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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-10-15 City Council Summary Minutesi CITY COUNCIL MINIIT�'C 1 t'J OIJ E dr ! Regular Meeting October 15, 1985 CITY aF MI ALTO ITEM PAGE Oral Communications 6 4 3 4 Consent Calendar 6 4 3 4 Referral 6 4 3 4 Action 6 4 3 4 Item #1., Regional Water Quality Control Plant Pre- 6 4 3 4 Environmental Protection Audit Item #2, On -Call Carpeting Service for Various City 6 4 3 4 Facilities Item #3, Park Dedication Ordinance - DeAnza, 6 4 3 4 Ortega, Hoover, and Terman School Sites Item #4, Interior Custodial Services at Various 6 4 3 5 Selected City Facilities Item #5, PUBLIC HEARING. Planning Commission 6 4 3 5 recommendation re Draft Environmental Impact Report on Varian Site Five Office Complex Item #6, Arastradero Fire Tree Removal Item 17, Evergreen Park Neighborhood Traffic Study . Item #8, Speed Limits Item #9, Request of Councilmember Woolley re Caltrain Whistle Item #1a, Request of Councilmember Woolley re Crossing Guards at Charleston Road Item #11, Request of Vice Mayor Cobb and Mayor Levy re Cable TV Follow -Up Item #12, Request of Vice Mayor Cobb and eounci l members Klein and Sutori us re Community Access Organi zation/ :able TV . ADJOURNMENT: 10:10 p.m. 6.4 4 6 6 4 4 6 6 4 5 0 6 4 5 2 6 4 5 4 6 4 5 5 6 4 5 5 4 5 8 6 4 3 3 10/15/85 Regular Meeting October 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 '(arrived at 8:05 p.m.), Renzel, Sutorius, Woolley ABSENT:_ Levy, Witherspoon Vice Mayor Cobb announced that a Special Meeting re Urban Water Management Plan was held in the Cnunri l Conference ROOM t =:00 ...,.o., ROOM a'e. V.UV p.m. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None CONSENT CALENDAR MOTION: Councilmemeer Sutorius moved, seconded by Bechtel, approval of the Consent Calendar. Referral None Action ITEM #1, REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL PLANT PRE -ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUDIT DTI 7-4) 1CMR:5-4:55) Staff recommends Council authorize the Mayor to execute an agree- ment with Larry Walker Associates, in the amount of $18,928 for the pre -EPA audit review of construction grant records for the Water Quality Control Plant. CONSULTANT AGREEMENT Larry Walker Associates. ITEM #2, ON -CALL CARPETING SERVICE FOR VARIOUS CITY FACILITIES (PWK 7) (CAR:534:S) Staff recommends the Mayor be authorized to execute a contract with Interiors and Textiles, Inc., -for 12 month:;; or $50,000, whichever comes first. Tie cost per square yard will be $29.50 for carpet as specified in the contract under the base unit bid. AWARD OF BLANKET ORDER CONTRACT Interiors and Textilea, Inc, ITEM iii PARK DEDICATION ORDINANCE - DEANZA, ORTEGA, HOOVER, AND IERMAR SiC iOOI,—TT S (PAR 2/PW 6-2) (CMR:503:5) Staff recommends Council adopt the Park Dedication. Ordinance add- ing Hoover, Ortega, DeAnza, and the former Terman Middle School to the Park Dedication Ordinance. ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING entitled *ORDINANCE OF THE C®UNCIC OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING CHAPTER 22.08 (PARK DEDICATIONS) OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE TO DEDICATE THE _HOOVER, -ONTEGA, AND DEANZA SCHOOL SITES AS ADDITIONS TO. HOOVER, RAMOS, AND SEALE PARKS AND TO DEDICATE THE FORMER TERMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL SITE AS UNMAN PARK 6 4 3.4 10/15/85 ITEM #4 INTERIOR CUSTODIAL SERVICES AT V4RIOUS SELECTED CITY ACIL ..S WK ; M :53 :5 .Staff_ rchrrim esnAs I. Determine the lowest responsible bidder to be Hassan Janitorial Services; 2. Authorize the Mayor to execute the contract with Hassan Janitorial Services, in the amoent of $83,100 per year for two years, assuming availability funding in the fiscal year 1986-87, the second year of the contract; and 3. Authorize staff to execute change orders to the contract up $9,000 each year the contract is in force. AWARD OF CONTRACT Hassan Janitorial Services MOTION PASSED unanimously, Klein, Levy, Witherspoon absent ITEM #5, PUBLIC HEARING: PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION RE DRAFT CNVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT ON -THE VARIAN SITE FIVE OFFICE u.1PLEX, TO BE LOCATE AT 3050 HANSEN WAY (PLA 3-1) . Councilmember Bechtel said because her husband was an employee of Varian Associates, she had a conflict of interest and would not participate in Item #5. Chief Planning Official Bruce Freeland clarified the application tr Varian was for Architectural Review Board (ARB) approval of a new building. The, architectural review had not yet t4,ken place, but there was a preliminary review. A meeting was not yet scheduled for the project to be acted upon. Council was requested to determine the adequacy of the Environmental Impact Report (Elk), which was an informational document, approval of which did not imply any particular action on the project itself. If the Elk was adequate and met the requ;rements of the California Environ- mental Quality Act (CEQA), Council's task was to certify. it. The application itself was at the ARB level. If Council had comments it wanted to pass along to the ARB, this was the time to make them, but it was not necessary. Associate Planner Sarah Cheney introduced Steve Wanat of Earth Metrics, Inc. and Gary Black of Barton Ashman Associates, Inc., Traffic Engineers. Vice Mayor Cobb said the newest Planning Commissioner Pam Marsh, was representing the Planning Commission. Commissioner Marsh said the Planning Commission re+}i ewed the draft EIR and voted unanimousl • to accept it on August 14, 1985. They were particularly impressed by the.. housing mitigations offered by Varian in the project. The Planning Commission was concerned about the traffic impacts. A project that size would have a fair- ly significant impact on traffic, but the project was located in an area of the City which already exper`tnced traffic problems, which seemed :.to be rapidly nearing gridlock. In response, the draft Elk offered a complex series of mitigations designed to off, set the traffic problems. The Planning Commission recommended Ceunci i accept Strategy 8 under the mitigations. She believed No. 5 under Strategy B was important to the success of the entire strategy because the mitigation would be undertaken by,the City of Palo Alto hand in hand with Stanford University. The City of Palo Alto and Stanford University would investigate the feasibility of instituting an area -wide trip reduction program for all Stanford Researcl7 Park facilit3es. Staff assured., the Planning Commission they believed it could be undertaken as part of the present City- wide traffic study. It seemed to . be a .reasonable project for the City to take on. 6 4 :3 5 10/15/85 VICE MAYO; CUBU RC URAL COMMUNICATIONS Vice Mayor Cobb was advised by the City Clerk that members of the public had arrived who wanted to speak under Oral Communications. That part of the agenda was done, and it was contrary to Council policy to gc back. Councilmember Renzel suggested it be added to the end of the agenda if the public wanted to wait. If it was not an emergency, he suggestec it was more appropriate to return the following week. RETURN TO ITEM #5, VARIAN EIR Councilmember Renzel said Strategy B asked the applicant to guar- antee!, a T.4 percent reduction in traffic after a two-year period. She asked what happened if they were unsuccessful, where it would leave Palo Alto, and what ability the City had to enforce it. Ms. Cheney said going with trip reduction rather than physical improvements had the risk that its achievement could not be assured, which was one reason the City asked for trip monitoring, in order to see the level of reduction achieved anneally. She suggested Council condition the project at the approval stage to allow the City to negotiate additional or alternate mitigation measures if they were unable to achieve the level of reduction. Councilmember Renzel asked the City Attorney what means of enforcement the City had if Part 1 of Strategy B was unsuccessful, and if the results. of No. 4, the feasibility study, did not pro- duce anything. Palo Alto still had the traffic. There was a sug- gestion to condition Council approval on being able to renegotiate those mitigations if No, 1 did not come to pass as expected. She asked if Cou.ecil was in a position to do so, and what kinds of enforcement mechanisms Council would have once the project was built. Senior Assistant City Attorney Tony Bennetti said as he understood the present status of the project, the City had no effective mech- anism to really enforce that as a condition of the project, and had to take the good faith of the applicant. Staff and the appli- cant would work together to attempt to meet those goals, but there was no mechanism for enforcement beyond that. Councilmember Fletcher said on page 4-8 of the Final EIR, it stated there were nearly 1,000 employees commuting from the East Bay to Palo Alto. She clarified the potee ial was for 1,000 employees to use the 0B bus. She knew 1,000 employees did not use the bus because they had a. hard time bringing it up to 300. She also asked whether there would be sidewalks or whether there already were sidewalks in the new area of the construction because there was a lot of area around Varian with no sidewalks. She asked whether it would be incorporated as one of the mitigations or as a normal, routine thing. Mr. Stoffel hel i eved the Page Mill side of the site already had a sidewalk. On the Hansen side, he recalled a sidewalk was shown on the plans. On the Hanover side, there was a bike path presently which served as a sidewalk. Staff intended during the ARB hear- ings to enter into some discussions about bicycle improvements to probably include a' better sidewalk- and, perhaps, puttingthe bike path ON the street. Councilmember Fletcher said the Palo Alto Bicycle Advisory Commit- tee (PABAC) had some detailed recommendations and she saw no reference to them. Mr.:,Stoffel clarified the recommendations were received after the EIR, and would be taken care of during the design review with the ARB. Vice Mayor Cobb declared the public hearing open 6 4_-3 6 10/15/85 Kranzthor, 880 North California Avenue, Director of Manage- ment Systems for Varian, requested Council certification .of the Final £IR in order for Varian to proceed with the long -planned project for staff and office expansion. The present project resulted from close cooperation between the City staff, the Palo Alto Housing Corporation, and --Varian and included a housing miti- gation responsive to the communications Marian had with -the City Council in 1981. It included a $50,000 consulting arrangement to try and locate a site for, low/middle