discussion of the item and asked whether the tree was looked at or whether the con- dition was confirmed as .not being appropriate for retention. Councilmember Renzel confirmed that while Council received a conceptual item of how the house might be placed on the second lot, it was not part of the item before the Council. Executive Assistant Lynni a Melena said that was correct. Mayor Levy declared the public hearing open. Laurence Moore, 1280 Lincoln Avenue, said regarding the large Deodor, that at one time it was one of the tallest and most beau- tiful Over the past six or seven years during storms., most of the large limbs were blown down. It was a weak tree, and when the house was moved closer to it, .i t would become a hazard since it was so tall and many of the remaining large limbs were SO or 60 feet above the ground. So far they were fortunate that the falling limbs had not caused too much damage to their house. Counci 1 Member Renzel asked if Mr. Moore :intended :to develop the second lot. Mr. Poore said he _intended- to develop i t . He did not - want to leave it to some speculator to build a house next to his. Mayor Levy declared-thepublic hearing closed. 5 6 4 5. 4/15/85 MOTION: Vice Mayon Cobb moved, seconded by itecktei , is adopt thePlanrinq Commission recomresdativns that the proposed prelimi- nary parcel nap will not have an adverse environmental Impact and that the exception for an area of 9,654 square feet. for Lot 2 should be granted because: 1. There are special circumstances or conditions affecting the property, including that it is one of the two largest parcels on the block and can accommodate two housing units without a significant increase in intensity of land use; in the neighbor- hood; 2. The exception Is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a substantial property right of petitioner in that, wt tbont the lot division, he will be required to retain a lot area much larger than any of the surrounding parcels of lend; 3. The granting of the exception will not be detrimental to the prblic welfare or injurious to other property in the territory in which the parcel is situated i n that the two► hovsss will be required to nett the same setback regrirements as the sur- rounding properties; and 4.. The granting of the exception will not violate the require- ments, goals, policies or spirit of the law in that the sub- standard lot is only 3.5 percent under the minimum lot size for the zone district. Approve the pre! i mi 4aryr parcel map with the conditions that: 1. The existing house be relocated so that it does net straddle the proposed new property line; 2. A covered parking space be provided for the relocated house; and 3. If the access to the covered parking space on Lot 1 is from University Avenue, the driveway be improved to City standards. NOTIAII. PASSER unanimously. ITEM #7 POLICY AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION RE BYLAWS FOR OIGANITAYIC4 TOR CABLE PROGRAMMING (PRE 7-3) (CMR:24'l: Councilmember Woolley, Chair of the Policy an() Procedures (P&P) Committee, said that on February 11, 1985, Council voted to refer the revision of the bylaws of the Community Access Organization (CAO) to the P&P Committee. She . pointed out that the authority for establishing - a CAO rested riot with the City Council as was the case with most of the agreements concerning cable, but rather with the Joint Cable Working Group. Staff checked with the other five entities of , the Joint Cable Working Group, and they agreed with the revisions evade by the P&P Committee. NOTION Councilmerber Woolley for the Policy and Procedures Committee . moved re Articles of Incorporation and bylaws for a Community Access Orgael zati 0e for Cable Programming as follows: 1. Approval of .the staff retomuen4atlon (CMR:215:S) to Article 4, Section 1, paragraph "2, of the Ryrl aws regarding the number of directors; 2. Apprsval of than staff recommendation (CRR:215:5) to Article 4, ssctira 5, paragraph 1, of the a $,Hawn Addstiwaa ly, that the last lines ie that paragraph be revised to .read, "...not including these directors whose terms are duo-. to expire..." 6 6 4 6 4/15/85 NOTION CONTINUED 3. The staff recommendation to the Bylaws regarding the chair- person be approved; 4. Agendas of the Community Access Organization meetings be pub- lished and generally circulated, and that staff be directed to provide the specific wording; S. The wording of No. 8 la the Bylaws, Section 1, Article 2 , Purposes, be deleted; 6. A new purpose be added, To cooperate with the City of Palo Alto end the fraechlsee to develop and potentially provide data communications and other enhanced cable services.' 7. The Bylaws, Article 9, be amended to require tern members of the board for any changes in the proposed laws; and 8. The wording of Article 4 of the Bylaws, Directors, paragraph 4, the first line, *A11 directors shall be residents or work in the service area." Counci lmember Witherspoon said when Council was reviewing candi- dates earlier that evening, one mentioned a slight discrepancy in the numbers. She asked if that was resolved. Councilmember Sutorius believed the eeference was to Section 5 in the second paragraph where the language spoke to a smaller board than was recommended by the P&P so that when Council returned for amendments, it was in order to change the numbers. It might also be appropriate to indicate that the identification of initial terms should be divided between the two members representing Palo Alto. The third and fourth paragraphs of Section 4 said "...to fill a vacancy on the Board of Directors and subsequent to applications received from residents of the Service