income housing; the standard mitigation payment of $2.43 per square foot which, for the proj- ect, totaled $223,000; and it included_a provision -Ahat Varian reduce the interest to the Palo Alto laousing,Corporation (PAHC) to three percent on a housing construction loan obtained by the PAHC for a period of 22 months on a term not to exceed 22 months. It was a significant offer serving more than double the housing miti- gation payment. He referred to Varian's transportation systems management leadership, and said Varian had over twice the commute reduction record and reduction of cars compared to the Santa Clara average. Varian's transportation program took over 1,000 cars off the streets of Palo Alto, more than double the adder' number of cars the project would generate. Varian recommended the Council adopt Strategy A which would not require Varian to pay any more traffic i;,itigation in recognition of its outstanding leadership in traffic management. Varian's site_ planning was criticized by the ARU as having too much traffic on Page Mill. Varian shared the .direction with the Planning Commission which was favorably received. The project was burdened by unprecedented mitigatiOns, and additional mitigations might put the project in jeopardy. Councilmember Sutorius was mindful of th'e- nature of the mitiga- tions and the plaudits imposed on Varian as a result of the Plan- ning Commission, PAHC, and staff. One aspect of the mitigation process was the $50,000 for land Acquisition consultancy to search for low or moderate housing. When Council received the subject for action, he intended to propose a modification broadening the application of the land acquisition activity to allow it to be used for a consultancy to do a search and/or other associated costs in the acquisition 'process.. For instance, it aright be appraisal fees, permit fees, or other charges normally associated with the acquisition process separate from the construction and the financing, etc. Mr. Kranzthor said Varian would accept it. It recognized the search would probably involve a lot of negotiation with potential land nwners as well as actual search, and Varian would have no objection to including other things such as Councilmember Suturius mentioned. Vice Mayor Cobb asked Mr. Kranzthor to comment on the concept of adding some sort of chid- care mitigation to the list. Mr. Kranzthor said one of the speakers that evening would address it, but generally, Varian believed the project was heavily bur- dened and child care mitigations would place: a'. undue additional burden. The housing mitigation was unprecedented, and Council was getting into additional new areas which Varian believed could be more equitably borne by other members of the Stanford Industrial Park. Vice Mayor Cobb ,asked Mr. Kranzthor to respond to the possibility of Strategy B being raised. It was on the same point. Mr. Kranzthor said Varian estimated Strategy B involved about $10,000 worth of traffic mitigations, both costs and actual doing of repair work at Page Mill and Hansen, or Hanover and Page Mi 1 l , and sponsoring several studies, one involving busing in the Park. Varian believed it should be rewarded for the substantial measures - it already took including offering discounttickets to its employ- ees at a cost of $30,000 or ' $40,000 a year; maintaining adminis- trative costs for an active transportation program which resulted 6 -4 3 7 10/15/85 in Varian having at least twice as much ridesharing as any other of the people next door. Varian would like to accept the chal- lenge of Strategy A which said it would -do better. It was already doing better than anybody else, but wanted to accept the challenge of doing still better and recommended Strategy A. Councilmember Woolley referred to -the $50,000 payment for an acquisition consultant, for land for low and moderate income -hous- ing. In the Draft EIR -"locations" was plural. She asked for clarification about whether they were looking for several loca- tions or one location. • Mr. Kranzthor said the PAHC recognized it might not be able to find one site large enough to meet the objectives of an approxi- mately $5,000,000 project, and talked about using funds put forth by the City to acquire land, but recognized it might be difficult to acquire it all in one spot. There might be two sites instead of one, or even conceivably three. Lou Goldsmith could elaborate on it since it was suggested by the PAHC. Councilmember Woolley asked if it had anything to do with the amount of funding necessary for the search in the sense that look- ing for more sites might be a more expensive operation. Mr. Kranzthor did not believe so. There were not many sites large enough in Palo Alto. The PAHC believed the sum was excessive to the cash required. Roger Loomis, 1472 Mallard Way, Sunnyvale, Varian Director of Security and Chairman of the Commute Alternatives Program, said Varian had a strong transportation systems management program in place whict was detailed in the EIR report. One of the concerns expressed during a Planning Commission hearing was a letter received from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Although the letter complimented Varian's accomplishments in ride - sharing, it expressed concern as to whether Varian cculd sustain its high ridesharing statistics without a full time commute coor- dinator. In February 1934, Varian established ar aggressive program, and by October 1984, increased ridesharing from a County average of 18 percent to 40 percent which was the highest ever reported .in the County. The phenomenal effort was handled by three separate corporate staff functions working together as a team. The team effort eliminated 1,000 cars from the roadways in less than ten months. Presently, Varian had over 1,800 employees using some form of commute alternatives as a result of the team effort and curing a period when Varian did not have a full time commute coordinator. Since then, to sustain the program, Varian hid a commute coordinator for a short time, but that person left about two months ago. Varian restructured the program and put it back under the three corporate functions originally responsible for the success of the program. Ridesharing Os not only su5- tained, it was improved. Varian was confident it could keep up the effort. A good example was all the planned activities in recognition of October ridesharing in Santa' Cla:^a County. Varian had an ag ress i ve campaign to bring to the attention of its em- ployees the value of ridesharing: Savings on stress In commuting, economics, and savings in commuting by public transportation. Varian gave free transit passes to ell employees who wanted to try public transportation on October 23, and was hosting a free lunch for every employee that used ridesharing on October 23. In addi- tion, it was sponsdri ny -. a Si ke-a-Thon to focus ` attention on the use of bicycles and their practicality for commuting to work. Through those efforts, and the leadership role of the corporate functions involved in the program, Varian was confident it could not only sustain, but: hopefully improve its existing ridesharing .statistics. Uerrel DePas,se, 1020' Shoreline Drive, San Mateo, Varian Director of borernmental Affairs, addressed Councilmember F ietcher's con- cern the Site 5 project would- significantly add to child care needs in the area. Varian . respectfully disagreed. 0f their 350 6 4 3.8 10/15/85 employees who could potentially be affected by the project, ap- proximately three percent, or 11 employees, presently resided in Palo Alto and were between the ages of 20 and 40, or the prime child-bearing years, and could potentially have need for child care services. Presently, there were many child care facilities within th''e Immediate area of the Stanford Industrial Park, one of which was the center sponsored by Syntex Corporation which cur- rently ran 20 percent below full capacity. The Syntex facility was one of about fourteen in the area currently available to Varian employees, many of which had openings. In addition,., over the past five years, Varian had a full time coordinator to assist employees in meeting their child care needs. The major child care troblem of the employees was finding out where the centers cur- rently existed, and finding an affordable one. Varian's child care referral program was specific.11y designed to meet that employee need, and the brochure provided to Courcil was one of the tools made available to employees. Varian's Child Care Coordina- tor also researched the existing facilities and openings in the area and conducted a variety of seminars geared to the needs of working parents. Varian also contributed financially to many of the child care centers and other private agencies that provided child care services to employees, including the Palo Alto Communi- ty Child Care Center (PACCC). From time to time, specific centers in the Palo Alto area might have waiting lists, but it was not uniformly the case. A chec,; that week of four of the fourteen local area centers determined there were 54 current openings. Varian concluded that Councilmember Fletcher's concern about the child care impact of the Site 5 project was misplaced. They noted her specific concern about the PACCC and recommended the center be encouraged to fully utilize all of the sources of available fund- ing and be urged to submit `a letter of intent to Governor Deukmejian for some of the $15 million in new State funds for child care. Councilmember Fletcher asked regarding Ms. 0ePasse's comment that Syntex was not running up to capacity, whether Syntex made these spaces available to other firms in the industrial park. Ms. DePasse said yes, and the average cost for a child in the Syntex center was about 68 percent less than the PACCC.' Councilmember Fletcher said in other words Varian employees had the option of using the Syntex facility. Ms. DePasse said yes. Councilmember Fletcher was not aware of it. Ms. DePasse also men- tioned Varian made contributions. to child care facilities, and she asked if it was an ongoing program, or what triggered a contribu- tion Ms. DePasse said generally when employees expressed an interest in Varian's contributing to a program because of their child's parti- eipation.in the center, COUMCILMEMi3ER KLEIN ARRIVED AT 805 P.M. Oarsha Davidoff, 2056 Cowper Street, responded to the comments made in reverence to child care. She e as a member of the com- munity for ,even years and had two pre-school children and her experience was contrary to the .last speaker. She was lucky to have child care in Palo Alto. She and her husband were both employed full time outside the home, and without child care could. not afford tomaintain their residence in Palo Alto or their life- style. She had to register her children for child care in various fact i itiei , not only just PACCC, and it took over a year to be accepted in the program. She wet not familiar with Syntex. She had a daughter beginning kindergarten in September, 1986 and was urged to sign up for day care now. Contrary to the position of the last speaker, she believed there was a strong need for child 6 4,3 9 1©/15/85 care in the community. To the extent, Varian impacted on it, she urged Council consider -how the impact could be mitigated by Varian's participation. Mary Babel, 826 Lincoln Avenue, responded to - Councilmember F l etcher' s letter on Varian, and said her experience was also con- trary to the speaker from Varian. She,and her husband were also parents of two pre-school children, aged four and one. When she was pregnant the first time in 1981, she was not as enlightened to the difficulties of child care, and it wet not until April that she got her 'lame on a number of waiting lists. _Her daughter was born in June and she planned to return to work in September, gi v- ing'six months of lead time which she believed would be simple. As it got closer to the time to return to work, even though she was on five waiting lists in the City of Palo Alto, she had no child care available. At that point PACCC opened a new center at the Ventura School site. She delayed her return to work until she could find suitable child care; only about a week or two, but nonetheless it impacted her ability to return to work. When her second child was conceived, she got on a waiting list immediately for child care the following September. She was fortunate in having one child through the PACCC system, and was knowledgeable about how early one had to get children on a waiting list. Her dauehter would also start kindergarten in the fall and was on a waiting list for care there. Her son, who was a year old, would be on waiting lists for the pre-school programs. She was fortu- nate she was within the PACCC system which offered outstanding child care. She had a number of friends who had not been as for- tunate. To get care it the home was expensive, around $5 or $6 an hour, and then one was faced with problems of turnover when care givers left, and it impacted the ability of employees to work. Varian's present population might not have the need, but its popu- lation was going to turn over in time, and the demographics sup- ported they were in the midst of a mini baby boom. She believed the child care_ nee: in the community was pressing, Len Levy, 2412 South Court, President of Palo Alto Community Child Care, attended .that evening to fulfill one aspect of its charter -- to advocate child care in the community. For 12 years, their agency etas on the front line facing the critical needs of working parents for child care. They made eveey effort to meet those needs within the limitations of their program, but as the needs grew, PACCC was unable to grow with them. Presently, their facil- ities and budget did not permit expansion; therefore, PACCC wanted to go on record in support of any viable plan which would expand the available quality child care services in the City. PACCC offered the participation of its staff and Board to facilitate such expansion. In conclusion he noted two things happened recently which demonstrated solutions to important current issues. The first was Syntex opening a child care facility for its employ- ees, which was an example of the growing recognition that local availability of quality child care- was an aid in the difficult process of recruiting and keeping good employees. The second was the fact San Francisco enacted an ordinance which required commer- cial expansion -to include child care support. PACCC shared with San Francisco. concern for the impact of economic expansion upon - the quality of life in the community. The item befor°e Council offered the opportunity for Palo Alto to demonstrate -how business growth could offer direct social and community benefits. John Mock, 136 Barron Avenue,. said Varian believed the mitigation pre pose4 was -already a burderb.. He pointed out its. new building Would be a burden for Pai.o Alto. _He- concurred with Commissioner Northway's cegceens about-_ traffic and .quoted from the minutes, page 12, "1 think the information in the draft -E!R is certainly adequate. .1 also think it is absolutely terrifying. -This= is where I am running into real problems. I understand this is, relative to the entire Research Park, actually a fairly small - 6 4,- 4 0 111./15'/85 1 6 4,4 1 10/15/85 project, but we're looking at the seven intersections which were studied and which are affected by the Research Park. We're look- ing at five of them being taken to absolutely unacceptable levels of traffic. We have one which is already at level of service "F" (LOS F). I assume you can't get any worse than LOS F and assume that what you go to is gridlocked after LOS F. It bothers me as a planeer to essentially be certifying and somehow passively approv- ing a situation which from a planning standpoint is a disaster." Commissioner Northway said some pretty strong things there and he agreed with all of them. The, mitigation looked at afternoon traf- fic, and he queried morning rush hour. As previously pointed out, Page Mill tacked almost onto 28U and it ras only a matter',of time until Palo Alto's traffic situation impacted the freeway. Even the westbound a.m. commute was becoming difficult. He began to use Arastradero Road instead of Page Mill because it was so thick through there. There was a problem, and while the commuters might not be Palo Alto residents, the City had a responsibility to not make the situation worse. He requested the mitigation be extended to the a.m. commute hours as well as the p.m. commute hours. Dennis Perkinson, 23900 Hutchinson Road, Los Gatos, Manager of Transportation Programs for Stanford University, said Stanford, as the lessor of the Research Park lands, was interested in enabling its tenants- to develop their land to best serve them. Stanford recognized traffic was a major concern and source of impact in the development along those corridors. '/he City suggested in P.o. 5 of Strategy 8 and No. of Strategy A, some kind of coordinated approach to reduce commute hour traffic. Stanford agreed and was willing and prepared to provide administrative space, computer resources, management, and overall coordination for a region -wide transportation coordinator. Stanford operated within a single office the managers of those leaseholds, and also nad the trans- oortation program's facility there, so it was in an ideal position to be coordinated under'a single director. Couyc i l member Fletcher said Mr. Perki nson' s suggestion that Stanford was willing to accommodate a region -wide transportation coordinator was encouraging, and the first time the suggestion came from someone other than her on the Council. In order for a transportation coordinator to exist, there needed to be funding which was lacking. She queried whether Stanford would, in con- junction with contributions from the rest of the Industrial Park area, help fund the transportation coordinator. Mr. Perkinson said Stanford was prepared to make the concession as well. Stanford hoped the tenant of the Research Park would assume that portion of it, but Councilmember Fletcher's suggestion was reasonable and he believed Stanford was willing to move in that direction. Councilmember Fletcher was encouraged. One of Stanford's greatest resources was its students who might take an interest 4n the proj- eet as a research project. Mr. Perkinson said Stanfordappreciated the beneficiaries would be its students, faculty, and its Ftaff, as well as the tenants of the Research Park -and its employees. rice Mayor Cobb declared the public hearing closed. The particu- lar item vas no`: one of the Council actions specified by the new Municipal Cede that required a larger. percentage of vote, and could be certified as complete by, "A majority vote of all Colin-, cilmembers'present and voting." MOTION: Counciiiembee Woolley moved, seconded by Klein to: 1. Adopt Planning Commission's recommended changes to the identi- fied mitigation measures, with the exception of including Stanford University in Transportation Mitigation Measure 5, Strategy B and specifying a preference for Transportation Mitigation Strategy B; 2. Certify the final CIR as complete; and 3. Direct staff to contact Stanford and work with Stanford University in the development of a Trip Reduction Program for the entire Stanford Research Park. Councilmember Woolley said as last year's Council liaison to PACCC, it provided quality child care. Council heard two differ- ent stories that evening, and she suspected more child care of the quality provided by PACCC was needed. There were probably places available where one could secure child care but not the same kind provided by PACCC. However, she did riot believe it was fair to lay one more mitigation on Varian at that juncture. Councilmember Fletcher asked why the a.m. peak traffic was not addressed. Mr. Stoffel said typically for most of the traffic analysis work, staff looked at the p.m. peak ho=ur primarily because in Host cases it was the worst time of day. ' The mitigation measures proposed, however, ale, dealt with a.m. traffic. Any intersection improve- ments improved traffic at all times of the day, and trip reduction measures might be measured in the p.m., but the same people also shared trips a_s they went to work to the morning. Therefore, both cases were covered with the mitigation measures. Councilmember Fletcher dropped her child care proposal for the time being because she was informed by staff late that afternoon it was not really appropriate without an ordinance in place. She would pursue the procedure at a 'uture meeting, but hoped if a shortage of child care proved to be the case, Varian would be sus- ceptible to the idea of providing some child care. She wanted to compliment Varian on its commute alternatives program which were outstanding. Varian really deserved the award it received from the MTC. She was a little nervous when she read in the minutes the full time coordinator would not be there. In years past, Hewlett Packard had a transportation coordinator who did a fabu- lous job, but eventually left the program. It had not disinte- grated, but was not the same. The same with Syntex, so she :could watch Varian to see what their level of diversion was. In the effort to reduce traffic in the entire area there, she hoped ten- ants would be willing to complete the sidewalk network in the Industrial Park. She believed it was a disincentive to use the