Area..." and the phraseology in both paragraphs was affected by the other P&P recommendation covered in Article 4, Section 1, paragraph 4, which referred to residents of or who worked in the service area. Hollis Russo, 2284 Oberlin Street, spoke on behalf of the Cable Communications Cooperative, and said staff and the P&P Committee did an excellent job drafting bylaws for the CAO. It would be an independent organization able to monitor and evaluate as well as stipulate. the use of the cable systems.. Though independent, the CAO was accountable to the public both for the money it received and the services it provided. Its structures must also be flex- ible enough to adapt to changing needs of the .community and to either a privately or cooperatively owned cable, system. They concurred with the P&P Committee's recommendation that agendas of the CAO be published. They alsorecommended that the meetings of the CAO be held at convenient times and places and that the public be encouraged to attend. With the Cable, Coop, they would ;have a subscriber -elected board to -oversee the entire cable system. While formal elections might not be feasible for the CAO. they recommended that the subscribers and interested community members have a voice in the nomination and selection of the elected directors .of the CAO. The board should first publish the nerves of all nominees for elected positions, and it should solicit the advice of subscribers prior to their selection. It could be done in a low-cost convenient manner by .using the monthly.. bi l l i ngs, or over the cable s-y.stem using e call -in program, or in the future, the two-way interactive capability of cable. They also wanted to see some future public : review of those changes tothe bylaws which involved the number, term, and method of selecting directors The CAO should be required to hold a public hearing 'prior to making those types of changes. Currently, any type of bylaw changes required 10 out of the 13 members of the CAO, but for those particular ones that affected the method of selecting directors, a 5 6 4 7 4/15/85 public hearing should be held. Regarding flexibility, they con- curred with the P&P Committee's recommendation to extend the CAO's responsibilities to data communications. They would also like to see the. bylaws encourage a close • working relationship with the franchisee. It did to some extent, but it could be amplified by adding to Purpose 8, the franchisee, so that it would read "To contract with the City of Palo Alto franchisee or other appropri- ate entity to accomplish these purposes." They looked forward to working with the City and the CAO to develop cable as a community resource. Bob Moss, 4010 Orme, concurred with Hollis Russo's comments about the bylaw revision and work done by the staff and the P&P Committee. He strongly urged direct election of the class • of directors presently appointed by those directors, appointed by the various. jurisdictions. .One argument was that it was too difficult, costly and time consuming, but he disagreed. At AAA, proxies -and nominations were sent i n the mail, along wi th . bill s and returned. He belonged to five technical societies, each of which allowed direct nomination and election of officers and amendments to bylaws.by the members of the societies and it worked well; Not all societies had the same number of nominees as offices, and occasionally there were contested offices, but it was important to try and get the subscribers involved in the governance of the CAO. Should Council be interested in that concept, he could provide specific language. He agreed if the Cable Coop got the franchise, the need for direct ,election of directors was much less pressing because there would be the franchisee directors elected by the subscribers and, therefore, the subscribers would have a strong direct voice in the governance of the system. Councilmeraber Bechtel said as a former member of the P&P Committee who dealt with the bylaws in the first round, she believed the present members of the P&P Committee did an excellent job of refinement and tackled .the difficult question of balance between representation of members of the board of directors from those communities served and to general members who were interested from wherever. Although she concurred with some of the comments made by those people interested in being involved in the incorporation process of the CAO, she believed they needed to stick with an 11 - member board of directors. It might be large, but it was appro- priate. AMENDMENT: Cowacil*ember Seteries mewed, seconded by teazel, to revise Article 2, Section 1, to read: Al. to provide open, non- discriminatory access to the cable system prOyi died... * and, to make the word f raechisee(s) consisteet tkreegkemt the bylaws. NOTION PASSED ehanimeesly. AMENDMENT: Consc114ember Setor1ars moved, seconded by Witherspoon, to revise Article 4, Section 4, first paraerapb: Add a period i . 4 at the and of the paragrepk; and the .third andfomrth paragraphs, remove °residents of the Service Area and replacer with *applicants eligible." Councilmember Sutorius said the purpose of the amendment was to ensure consistency in the section with . the change made earlier by the P&P Committee in Section 1, providing that all directors shall be residents of or work in the service area. Councilmember Renzel agreed with the amendment, but wondered if, at the end, it should say subsequent to applications received from applicants eligible to become candidates for the directorship of that service area. Senior 'Assistant City Attorney Aithony .Bennetti said all of -the directors represented the- -- same service area. The service area included all of the five entlt1es 1 AMENDMENT PASSED unanimously. AMENDMENT: Councilmember Setorius moved, seconded by Renzel, to revise Article 4, Section h, ,as .follews: *SECTi4W 5. TERM The terms of Directors, appointed and elected, shall be two (2) years. No Director shall serve for more than a total of eight (8) years. Prier to the expiration of the terms of any appointed Directors, the governing bodies of the jurisdictions represented byby those Directors whose terms are due to expire shall appoint successor Directors Prior to the expiration of the terms of any elected Directors the Beard of Directors, not including the Directors whose terms Are due to expire, shall elect successor Directors, Three (3) of the seven (7) appointed members i nc l udi one (1) of the Palo Alto a of ntees and three (3) of tka ei acted members on e a a oar o rectors ihtii serve for one (i) year. The other four (4) appointed members including one (1) of the Palo Alto __a of ntees and three (3) elected members oo the initial Word o)''' recurs sTaai1 serve for two (2) years. The length of term of each director shall be determined by lot at the first meeting of the hoard of Directors.' AMENDMENT TO AMENDMENT: Councilmember Bechtel moved, . seconded by Renzei, to add to Section 6 the stipulation that prior to the selection of new Directors, nominees' shall be solicited and Nominees listed as a natter of public, record. Mr. Zaner asked for clarification that by the word "solicited" Council meant publicly solicited. Councilmember Bechtel said yes. She intended something l ike . what Council did when it sought applicants to a commission. She wanted to ensure that members of the public knew when there were: vacan- ci es, and presumed there would be a paid advertisement and announcements. She also intended there be an official process for listing vacancies and the fact that an application possibility was available. Councilmember Fletcher suggested that rather than "lis ed" the words be "widely publicized." Councilmember Bechtel could accept publicized, but she hid problems with "widely." Mr. Zaner said the word "publicized" was satisfactory. He pointed outs, that In. Section 40 the wording indicated that directors would d be eppoi rated subsequent to public notice being given of the intent to fill a vacancy on the Board of Directors. The bylaws already required that public notice be given. If Council wanted to add additional wording in Section 5! he suggested that staff insert in the bylaws the same or close to the same wording used. i.n the City's own system. , Councilmember Bechtel said that sounded excellent. AMENDMENT TO AMENDMENT MI TMORANM Mayor Levy understood that the:inteet-of=the former. amendment had two elements: 1) There should be a public solicitation of nutai- pees. and' he understood that was taken care of by Section 4 and 2) The nominees be listed or publicized as a ..matter of public record. Coinciloesaber Bechtel said it should be similar to the City's appointment procedures , to board and commissions. They were listed in the public packets al elg with the Council agenda. 5 6 4 D 4/15/85 AMENDMENT TO AMENDMENT: Couacilmembor Bechtel mewed, seconded by !teazel, that staff add to time bylaws that nominees be listed and solicited as a matter of public record is a manner similar to nominees for beards and commissions.by the City of Palo Alto.. Councilmember Bechtel said her intent was to clarify that it was acceptable in terms of public notice, but she wanted to stress that it was both thr, public notice as well as the solicitation and listing of potential applicants for the position and that it be similar to the process followed by the .City for appointments to boards and commissions. Councilmember Renzel said public notice of intent to make an appointment was not an .invitation for people to apply..: It noticed the fact that a vacancy occurred, .but :It did not really invite applications. Someone would have to closely follow to,perceive a notice of intent as an invitation. She believed Councilmember Bechtel spoke to a process similar to the one ueed; by the City Council where people were .encouraged to apply and suggested an open.process.for making the appointments. A notice of intent to fill a vacancy.did not suggest the process. Councilmember Klein would not support the amendment to amendment because he believed it was redundant, vague, unnecessary and too specific. He,believed Section 4 covered the problem in sufficient detail, and the words "solicit" and "list" were too vague. Public notice soiicited.people to apply, and nothing more was done except informally everyone tried to get the qualified citizens to apply. It was unrealistic for Council to expect that the directors. of the CAO would do any less. In terms of listing, where to list and how much money, those questions were better left to the board of the CAO to make judgments and balance the considerations with their budget. The CAO budget would be far different and on a lesser magnitude than the City of Palo Alto's, and advertising expenses would be a meaningful item. Councilmember Fletcher supported the motion because she believed it specifically added what was presently omitted --that there would be public solicitation for applicants. She was uneasy making it the same process as the City of Palo Alto's because it was a dif- ferent organizational structure than the public bodies appointed by the City Council. AMENDMENT TO AMENDMENT FAILED by a rote eic 4-5, Bechtel, Fletcher, !teazel, Witherspoon voting °aye," AMENDMENT PASSED eaaaimeasly. Councilmember Renzel said members of the public raised the ques- tion of requiring.a public hearing for any suggested change on the method of selecting directors. That might be reasonable since the directors themselves grade the change even though by a substantial majority. If the number of directors or the method of selecting directors were changed, it changed the character of . the entire governing board. Councilmember Bechtel said under Section 12, Notice of Meetings, all meetings --annual, regular or, special -.