buses and have to walk in the mud to get to and from the bus stops. When she got on the AC Transit bus after it rained for a few days, her shoes got muddy because she had to go in the mud in order to board the bps because that was where the bus strap was. It would not be a huge expense to complete a network of side- walks. _. Councilmember Renzel was concerned having recognized the serious traffic impacts of the project, and the only mitigation measures in the motion were studies, hopes, and promises of reduction in new traffic. Nevertheless, there would be an increase` in new traffic, and she believed the Planning Commission thrashed that through and recommended Strategy B in its entirety be adopted, which included at least two on -the -ground improvements, one at the Page Mill/Hanover intersection, and at least the design of a second Right Turn lane eastbound on Hansen Way to El Camino Real. In the course of AUAG discussions regarding the cumulative impacts of what all cities around the Bay were doing and the fact they were still ending up at gridlock, it was partly because every city approved projects with "soft" mitigations, providing a traffic 6 4=4 2 10/15/85 coordinator and providing studies, etc., aiid not providing or -the - ground corrections to the problem:, bei ny created. She believed it was important for Council to include the strategies set forth in Strategy B particularly since Council knew it had serious problems in the community and the City was investing a lot of money to protect nearby neighborhoods from ?,ii rough _traffic, which was always a consequence of heavy congestion at major insections. AMENDMENT: Councilmember Renzel moved to adopt the Planning Commission recommendation of utilizing Strategy B which'encom- passes No. 5 listed in No. 2 on Page 4 of the staff report. Vice Mayor Cobb said the present motion was to adopt the Planning Commission's recommended changes to the identified mitigation measures, with the exception of including Stanford University in Measure 2, Strategy A, and Measure 5, Strategy B, because those were largely replaced by Item 4 on Page 5 of the staff report (CMR:532:5). AMENDMENT DIED FOR LACK OF A SECOND AMENDMENT: Councilmember Sutorius moved, seconded by Klein, that Varian shall provide an amount not to exceed $50,000 to be used for pre -construction costs necessary to initiate one or more low to moderate income housing programs. Such pre -construction costs may include, but shall not be limited to, charges and fees associated with site identification, appraisal, negotiation, pur- chase, preliminary project planning, and similar nonconstruction activities. Councilmember Sutorius said the purpose of the amendment was to take advantage of the fine housing mitigation measures Varian negotiated and agree,. to participate in, and to extend the value of the site identi fic tion: leading toward acquisition. Councilmember Woolley asked staff to comment on the motion. Chief Planning Official Bruce Freeland believed it was appropriate and hoped Varian would agree. AMENDMENT PASSED unanimously, Bechtel "not participating," Levy, Witherspoon absent. Councilmember Fletcher knew the project weu;d not return to Coun- cil unless it took the step. She was more interested in following the progeess of the traffic mitigation plan, and asked if there was a mechanism where Council could follow the process. Mr. Freeland said staff could send Council the ARB materials in an informational report, which was probably the most direct way. Councilmember Fletcher was also interested in being kept advised once the plan was initiated to see if it was working and how well. Mr. Freeland said there .:would be some annual monitoring . which could be given as informational reports to Council. 'Councilmember Fletcher asked if a motion was neeced. Mr. Freelend did not believe so. Councilmember Fletcher believed the most effective way to reduce single car driving was to charge for parking. She hoped that gait explored. It did not have to be an extra charge for the employee as the employer: could get a like amount in the form of a transpor- tation allowance end he or she would then be required to pay for the parking space. She asked Mr. Loomis "co respond. 6 4 4 3 10/15/85 Mr. Loomis was concerned because administering paid parking added costs to the employee and employer. Varian liked to teke a more positive approach towards its employees and convince them of the value to them of using ride- shaeing. The whole thrust of the program was built around that and Varian believed it proved effec- tive by achieving such a high level of ridesharing. Varian elimi- nated many cars, more than double ghat the project would create, and the company already committed itself to tremendous amounts of money on ticket subsidies and administration of the program. Varian had a 'successful program eliminating cars, and he saw no reason for further mitigation. Councilmember Fletcher was not thinking of Varian itself, but of all the employers in the area coming to an agreement. Mr. Loomis did not believe all the employers would be receptive. councilmeaber Fletcher agreed, and said she was puzzled because it wa_ an easy way, and would not require the tremendous administra- tive costs for the ridesharing program. Mr. Loomis said Varian believed in a more positive approach, and if it could get other employers to set up as strong an incentive, and aggressive a program as Varian had and achieve its ride- shar- ing statistics, Council would see a tremendous difference in traf- fic in the Stanford Research Park. Councilmember Fletcher wished him luck. Councilmember Renzel shared Planning Commissioner Northway's strong comments that Council continue to approve projects on a one -by -one basis knowing full well there would be major impacts not only from those projects but cumulatively, and Council's op- tioes for dealing with them were so few. Clearly the project appeared to make a bona fide effort to deal with the problems created. but she would reluctantly approve the F.IR. It was diffi- cult to continue to see Council add to problems which they all knew were alive and well in Palo Alto --housing, child care, traf- fic, and all of their infrastructure needs. It was a continuing, problem and she hoped the studies presently underway would correct some of the problem. Councilmember Klein shared many of the concerns voiced by the most recent speakers. It was :a different process from voting in favor of the project. 1,eople sometimes lost sight of that, which was unfortunate. Council's power that evening was limited. For a variety of reasons, all of which were stated, he would vote in favor of certifying the EIR. He noted he believed the mistake was made about six years ago when Council, as it existed at that time, refused to rezone the property when the Comprehensive Plan was being revised. He liked to believe if he was on the Council then he would have voted to rezone the property to housing. Varian lived up to its promises and was a model corporate citizen in that regard. Therefore, Council had no choice, but to go forward and certify the EIR. He. wished things were not quite as they were, Vice Mayor Cobb said there was no question the last ,people in line to do their developments, which in that case was Varian, tended to bear a disproportionate burden for a problem which belonged to many others before them. He hoped •as the City worked with all tenants in the Industrial Park, it "make a strong effort to get the tenants to realize they contributed a great deal to the traffic problem and needed to contribUte to its solution. 5 4 4 4 10/15/85 Go►unci.irnember Klein asked whether Cue cil was adopting Stratgcgy A Ms. Cheney said the staff _recommendation included no specific r'eculhmeradetiun fur el filer urre uF life t.r'afr lc sirdi:egies Councilmember Klein asked if Council should specifically say it was adopting Strategy 8 and then the reference to the language of Strategy A be deleted. Vice Mayor Cobb restated the paragraph, "To adopt the Planning Commission's recommended changes to the identified mitigation measures, with the exception of including Stanford University in Transnortion Mitigation Measure 5, Strategy B.." Ms. Cheney said that was not her understands rig of the motion. Vice Mayor Cobb believed the point was since Measure B and Measure A we # not exactly mutual, they were mutually exclusive to the respect that Strategy B was more severe and involved more items and took on all of Measure A and beyond. He asked if that was correct. Ms. Cheney said no. There was a major difference between the two strategies. Strategy A required the developer to guarantee a 29 percent reduction in p.m. peak nour trips generated by all Varian Research Park facilities, verified by an annual traffic monitoring program. The strategy also required the City to investigate the feasibility of instituting an area -wide trip reduction program for all Stanford Research Park facilities. Strategy B required the developer to guarantee a 24 percent reduction in p.m. peak hour trips for the project verified by an annual traffic monitoring program. Strategy it also required the developer to design, finance, and construct improvements to the Page Mill/Hanover intersection, improving the level of service to "C"/"D" in 1987. The developer to design the addition o ` a second right turn lane on eastbound Hansen Way at El Camino Real; design only, not pay for the construction. Strategy B also required the developer to provide- funds for a feasioility study to develop a privately sponsored local train service or shuttle bus between the Cal Trans station at California Avenue and the Stanford Research Park, and the City to investigate the feasibility of instituting an area - wide trip reduction program for all Stanford Research Park facili- ties. Vice Mayor Cobb asked if the last item was replaced by Item .4 in the last page of the CMR. Ms. Cheney said the item was not replaced. Item 4 in the CMR was a substitution for the Planning Commission recommendatiop to in- corporate Stanford into the last item. Councilmember Renzel clarified Councilmember Wool l ey's motion was Strategy B be adopted, but Stanford was included. Councilmember Woolley said yes. Perhaps she should have looked at No. 2 more closely because No. 2 talked about the changes and did net really say Council was adopting the Planning Commission recom- mendation, Which was her intention. If the motion said simply for No. 2, "Adopt the Planning Commission's recommendations and changes," with the one exception that would do it. NOTION AS ANENOC9 PASSED unanimously, Bechtel not participat- ing,' Levy, Witherspoon absent. 