-would be noticed. To her, that was equivalent to a pu>l i c hearing. People would be allowed to speak. MOTION AS MENDED PASSED unanimously. Mayor Levy commended the PAP Committee for an excellent review of the Community Access Organization. Ms,82 ITEM #8, Heeumi FROM COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE (LEG 4-2) (CMR:270:5 ) Councilmember Fletcher, Chaired the Council Legislative Committee, and said the first item considered was SB 290 (Foran), which raised the gas tax at the State level by five cents. Two cents of the five would stay with the State for highway building; one and one-half cents would. go to the counties; and the other one and one-half cents would go to localities for use in road maintenance and repairs. The Committee was divided on the issue, and it was an open question for Council to decide. In favor were the arguments that the tax guaranteed a dedicated source of funding for road maintenance at the local level and even though the bill had some flaws, no bill was perfect and it would offer Palo Alto approximately $500,000 a year for street maintenance work. She was. the main opponent and argued it was an unbalanced bill because i t did not dedicate any gas tax funds for transit. There was a transit allocation in the bill of $250 million annually, but it was not dedicated and would have to be voted upon during budget process every year, and it could be reduced or blue-penciled by the Governor. She understood the primary motivation of the bill was to ensure the State had sufficient funding to match the five cent gas tax funding for highways at the federal level which funded interstate freeways. The State projected that after 1987, it would not have sufficient funds to match and claim the federal highway funds. She personally believed people already paid the five cent federal gas tax which was also primarily for roadways although it had a one -cent allocation for transit, and they paid the extra two cents, which was passed at the State level two years ago which was more balanced because it had money for transit. Last November, one-half cent sales tax was voted for freeways in the County, which was an equivalent to 15 cents if applied to a gas tax. She believed there was a limit to how much the population should be asked to spend on freeways. MOTION: Corsnci lmember Set,ri as moved, seconded by Woolley, regarding Recommendation Ne. 1, that the City of tai a Alto support SR 2,0 (Foram) mod direct the Mayor to communicate the City's position accordingly to the appropriate legislators� Counci i member Sutorius said the legislative committee was divided on the issue, and since only two members were present, it was equally divided. He acknowledged there were shortcomings to the bill, but said riders and attachments were woven in to create and stimulate participation by certain advocates of special interests. The main purpose behind the bill was to address the problem of roads and highways such that it would provide revenue at the local level. It was fair and reasonable to have a "user sensitive" type of revenue support to enable cities to attack the road repair/road renovation costs which mounted with inflation year after year. Poor roads cost money to repair --they- cost iaore to repair the 'longer they were delayed. Road safety was impaired. i f roads were not in good condition, and studies by interested and lonbiased groups demonstrated that accident rates significantly declined on resurfaced roadways. If they wanted local user -sensitive participation in the funding process, there was no better way than through a gasoline tax. Those who purchased gasoline and drove the miles on the road were the ones to support the fixing of the roads. He supported SB 290. Counci lmetaber Klein supported SB 290, It was not a perfect bill, - but it was importantto remember that Council was not drafting the legislations but rather providing some support to the basic idea that a source of revenue was needed to help repair a key element of the infrastructure Of the State of California, i.e., roads, Council needed to move forward and could not allow the roads throughout the state to deteriorate, which would happen without additonal revenue. 5.6 5 1 4/15/85 Councilmember ber Bechtel said two ccnts would be set aside i or° Static highway programs, and three cents to be shared by cities and counties. She asked if there was a specification as to what portion would go to maintenance of existing highways, and what portion would go to new construction. Councilmember Fletcher said there was a complicated formula for the two cents at the State level. She spoke with the staff person who drafted the legislation for Senator Foran on how much money was really available for maintenance in the State Road Funds, and was advised there was actually enough for maintenance, but it was diverted to freeway building. Since the change in administration, the ' eanphasi s was on bu i l di nij and they were trying to make up for so-called "lost time." , There was so much money going into freeway building and the two cents would be used to match the federal funds to be used for interstates, which did not benefit Pal Alto. She did not see the benefit for the City of Palo Alto. Councilmember Bechtel asked the City Manager for additional information on the ratio for maintenance. Mr Zaner said with regard to the City portion, there was no restriction on the funds to go to the cities. The added revenue to the cities would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $400,000 to $500,000. The City now spent about $700,000 in State gas tax plus almost $1,000,000 from the General Fund for a total of about $1.7 million for streets and highways, and the City continued to fall behind. Councilmember Bechtel shared Councilmember Fl etcher` s concerns about wanting to ensure sufficient money for transit, but she remembered the Counei1`s discussions about whether to support the one-half cent sales tax last fall, which she supported as did the voters. The arguments against were that a sales tax. was not es a fair a tax and Council far preferred a user tax. A gas' tax was that _type of tax --it was necessary for maintenance, and at the City and County l e.vel there was a real need for money for mai nten- ancea The City _ wool d get a portion of it.* $1,000,000, if the bill passed. She believed there was money for transit' even though there might nbt be -enough, 'and i f the bill passed, 'Council Could work with the legislators to -ensure their continued support year after year. Councilmember Woolley asked about the backlog for -the present rate of funding for street maintenance. Mr. Zaner could not provide a precise number, but knew it was many, many years between street resurfacings. Counc f 1 member Woolley remembered during the F&PW Comari ttee budget hearings, it was decided, with Council approval, to add $50,000 to try apd speed up the reduction of the backlog. It made some dent, and she believed the addition of $400,000 to $50,000 to the Street Hai ntebance Program would have a large impact on :.the City, of Palo' Alto. It was a good bill bec_use it was a user `tax and althougheehe supported Measure Al the feet that it was not a user tax, was `a definite negative. She Supported the motion. Council member Renee/ had some of the same concerns' as Counci l- •ember , Fl etcher:. She concurred if there' was Wife a tax for roadway aQalntenance or construction, it should be a user tax. it was clear from all i ndicati-ores in the Transportation 2000 ' report and other shad#es, that continued, use of roads was not the answer for the fuure. TO the extent that- coaimunities had to think about the costs. of their development choices An tees of their roadway malrteenanc.e a ngoing costs. and -better land use:in the 'State,: She bet ieved ea package` as large . as 58 : 290, was apt . to : cause communities to dl sregard the l ongeterm i ipacts of theirs land -use decl si ons. She would not support the ooti on 5 5 5 2 4/15/85 AMENDMENT: Councilmember Renzel moved, seconded by Fletcher, to strongly request the legislature to dedicate the moneys called for to be used for public transit, AMENDMENT PASSED unanimously. Mayor Levy supported the main motion. It called for an increase in the price of gas by five cents per gallon, which was not insub- stantial . Increasing the cost of commuting by automobile would have an effect of causing those commuters to look at alternative means 'of transporation and -he believed that was worthwhile, MOTION AS AMENDED PASSED by a vote of 7-2-, Fletcher, Renzel voting .no." Councilmember Fletcher said the Committee unanimously supported AB 369, LaFol l ette, which required indoor transportation . facilities, sucks as :waiting rooms, to set aside at least 50 percent' 'of ' the Spade for 'non .smokers, and a total prohibition of `smok,i ng 'in service lines. She clarified the staff report said 1t ; woul d remove' the local 'option too b'e more restri ctl ve if desi red, but she checked with LaFollette`s Staff",: ' as long as there was a minimum of 50 percent for eon'-sOokers, it could be more restrictive. She saw no detriment to the bill. MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher on' behalf 4f - the Coaacii Legislative Committee moved re Recommendation No. 2, that C000cil support AS 369 (LaFol l ette) as written and direct the Mayer to communicate the Ci ty' S position ,accordingly to appropriate l egi s- 1ators. MOTION PASSES unanimously. Councilmember Fletcher said AB 1 109 (Campbell) would provide a tax credit to recycling in the same manner as there was now tax incentives for depletab►e substances such as mining 'and timber. Currently, there were tax incentives to use non-renewable resources and AB 1 109 would provide a tax credit forthe recycling process to make it competitive with the non-renewable types of products. MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher on behalf of the Council Legislative Committee moved re Recommendation No. 3, to support AS 1109 (Campbell) as amended and direct the Mayor to communicate the City's positions accordingly to the appropriate legislators. MOTION PASSED unanimously. Councilmember Fletcher said a series of bills were in the legisla- ture which would weaken the Naylor Bill provisions in terms of city land acquisitions of surplus school sites. There was one bill by Assemblyman Naylor (AB 1978)9 which protected the cities. The Committee recommended support. MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher on behalf of the . Count] Legislative Committee a eved re Recolmendatiell NO. e, to eadbrse the Importance •f preserving the Naylor Bill provisions by sup- porting' 197$ (Naylor) and opposing S$ $$T (Semour) and AB 2196 (Fel*a e), and direct the Mayor= to commeuisate the City's positions accordingly to the appropriate legislators. Councilmember Fletcher said AB 19'78 would correct a loophole which enabled school districts to avoid the intent of the original Naylor Bi 1 l . 