64,45 10/ 15/85 ITEM #6, ARASTRADlRO FIRE TREE REMOVAL (PAR 2-23) (CMR:556:5) Councilmember Renzel asked if there were going to be any euca- lyptus left along Arastradero Road after the operation. City Arborist DaveSandage said most of the eucalyptus trees along Arastradero would stand as they were. Just stumps along the road were being removed and seven trees along the property line with Los Altos Hills. Councilmember Renzel asked because the report referred to the removal of 89 stumps from the south side which sounded like a lot of trees. Mr. Sandage said the stumps were 'approximately three feet tall. The trees were already cit or fell during the fire. Councilmember Renzel asked if there were still some trees remain- ing. Mr. Sandage said probably 80 percent of the trees were still there. John Mock, 736 Barron Avenue said most of the trees would still be there. He worked a lot at 1600 Arastradero Road, and many of the stumps being removed were trees cut a few years ago for visibility reasons and were somewhat of an eyesore. He believed the removal was a good idea. He did not know whether any members of the Coun- cil drove by Page Mill and Arastradero Road, but on the Los Altos side what at first appeared to be the removal of fire- damaged trees seemed to have turned into a clear -cutting operation, mostly by seemingly unmarked pickup trucks. He did not know the rormal arrangements, but hated to see that kind of thing -happen in the Palo Alto portion of Arastradero Road. Therefore, he requested only marked company vehicles be used in the project so any rene- gade lumberjacks might swiftly be brought to justice. He compli- mented staff on their job of marking the trees for removal. Their choices were generally good although it appeared a few marked trees were reviving. He asked staff to make one brief pass o._ter Arastradero to see if some of the .standing trees marked for remov- al might be safely left. MOTION: Councilmember Klein moved, seconded by beoorley, to adopt the staff recommendation to authorize the. Mayor to: 1. Approve the Budget Amendment Ordinance for $17,796 to perform the required work; and 2. Execute a contract with S. P. McClenahan Company for $17,796. ORDINANCE 3642 entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1985-86 TO PROVIDE AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE REMOVAL OF TREES* AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR REMOVAL . OF TREES S. P. McClanahan Company MOTION PASSED unanimously, Levy, Witherspoon absent. ITEM 3U. #7 EVERGREEN PARK NEIGHB3RK0O0 TRAFFIC STUDY APPR0V. L OF ` ( LA 4-)-7) (CMR:548:5) David Schrom, 302 College Avenue, said neighborhood residents turned to him as Chairperson of the Traffic Issues Committee and said they heard members of the Council believed the item . should not go' forward as planned. In t'lking with at least one Council- member before the meeting, he discovered it was an accurate state- ment and one of the Counciimembers was concerned about the amount 6 4' 4 6 10/15/85 of money to be ;pent .on the traffic circle. The tra€ i sc ci ecle was important to the. aembers of the neighborhood for many rea- sons. More than two years ago, Council promised the traffic cir- cle and many people looked forward to its installation ever. since then and laid plans,- along with the City Arbarist Dave Sandage, for 1 F ! andscapi ng. They were informed by -Carl stof el , Trans- portation Planner, that in some parts of the City, neighborhoods made agreements with the City to maintain landscaping on street improvements and the neighborhooa looked forward to improving theirs. They believed it would be a major improvement in the neighborhood and would serve notice to the many people who con- tinued to use Park Boulevard south, westbound as a through route, they were entering a residential neighborhood. The current traf- fic 'control plan in the neighborhood was the result of a lot of negotiation -and controversy. Each component of the neighborhood accepted the measures as they- prtsently stood with the understand- ing the traffic circle promised two years before, and an independ- ent entity not included in the traffic control plan, was going to be .installed. Although there was no specific indication from the staff about the degree to which the circle might further reduce through traffic, there were people in the neighborhood who believed strongly it would reduce speeding in the section of Park Boulevard between El Camino and the dangerous curve about which so much was heard. The neighborhood believed spending money on that type of capital improvement put the City in a better position in the long-term than it was in eerrently. The neighborhood believed a traffic circle planted with minimum maintenance vegetation would cost the City less in the long run than the expanse of asphril t it replaced. In addition, it provided a valuable stream of benefits to the people of the City on an ongoing basis. He urged the Coun- cil to retain it as an element of the design proposal and to com- plete it as expeditiously as possible. Audrey Poulter, 1731 Park Bouevard, said their neighborhood waited patiently for the installation of the traffic circle on Park Boulevard, which would -hopefully reduce speed, be a safety mea- sure, and act as a deterrent to oversized trucks and car trans porters who cut through their neighborhood. Speed continued to be a problem during rush hours, and after Stanford football games. Anotheraccident occurred on September 7, at 1:00 a.m. at the Park Boulevard curve. Park Boulevard was heavily traveled by cyclists of all ages, and there were a lot of small children playing on the street. She urged Park Boulevard be protected by supporting the traffic circle. Sarnia Smith, 2031 Park Bouevard, reminded the Council of the importance of the traffic circle and its support two years ago. The reason for the circle was a deterrent to speeding. She referred to an article in Sunset magazine about a neighborhood who got together, had funds donated, together with City money and had a_ traffic circle installed. Something could be worked out, and she urged support. Councilmember Woolley said she opposed the traffic circle. Last time Council discussed the matter, the - decision was reached between 12::00 a.m. and; 1:00 a.m. and no one was ready to consider any new.in-formation the traffic circle was the... -only part of the plan she opposed., In the early ` stages of the Council discussion on the Evergreen Park traffic situations there was a meeting _at which the traffic circle was voted upon and appro ved. ._At a subse- quent meets ny about a month later, the Council di recce,:. staff to consider the -use of barriers, The traffic circle Baas-' first and the barriers. were second. She doubted' if the order was reversed that Council would have considered a traffic circle. The traffic counts were considerably reduced from when Council- first discussed the problem in Evergreen Park Park llouleVard carried .2,900 cars when thee ;f obl em- was first discussed, and now carried an average at the two ends. of 1,300 cars, which Was less than -half as many cars. 6 4.4 7 10/15/85 NOTION: Councilmember wool i ey moved, seconded by Sutori €€s , that Council authorize the Mayor to execute an agreement with Barrett, Harris and Associates, Inc. In the amount of $20,000 to $23,00U for ..he design of Park Boulevard/Park Avenue speed control improvements on the Park Boulevard curve, the Castilleja Avenue street closure, and the six street closures and the one-way M1ock which comprise the Evergreen Park traffic ■aesgeoeht plan; and to authorize staff to execute change orders to the agreement of up to ten (10) percent ofthe contract. Councilmember Woolley said the accident referred to by Ms. Poul ter and the other two or three which occurred in the past year `Nal l ha'pened at the point of the curve. She believed the curve was the problem on Park Boulevard. She pointed odt a redesign of the curve was now included in the redesign so that when cars came from El Camino, they would have a chance to recognize there was a curve much sooner. The area was large and paved and was an uncommon situation for the streets of Palo Alto, but it was not exactly unique. She believed there were other areas in the City wher- several streets went together and there was a large expansive pavement. The cost of the design and construction of the traffic circle would be between $32,000 end $39,000. If Council weighed the benefit and need against the cost, she did not believe Council was justified in spending that amount of City funds. SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Councilmember Renzel moved, seconded by Klein, to adopt the staff recommendation to: 1. Authorize the Mayor to execute the agreement with Barrett, Harris and Associates, Inc. in the amount of $27,414, for the design of the Park Bouleeard/Park Avenue traffic circle, speed control improvements on the Park Boulevard curve, the Casttlleja Avenue street closure, end the six street closures and the one-way block which comprise the Evergreen Park Traffic Management Plan; and 2. Authorize staff to execute change orders to the agreement of up to x2,741. AGREEMENT - PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANT SEFYICES Barrett, Harris & Associates, Inc. Councilmember Renzel sa'd Council discussed the policy°of whether to have a landscaped traffic circle in the location several times and at that point, a consultant was being hired. It was a late date to make such a change. In terms of the chronology of deci- sions, she recalled many Councilmembers said regaroless of whether any traffic barrier system was installed, something was needed in that lecati on to designate to peop; a as ..hey entered the nei ghbore hood they were entering a residential neighborhood. It had to do as much with slowing downthe traffic as it did with the qual ity of the traffic to pass through. It was true the traffic counts were less now, but she did not believe it diminished the value of having a designated entry to tell people it was not an extension of El Camino, but rather a neighborhood where people lived. In terms of the Lccident record, she was sure a certain amount of the problem at the curve was because people had a long distance in which to pick up speed, and the traffic circle would not only impair the lone straightaway, .but it would also allow people to psychologically be prepared to drive at a different pace. In terms of other inteesections with the same problem, the Park Boulevard/East Meadow/Second Street one had a four-way stop. Council made the policy decision to go ahead with the traffic circle, and she believed Council should proceed. It would be a. positive improvement for the neighborhood both in terms of traffic