6 6 5 3 4/15/85 Vice Mayor Cobb was glad to see Bob Naylor was still working on behalf of the cities. He hoped not only for a unanimous vote to the Legislative Committee's recommendations, but urged the Mayor to write the strongest possible support letter. The issue was enormously important to the City of Palo Alto. MOTION PASSED unanimously. Councilmember Fletcher said SB 75 (Foran) dealt with the deep pocket problems which cities were subject to. Presently, when there was a mishap, the aggrieved party looked for the source of the most funding possible, and usually it was a public agency. For example, if there was a collision with an uninsured driver, the uninsured driver had no resources, and the aggrieved party looked try the public jurisdiction to recover as much as possible. MOTION; Councilmember Fletcher on behalf of the Ciuecil Legislative Committee rased re Recommendation 11e. 5, to support legislation, particularly SR 75 (Forest), which will redsce the City's expssire to 'deep pocket' lawsuits, and direct the Mayor to communicate the City's positions accordingly to the appropriate legislators. The City to also encourage neighboring jurisdictions to join with the City in that support. MOTION PASSED unanimously. Councilmember Fletcher said a recent court decision mandated that local jurisdictions apply the Fair Labor Standards Act wage levels to all its operations, which could be a real increase in costs to local jurisdictions. MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher on behalf .of the Council Legislative Committee moved re Recommendation $o. 6. to support federal legislation which will exempt state and local public agencies from Fair Labor Standards Act and direct the Mayor to communicate the City's positions accordingly to the appropriate legislators. Mayor Levy did not see anything regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act in the packet and asked if he missed something. Mr. Zaner said no legislation was introduced at the present time. Councilmember Bechtel said the information ation was part of .the staff report to the Le islative Committee from Vicci Rudin at the bottom of page 2 and the top `of page 3. Mayor Levy said he would abstain on the item because of lack of knowledge with the Fair Labor Standards Act, and a concern about governments exempting themselves from legislation that should be generally applicable throughout public and private enterprise. MOTION PASSED umanimeaesly, Levy 'abstained' MOTION: CiracilmeMber Fletcher moved. seconded by Klein, that Ceeeei l sane a 'letter in support of " 1l# 2020 Councilmember Sutorius'-knew nothing about AB 2020. He accepted the fact that Council had a prior position on the subject, but not know if Council was familiar with the content of AB 2020 ,!,f the bill could be described succinctly and briefly, he would accept the will of the Council. Councilmember Bechtel understood the bill was similar to bills the Council previously supported. She encourage d Councilmember Sutorius' support because- it would be nice to send -a unanimous. piece of support PPprt to the ligislarture. Councilmember Fletcher said the bill required that beer and soft drink containers be returnable for a five cent deposit 4/15%8 A iEN if EN`: Mayor Levy moved, seconded by Sdtorius, that the matter. of AS 2©20, be referred to the Council Legislative Committee. Mayor Levy said as a matter of ongoing policy,. Council should have the contents of any bill it endorsed before them. He had no doubt that AB 2020 would receive unanimous support of the Council when returned. He was always concerned when he heard the statement that time was so much of the essence there was not the opportunity to act properly. Councilmember Fletcher said last month, the Legislative Committee discussed the subject of how to deal with policies already formu- lated by Council. The Legislative Committee unanimously agreed that when a position on an issue was already stated, it did not need to be referred to the legislative committee or even the Cauhci 1 s that staff could just go ahead and write in support or opposition of the particular bill in accordance with previous policy. The Council received AB. 2020 in its packets as an attachment to the legislative report from last month and there was no dissension on the issue. It was the Council's current policy, as it was last year, that when the Council enunciated .i position on an issue, it did not need further discussion. Councilmember Reneel said that since Council had positions in the past, and since AB 2020 was not substantially different from those previously supported by Council, it seemed reasonable that while Council might want to refer the specific bill to the Legislative Committee, because time. might be of the essence, it would also be valuable to send support consistent with the Council's past sup- port as a policy matter not with respect to the details of the bill, and let the Legislative Committee work out a position with respect to the details of the present bill if substantially different, NOTION TO REFER RESTATE?: That Council send to the legislature a policy statement in accordance with the policies already endorsed by the City Council and refer to the Legislative Committee specific evaluation of A8 2020. Councilmember Klein said Council was wasting time. Council previ- ously took a position on the item, and in retrospect, Council - member Fletcher should not have made the motion because pursuant to Council policy, there was enough of a position to go forward and have the letter written. He would not