and the overall quality of life. S 4, 4 8 10/15/85 Counciimemher Fletcher was not happy about the total cost, tut according to the staff report. a lot had to do with drainage. She asked whether there could be some design of those improvements to permit the water to flow without extensive dra,nFaye improve- ments. Assistant Transportation Engineer Carl Stoffel said the drainage improvements were not a necessity, but Public .said preferred to see designs which did not involve areas that could get clogged up, little slots, etc. for tree gutter where there were problems in the past. He would bring up that question when the consultant started working With the City to see -what could -be built. iThey might change their minds, but presently were looking at new curb and gutter and good drainage solutions. Councilmember Fletcher clarified there was a chance the drainage would not be a hug= project. Mr. Stoffel said it was a slight chance. Councilmember Fletcher favored the traffic circle. Council made the commitment several times and each time the Evergreen `Park situation was considered, speeding around the curves was men- tioned, as well as the large area where people got up speed. The last time the issue was raised, staff said the traffic circle would help considerably to slow down the speed because there would he !ecc straight dictanr_e fnr acceleration._, Even though the traf- fic count was. down on Park Boulev`zird, speeding was not reduced in the last report. The circle would be a nice visual improvement. Councilmember Bechtel agreed with Councilmembers Fletcher and Tien zel . There was . no question Council made the policy decision previously to put in the traffic circle. The expense was known roughly from the beginning. If done, the permanent physical structure needed to be done right, which cost money. After Coun- cil's first hearing how expensive it was, she checked with staff to see if it would really help, and staff said it would help to reduce speed. With such a big; wide area, so close to El Camino with traffic crossing from Stanford, he perceptior was one could go fast because of the width. The speed led to the problem at the next curve. It was true there were no accidents on the straight- away, which was because people went fast at the straightaway and could not make the curve which caused the accidents. She believed it was time to move ahead The matter had been delayed two years. Councilmember Sutorlus queried the means of funding the installa- tion. He understood the Palo Alto Central Mitigation Funds were $130,000 of which $30,000 was already spent in support of activi- ties associated with the first two trials in Evergreen Park. Mr. Stoffel said that was correct. Councilmember Sutorius asked whether a possible funding plan for the $169,999 deeded for the total project suggested perhaps $55,000 could be allocated out of the Palo Alto Central Mitigation Fund, which meant $85,000 out of the $130,000 mould be expended in Evergreen Park. Mr. ?toffei 3ai d that was correct. Councilmember Sitorius asked whether the area covered by the Palo Alto Central Mitigation extended generally from Lambert on the south along Park Boulevard on the north, the Southern Pacific Railroad on the east, and Ash on the west. 6 4 4 9 10/15/85 Mr. Stoffel said that was correct. Councilmember Sutorius would not support the substitute motion. He believed Councilmember Woolley's• rationale for the original motion was sound, and her points were valid. lie saw the traffic circle more as a nice amenity. Neighborhoods deserved amenities when they were affordable and when there was a balance as to how the City's dollars were spent throughout the community. In com- bination with the other expenditures, it was not a sum he per- sonally found affordable, and he was concerned about any program which expended 65 percent of mitigation moneys associated with 'Pale Alto Central in such a restricted portion of the area for 'Pale which the program was established. He reminded his colleagues only one of three phases of Palo Alto Central was completed. On cempl et : on,\'\perhaps the one phase was equivalent to about 40 per- cent of the traffic generation. It was imprudent to spend 65 per- cent of the mitigation moneys in such a narrow portion of. the entire area when there were other predictable traffic situations, and the reason the area was sized as it was when the mitigation area was identi f : ed. Much as he liked the idea of attractive gateways and entries into neighborhoods, he would not support the motion. SUBSTITUTE MOTION PASSZD by a vote of 5-2, Sutorius, Woolley voting "no," Levy, Witherspoon absent. ITEM #8, SPEED LIMITS (SAF 3-6) (CMR:543:5) Councilmember Sutorius asked for clarification of paragraph 2 on Page 4 of CMR:543:5 regarding reported accidents and differences in reporting procedures in various calendar and/or fiscal years. His concern was with the last sentence, "However, coe istent with the adopted 1985-86 :hudget, the Police Department is modifying its accident reporting policy which will result in fewer documented accidents." He was unable to attend the Finance and Public Works (FAIN) Committee meeting at which the issue was discussed, and asked what the sentence suggested. City Manager Bill Laner said at the F&PW Committee meeting, staff advised they could not continue the level of service provided by investigating all accidents and recording all data without addi- tional resources, which meant eliminating other services the City believed were important. The Committee did not approve additional resources. Staff then indicated they would continue_ collecting accident data until the traffic engineers had what was needed for the year, but at the conclusion of the exercise, staff would revert back to the system used previously which almost every other Police Department used, which was investigation and reporting of only selected accidents. If staff did not return to the previous system, it had to forego other services in the Police Department. Councilmember Sutorius asked how staff aecided which accident were reported. Lt. Ed Austin, Palo Alto Police Department, said the main acci- dents the Police —Department reported in 1983 prior to taking all accidents ;in 1984 were injury accidents only, or those which involved City vehicles or, City property damage. Councilmember Sutorius clarified an accident involving two vehicles ° with significant damage to each but where first indica- tions were no personal , injury, it would not brie counted as. an accident and reported. Lt. Austin said that was correct. These .would be no documented police report. The Police Department would respond, assist the parties, provide a driver's exchange form to exchange information, and their insurance companies would handle notification to the. state which met the legal criteria for being involved in an acci- dent. 6.4 5 0 10/15/85 Councilmember Sutorius said it was difficult to utilize informa• tion from year to year on various matters brought to Council by ,staff, or by the public, and _not have as complete a record as possible. As fir as the subject matter contained in the staff report (CMR:543:5), he had no question nor concern about what was proposed and supported that portion of the report. Councilmember Bechtel believed this item needed tic be returned to Council concerning the reporting of accidents. She knew the F&PW Committee discussed it, and believed she, Vice Mayor Cobb, and Mayor Levy substituting for Councilmember Sutorius were presee_t at that meeting. She was not sure whether Councilmember Witherspoon was present. If she remembered correctly, the Committee asked staff to do more than they were presently doing. Council was hearing that staff wanted to do less than they had been doing the last. couple of years. If the Police were aselsting the people involved in ,p~e accident, but not writing up a report, she asked why there could not be a tabulation. Why did it have to be ee elaborate report. She knew that was going beyond the scope of the particular item. Vice Mayor Cobb suggested the matter be reagendized and staff return for a properly agendized discussion. Councilmember Fletcher registered her concern over the same matter. MOTION: Councilmember Bechtel moved, seconded by Fletcher, to approve the staff recommendation adopting Ordinance #1 reaffirming the posted speed limits on 13 street segments ,,aad raising the sneed limit to 30 mph on West Bayshore, based upon engineering and traffic survey results. The street segments affected are: Hillview from Hanover to Foothill Expressway 30 mph Fabian from E. Charleston to W. Bayshore 30 mph Hanover from Page Mill to Hillview 30 mph Colorado from Middlefield to Louis 25 mph West Bayshore from Oregon to Amarillo 30 mph Oregon from Middlefield to US 101 35 mph University from Middlefield to easterly City Limit 25 mph Embarcadero from Middl of i el d to Alma underpass 25 mph Embarcadero from Alma underpass to El Camino 25 mph Sand Hill from Arboretum to Pasteur 35 mph Sand Hill from Pasteur to westerly City limit 35 mph Alma from Embarcadero to Oregon 35 mph Aloe from Oregon to Meadow 35 mph Alma from Meadow to San Antonio 35 mph ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING entitled 'ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PAII) ALTO MENDING CHAPTER 10.56 OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH AND CHANGE SPECIAL SPEED ZONES FOR CERTAIN STREETS OR PORTIONS OF STREETS" Councilmember Renzel was happy to see only one street was recom- mended for increased speed, so it was easy to support the motion. She concurred with Councilmember Sutorius' expressions of concern regarding accident reporting. She continued to -maintain the seriousness of accidents was luck, seconds, and timing as to whether there was a physical injury. For purposes of traffic studies where the City had to justify speed limits for use of radar, it was important to have accurate data. Vice Mayor Cobb asked Mr. Zaner to share the differences as they related to Alma Street. Mr. Liner said staff would return the more general item regarding the service level to be provided by the Police Department for accidents. Regarding Alma Street, one of the streets on the list was Alma and it was one Council wanted to see enforced for a long 6 4 5 1 10/15/85 time. Staff believed it could now he doee, but -he wanted to point out that it would be a surprise to many people in Palo Alto. One had to move at a rapid speed on Alma just to stay out of the way of following traffic. .Staff anticipated they would receive many -complaints once the police were out with radar and Council should be prepared for the same set of complaints. Councilmember Bechtel said the public should be aware that be9in- niny. December- 1, when the ordinance became effective, they should watch out on Alma, Oregon, University Avenue, Sand Hill Road, etc. Councilmember Woolley was delighted to see Alma included because she already received complaints from people who did not wa to see the speed so great on Alma, so it cut both ways. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Levy, Witherspoon absent. ITEM #9, REQUEST OF COUNCILMEMBER WOOLLE:Y RE CALTRAIN WHISTLE (CNY 5) MOTION: Councilmember Woolley moved, seconded by Klein, to direct the Mayor to send letters to Caltrans and SP requesting that the whistle be altered and that maximum train noise standards be put in place to protect the environment. Also, that the Mayor be directed to write to other cities through which Caltrain passes and ask that they c4nvey the same position to Caltrans and SP. VICE MAYOR COBB RE COMPLETION OF AGENDA Vice Mayor Cobo suggested Council could finish the agenda without a break. RETURN TO ITEM #9, CALTRAIN WHISTLE Joe Lewis, 101 Alma, spoke on behalf of the 98 condominium owners in the building, particularly the 48 who lived in units facing the railroad track. However, the Palo Alto Condominium Owners' Association unanimously agreed a substantial environmental impact caused by the new train whistles was experienced in the past four months_ The reason for the new whistles was the Amtrak trains prior to 1980 when the contract was entered int6. between SP and Caltrans, turned off in San Jose, so traffic from Los Angeles did not go into San Francisco. The Amtrak trains upgraded with new GM diesels with new train whistles were never exposed to residents along the right-of-way '.in Palo Alto,. Menlo Park, Ath drton, Burlin0ame, and San Mateo; the five cities most severely impacted by the noise. He was an attorney and checked out the applicable laws for local citizens. Palo Alto had a good noise ordinance, and it talked in terms of different kinds of unlawful intrusions, i.e., six decibels for residential, eight decibels for industrial/ commercial, fifteen decibels for public lands over the ambient noise level defined in the Code by essentially what the noise was before the intruding noise. When the Palo Alto Condominium Owners' Association had a private citizen who was an experienced engineer from Ampex do some readings, it was found the increase ,in ambient noise was in excess of 35 decibels opposite the train. It sounded like a violation of the noise ordinance, but if one went to the City and asked for enforcement of the noise ordinance they would be told the State preempted the field. The State said the federal government preempted the. field. They called Jim Trownlee from the Federal Railroad Administration in- San Francisco, who said their attitude was "the louder the better." It was frustra- ting when speaking on behalf of 98 condominium owners. at 101 Alva and probably many other citizens traumatized by the noise. Mr. Trowel ee advised they wanted to have the . noise loud enough so the offending vehicle, the vehicle out there on the tracks with the windows up and with the radio. on loud, would hear the whistle and clear the tracks. He specifically referred to a serious accident which occurred south of San Jose. . About a week- after the 6 4.5 2 10/15/85 conver3ation, a newspaper release stated the driver's blood alcohol level was twice the level which determined intoxication for motor vehicle accidents. The public had no environmental pro- tection whatsoever. He asked if the State preempted the field. It might well be a State issue, but there was no other commuter train in the State of California. One ran in Oxnard for four and one-half months` and terminated in 1983. This was the only com- muter train in the State of California and it ran through the entire district of State Senator Becky Morgan. He discussed the matter with her and requested the Council's motion be amended to also direct a letter to State Senator Rebecca Morgan to urge other cities to do the same thing. She was willing to carry it, and understood the issue. She understood there was no State law to protect the environment in that instance. Those concerned with the issue believed it was important therebe some kind of input on behalf of the publir. The regal z.ti ons to improve the environment should be in place before the SP and Santa Fe merger was approved, which was expected right after the first of the year when they moved their offices to the east, and before they undertook a massive increase in railroad traffic by shipping the Utah coal in long, heavy railroad trains along the right-of-way in front of their houses. Tom Wheeler, 92 Churchill, said the environmental quality of their neighborhoods was significantly lower with the new train whistles. He 'urged Council to investigate how sound was measured and how important it was to understand the difference a few decibels could make. It was like a few points on the Richter scale. A few deci- bel increase doubled the sound pressure level of the sound being measured. He called Joe Browne, a deputy cti rector for Cal Trans , and asked if anyone complained that the older train whistles were unsafe. His response was "no.", He -urged the City Council look into the matter of perceived loudness as opposed to anything that might be measured on a sound -pressure level graph., An acoustics engineer could tell that pitch was important and it was easy to make two different sounds look alike on a chart or graph. Me previous whistles were tolerable, and the new ones were not. Councilmember Klein clarified to Mr. Wheeler the City Council did not have jurisdiction over the trains. Mr. Wheeler understood it, out also understood Council was con- sidering sending letters to Cal Trans. He believed any first step would help. Councilmember Klein pointed out it was probably the only step Council could take. Palo Alto had a good noise ordinance, but he was open to suggestions. Allan Sidle, 1648 Marl posa, supported the motion. He was also Chairman of the Human Relations Commission, and the' train whistle was a quality of life issue. He urged Council support.. Sarnia Smith, 2031 Park Boulevard, agreed with the previous speakers. The train whistles were tolerable previously, and she hoped something could be done, Vice Mayor Cobb said he also lived fairly close to the tracks in the south part of to4n and the whistles were louder. Councilmember Woolley followed on Mr. Lewis' suggestion that a letter also be sent to Senator` Morgan concerning ma imum . train noise standards. .. MAKER AND SECOND OF MOTION INCLUDED LANGUAGE THAT A LETTER ALSO BE DIRECTED TO SENATOR REBECCA MORGAN CONCERNING MAXIMUM TRAIN NOISE STANDARDS MOTION PASSED ananimoosly Levy, Witherspoon absent. 6 4,,5 3 10/15/85 ITEM 019, REgUEST OF C_OUNCIL EMBER WOOLLE s RE CROSSING GUARDS AT CHARLESTON ROAD—TSAF 3-5) Councilmember Woolley believed everyone was aware of the young boy who was killed in the twin accident which occurred in Palo Alto on October 2. Churchill was the only crossing, not only in Palo Alto but on tec whole Peninsula, with pedestrian gates, and it had four. When staff looked into the matter, the number of pedestrian gates might be a consideration. There was nothing in the motion which specified two or four, and it might be easier to limit it to the right-hand two because those coordinated with the street gates, whereas the left-hand ones for pedestrians had to be separ- ate installations, which would also encourage bicyclists to stay on the proper side of the street. She noted there were 229 signa- tures collected quickly from concerned people, and there were also many concerned students who wanted to be involved in the project. She believed it would also be a good idea to involve the Palo Alto Unified School. District as one of the agencies staff might consult with to actually verify there were more students using the cross- ing. MOTION: Councilmember Woolley moved, seconded by Renzel, to direct staff to work with the appropriate agencies and citizens to bring about installation of pedestrian gates at both the East Meadow and Charleston crossings. Councilmember Bechtel clarified staff wes being asked to get the pedestrian gates. Council might find resistance from the appro- priate agencies on the particular kind of gate, as she understood there were some probl ern with them, and she queried whether Coun- cilmember Woolley might add to the motion the possibility of refer; al to the appropriate committee of an adult crossing guard at the intersection as another alternative. MAKER AND SECOND INCLUDED REFER ITEM TO CROSSING GUARD COMMITTEE IN MOTION Jim Stanley, c`608 Marshall Drive, lived in Palo Alto for almost I3 years and rode the bus two or three times a week. Depending on how the spirit moved him, sometimes he boarded the bus at the corner of Page Mill and El Camino, and sometimes at Meadow and Alma. He was concerned about both the Charleston and Meadow crossings based on many years experience watching students cross In the morning. He urged Council consider perhaps en agenda to deal with the crossings. There were two basic problems; one was the train and the other was Alma. Regarding Alma, at that time of the morning, traffic moved along at about 40 miles per hour, and he would not be surprised if it was over 45 mph. Those were com- plicated crossings. When the driver saw the light starting to turn yellow, they stepped on the gas, and it made him cringe when kids saw the cars speed through the intersection. The crossings were complicated. Depending on which side of the street one was on and which way one was going, there might be a situation where there was a "Walk" signal when the light was red, and the "Don't Walk" signal when it was green. As a result, at any given time, 20 to 30 percent of the students crossedat the wrong time, which was a disaster waiting to happen. Regarding the train, he wit- nessed the boy being nit. The two thing; that went through his mind at the time were that it was somebody's son, and it seemed like a steep price to pay for a simple mistake. As he watched thr,` whole situation evolve, he' went on record . that there was no reck- lessness involved;. the boy waited for the southbound train to go by and then casually biked around the crossing guard there and right in front of the northbound train. Hews not sure the boy ever .sari it There were a lot ofstories going around about play- ing chicken, or racing, but that was not the way it happened. It was an honest mistake and he believed the boy never knew what happened. Perhaps the mechanical crossing guard was the right approach, but maybe other possibilities could be considered as well. It was a serious problem and was not going away. 6 4 5 4 10/15/85 Councilmember Fletcher was familiar with the Charleston and East Meadow crossings and was unaware of there being a crossing on the red light on either intersection. Mr. Stanley said because it was a three-way light, If one was on the left side of the street heading west in the direction of Gunn High School, one got the crossing signal after the light turped red because when it was green, the people from behind :lade a left turn in front of you holding up pedestrians. If one went the other way, the situation was reversed. In any case, it was con- fusing and kids crossed when it said "Don't Walk" sand not crossed when it said "Walk." Councilmember Fletcher never.. saw the walk sign go on when the light was red. Mr. Stanley said he got the green "Walk" sign when the light was red, which was the opposite of one's intuition. Going in the opposite direction W3s okay. If children were coming from the west side going east, it was all right depending on which side of the street you were on. Councilmember Woolley said with the permission of the second she wanted to broaden the motion based on what Council heard to give staff a little more latitude, adding "or other safety measures" so staff could consider crossing guards, or changing of the lights, or whatever was appropriate. MAKER AND SECOND AGREED TO INCORPORATE "OR OTHER SAFETY MEASURES" IN THE MOTION MOTION PASSED unanimously, Levy, Witherspoon absent. ITEM #11, REQUEST OF VICE MAYOR COBB AND MAYOR LEVY RE CABLE TV FOLLOW-UP (PR 7-3) MOTION: Vice Mayor Cobb moved, seconded by Klein, to authorize staff, and request the Cable Communications Cooperative to issue monthly progress reports covering all cable activities during the next 26 months or «ntil construction is completed. Councilmember Woolley said various plans such as the plan for access, privacy and local origination programming were listed in the draft franchise agreement, and she asked if those plans would return to Council. City Manager Bill Zaner said the plans would not return to Council as a rule. Most of them were reviewed by staff and either approved or disapproved. They were public documents and would be posted in the City Clerk's office and sent to Council for informa- tion, but they did not go to Coucil for approval. Councilmember Woolley was. sure some were beyond Council in terms of being technical, but there might be some, like the access plan for example, which the Council might want to see. She knew Coun- cil had no authority to say "yes" or "no," but suggested along with the information report requested by Vice Mayor Cobb, those plans like privacy and access might be included in the report. Mr. Zaner said any time one of the required reports was filed with the City, staff would note it in the report to Council, and, if small enough, attach it:; if too large, put- it on file. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Levy, Witherspoon asent. 6 4 5 5 10/15/85 ITEM 012, REQUEST OF VICE MAYOR COBB AND COUNCILMEMBERS KLEIN AND S ORIUS RE OMMUNITY ACCESS ORGAPilZATtO CABLE TV (PR! ?-3y Councilmember Klein said he became concerned about the whnlA issue of the Community Access Organization (CAO) process, and the amounts devoted to it the more Council got into the franchising process. It was probably a case where Council did not give suffi- cient attention to the CAO avid where it would go when it was before Council earlier in the year, which might have been inevit- able. The more intense focus Council saw placed on the CAO during the franchise process brought about facts about which he was pre- viously unaware. He talked to staff and other members of the Council on the issue, and he noted Council was not through with the particular issue, and had not formally designated M -PAC as the CAD. Council indicated it would do that, but staff advised that Council not make the formal designation, which was good advice. He asked when the item was scheduled for Council discussion. Deputy City Manager Larry Moore said a spe.. i f i c date was not set. Staff tentatively talked about returning to Council at the time of closing. MOTION: Councilmember Klein moved, seconded by Sutorius, to IveAuest that staff, M -PAC and the Cable Co-op return to Council on the following issues: 1. Level of funding for the Community Access Organization; 2. What is intended to be accomplished by the Community Access Organization with the resources being put under its control; and 3. Is the governance procedure as outlined so`far sufficient to insure that the public will indeed benefit as has been antici- pated. Further, that staff advise re advisability of a contractual agree- ment with the Community Access Organization. Councilmember Klein believed level of funding was a concern because they were talking about significant dollar amounts. It was a privately negotiated amount between the successful applicant and M -PAC, but it was money to come out of the subscribers' pockets. Without the CAO, the Co-op could_ charge less money, so he belicvea Council was obliged to determine whether the amount was the right amount. He got the feeling from the discussions that both applicants believed they had to outbid the other with regard to money being spent for community access, and that being the case, it seemed Council had a duty to its citizens throughout the JPA to ensure the money was a level with which Council was comfortable. It was also important to know whether the money, which was quasi -public, would be spent in a manner with which Council could be comfortable. One criticism he heard from a mem- ber of the public was it was a huge subsidy, to a small group of hobbyists. He wanted to ensure the system would be a community public item and not one merely controlled by a small group of people who happened to be interested in the subject. Councilmember Renzel said Council went to a fair amount of care to establish the CAO as a group somewhat.. independent from the Coon- cil, and they negotiated independently from the Council with the franchise applicants. She asked whether it was appropriate for Council to go back in and review whether the entity was proper in terms of the independence Council hoped to attribute to the group. City Manager Bill Zaner believed Council was obliged to assure itself that public interest was being served. The organization was not yet designated as the _official. CAD. It was independent, separate and negotiated its own arrangements, but Council had an 6 4 5'6 10/15/85 interest in the eVentual outcome although it did not make its decision on which franchise competitors co award to on that basis. Council could legitimately look at it and have some concerns at ,that point. Councilmember Menzel asked whether the matter was run by Norm Sinel. She was concerned because of discussion in the newspaper that one applicant might sue if another was awarded the franchise, and referenda, and other things, and she did not want to open something up after all the difficulty in arriving at a final deci- sion on the process. Mr. Zaner said staff had not talked with Mr. Sinel. The assign- ment was for a staff report in effect, and Council was not making any decisions or drawing any conclusions. Anything staff did in the way of a staff report consistent with all previous staff reports on the subject would be cleared through Mr. Sinel and through the other attorneys. It would not return to Council unless all was done to ensure the City was clean. Councilmember Renzel said the motion also asked M -PAC and the Co-op to reporO back. Mr. Zaner said it was in the nature of a request. The City did not ha ,^ the right to order them to do one thing or another, and M -PAC and the Co-op would provide whatever data they chose to give. Councilmember Woolley asked about including the advisability of a contractual agreement in the report. Last spring when the matter was before the Policy and Procedures (P&P) Committee, they dis- cussed the possibility of a contract between the CAO and the City tc include quantifiable goals and funding. There were other so'orces of funding besides what the Co-op would provide, i.e., the institutional fund which was provided to the City who could in turn pass it along to the GAO. If the City provided that fund, there should be some type of contract with quantifiable goals as to how the money was used. There was also the possibility of a portion of the franchise fee going to the CAO. - MAKER AND SECOND OF MOTION AGREED TO INCLUDE THE ADVISABILITY OF A CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE CAO IN THE REPORT Councilmember Sutorius believed all of his colleagues felt aimed towards an arms length situation with the. CAO, and he. wanted to ensure it could be maintained if and when it was formally estab- lished. During the course of the process, there were indications from a variety of directions as to potential or actual communica- tions problems with various parties which gave rise to concerns about how well Council did its job. He believed it was always appropriate to evaluate whether there was anything Council needed to review in terms of shoring up, modifying or better understand- ing. He also believed some of the information Council received, specifically the publication by a cable access organization, not M -PAC, but some type of collection of CAO entities had a publica- tion with a list of various ;pities and the types of things incor- porated in their community access programs. It seemed some of the successful operations did not have the list of things Palo Alto was looking for. The reasons identified by Councilmember Klein were appropriate, and the concern of Councilmember ember Henzel was also appropriate. . He was satisfied Council was not compromising the franchise process in any way, but rather ensuring Palo Alto got off on the right foot in the CAO process. Councilmember Klein spoke .. to Councilmember Renzel's concerns, and said before he agend i zed the matter he spoke to City Attorney Diane Lee. Mr. Bennetti called him and they discussed the dirk- tion he was going and there was no problem. He believed it was still an open question and deserved careful Council scrutiny 6 4 5 7 10/15/86 fully that time around. because M -PAC was not the official GAD. and he understood from Mr. Berinetti the agreement between Cable Co-op and M -PAC was conditioned upon M -PAC being named the official CAO. Therefore, it was the time for Council to do something if Coun�a 1 t.. '-`" -�• = s -::yes �a vMl cd eful consideration. Counci I needed to look at it because after everything went into effect, it would be too late. Councilmember Woolley realized Council had no further control over the CAO bylaws, and she asked if the JPA did. Deputy City Manager