support the motion to refer, and would not support the main motion in order to register eis opposition to a process which he believed was a waste oil time. Councilmember Bechtel Concurred that Council did not needthe past discussion because a policy was on file and because an. excellent staff member followed legislation and evaluated those bills to determine whether they were i n :line with previous _Council posi- tions. She encouraged Councilmember Klein to not vote no if he ob ected. to: the process, because she knew he supported they "bottle bill .Since the motion was to generally support :the; concept` of the 'bottl-e _bill" she encouraged an "aye" vote in order i to have unanimous support. Councilmember . Klein urged Councilmember Fletcher to withdraw her motion. NOTION WITHDRAWM ST MAKER AND SECOND NO. ACTION TAKEN ON AB 2020 5 6 5 5 4/15/85 ITEM e8 -A (OLu ITLM 4), (iRANi APPLICATION FOR RUBERTI-i'Lfl RG FUNDS - U W TOWN PART: NORTH (PLA 7 -Tarr TCMR:251:5 T. Dorothy Star, Everett Court, lived in Palo Alto for one and one- half years. Last Thursday, by accident, she witnessed a rape of the_ land of one square block and witnessed the murder of living things. .She was so appalled at what she saw that she had to stop. As .site coordinator of Downtown Park North, she felt slighted, forgotten, and ignored in her existence as if she and .her. fellow gardeners did not exist. When Patti Heman left in November, she volunteered and was supported by those gardeners who got together quickly _on last minute notf ce. They were informed of each. others names, addresses, and phone numbers because they did not know one another except as they gardened: She was advised that someone was appointed to take over her position and that if and when she felt responsible and could follow through, she. was to make contact with that person and transmit and act as a liaison between City Hall, - the Planning Commission or the Parks and Recreation Department and her fellow gardeners at Downtown North, She phoned City.Hall 5C tunes since the middle of November, bodily appeared four times to various floors of City Hall and no one knew how to answer her three questions. 1) When would the bulldozing of the gardens take place; 2) Would it take place that season; and 3) Would she or her fellow gardeners be notified with sufficient advanced notice of the date of the bulldozing. She received no notice of that evening's meeting nor did she receive notice of .the meeting at the Times: Tribune. The garden was a treasure to any and all of those who gardened there. She was a gardener emotionally for many.years and practically and actually for 35 years. The different ages and composition of personalities and sexes of the gardeners was a good cross sampling of humanity because they aged from 19 to 85 years. She asked why those trees were killed without any notification, why the gardeners were not informed that it was going to be bulldozed on that date, and why no one could forward her messages and requests and respond to her. Mike' Lee, 164 Hawthorne, believed things .were left on a : hopeful notee at last week's Council meeting --they were saving trees and working well with the bulldozer and its . commande r, -dim. . A. few. of the best trees were leftand to rediscover the turn of the century park, they must get back to basics. City crews cut down , a lone, 12-i nch Juniper which the:.Ci ty Arbors st said was a rare breed. He was tired of being surprised so often. He repeatedly r=equested the- latest engineering survey which must exist since there were marker stakes on the site. Unless he received the survey on Tuesday, April 16, he would pull , up the stakes on a daily, bass s. I t was paramount that he fit the accurate conditions to the neigh-. bor1ood preservation scheme now widely accepted as the only way to go. He believed it was the only scheme politically and rationally buildable that summer before the Council elections. On Wednesday, April 17, he would submit both 1927 remaining park buildings along with the 1895 Iowa farmhouse directly across Everett for histori- cal review, which was never done. M TICiN: Woler Levy moved, seconded .My Witherspoon, to approve the resolution for application for grant feuds ander the Roberti -Vier, Urban Opea-Space aed Retreatioa Program. RESOLUTION 636$ entitled °RESOLUTION OF TNE. COUNCIL OF TW _ C T -OF HALO ALTO APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR GRANT FICUS UNDER TIE ROBERT1-YV DERG URBAN OPEN -SPACE AND RECREATION PReGRAI FOR PALO ALTO DOWNTOWN PARK NORTH I$PROYE*ENT PROJECT" NOTION PASSED s*aaia.hsly. t a ,r i 1 me e u s ooa that wLaunc ly ahppr'povnednga acontra wi th nct w Park a design consultant to finalize the plans for Downtown Park North, She understood there would be a public meeting held at the Times/ Tribune building that evening. Mr. Zaner said years ago, Council adopted a Master Plan for the Downtown Park North. The Master Plan was brought before the Council within the last year and Council referred staff back to the community to revise the Master Plan in accordance with the wishes of the majority of the community. Enumerable public meetings were held in the area to have the Master Plan brought into a position where most people agreed with ':t. There were some people in the community who continued to oppose the existence of a park let alone the Master Plan adopted by the Council. The Master Plan was adopted by Council, and subsequent to it, staff was authorized to engage an architect to use the Master Plan and pre- pare detailed drawings for the park. The park Master Plan included the community garden which was not removed, although it was somewhat modified i When t was time to remove the trees along with the houses last week, he, the City's urban forester and the arborist were personally at the site. They marked each tree and shrub and bush that was to be saved and gave explicit instructions to the construction workers to be careful not to remove those trees. Those instructions were followed to the letter. All of the trees the arborist and urban forester indicated needed to be saved, which exceeded the number of trees shown on the Master Plan, were preserved and remained on the site. There was a com- munity meeting called for that evening for citizens to have an opportunity to meet withthe architect commissioned by the Council to do the detailed drawings. He did not know the results of that meeting. The City's contract with the architect specifically called for hire to meet with members of the public and to hold meetings in public with the City Council once he finished his deaign. It was probably the most publicized park ever built in Palo Alto and he did nyt know how anyone could argue they did not have an opportunity to be heard or know ‘“scut the park. It was the subject of discussion in the Downtown North area for the last two years. Counciliember Bechtel concurred it made sense for the City Manager and the City arborist to be present at the demolition. She ques- tioned the timing of removing trees on Thursday and then having a public meeting as to the final design or the garden afterwards. Mr. Zaner said the trees removed were the trees marked in the Master Plan for removal. Additional trees were saved, and no trees were removed which were not shown on the Master Plan. Counc€imember Fletcher confirmed that no trees were removed since last week. Mr. Zaner said the only tree about which he was aware was a Chinese Evergreen tree. The tree was carefully inspected by the City arborist and urban forester who determined the tree was not in a condition to be saved, and it was removed. Mayor Levy said when he first joined the Council five years ago, he was one who voted to continue to prove ahead on Downtown Park North because the overwhelming desire of the re, idents of that area was to do so. The park was objected to by so me of the neigh- bors and he found °i t interesting that some of the same neighbors who objected to a park being there now objected to the fact that some of the trees to be in the park were taken down. ITEM #9 - REQUEST O COU ICILM 1 BECHTEL. RE E$FORCEME T f' Coruncilmember Bechtel was concerned about .problems of mixing bicyclists and pedestrians. She was delighted that Palo. Alto had a busy and thriving downtown shopping area, but there were some serious hazards when bicyclists road on the sidewalks_ MOTION: Councilmember Bechtel moved, seconded by Fletcher, to adopt the following: I. The signs prohibiting bicycle riding on the sidewalk be made more visible; and 2. That staff work to enforce the regulation prohibiting bicycle riding en the sidewalk. Councilmember Fletcher agreed that riding on the sidewalks was a hazard both to the pedestrian and the bike riders and that the City needed to enforce the regulations. She asked if the Police Department had any plans to step up enforcement of bicycle violations in the City as a whole. Mr. Zaner said no. Counei l member Fletcher suggested it might be something to consider during the budget process, Councilmember Renzel asked for clarification about whether the signs would be repainted or possibly relocating them. Councilmember Bechtel suggested possibly relocating the signs. Other cities actually posted the signs at eye level. She was somewhat hesitant to do that because she did not like the idea of proliferation of signs, but suggested that staff tastefully explore how to make those signs more visible either by repainting or by posting in appropriate locations. Councilmember Renzel clarified the motion did not necessarily ask for new vertical signs because she believed the City went to great pains to design the downtown and simplify the sign situation. She supported the motion, but hoped it did not result i n more signs. Councilmember Witherspoon concurred. She saw many dangerous situations and commended the police for being much more visible lately in the downtown pedestrian patrols. The trouble was that the kids who rode on the streets were fresh and she had person- al ly chastised them, and received "jazz" back if not worse. Some backup was needed for citizens who tried to augment the police. She was also concerned about skateboards. If one was not run over by a bike, you were run over by a skateboard. She clarified that skateboards were also prohibited. Mr. Zaner said skateboards were prohibited. Councilmember Witherspoon suggested someone think of a way to get the message across. Councilmember Woolley agreed with Councilmember Renzel that more visible si gnage did not mean more signs because she also was opposed to any more signs downtown. Mayor Levy supported the motion. Council was not making a new policy, but making clear to staff that enforcement might be steonger. Staff received criticism from time to time for the way it enforced the bicycle ordinances around town, particularly citing youthful bicycle riders. From his standpoint, enforcement should continue unabated. The improper riding of bicycles, par- ticularly on the wrong side of the street, was extremely dan- gerous, and a bicycle rides, without a helmut was unprotected. He endorsed staff's continued vigorous enforcement of all bicycle riding ordinances. 5 6 5 H 4/15/55 As Corrected 5/06/85 NOTION PASSED unanimously. ADJOURNMENT Council adjourned at 9:30 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: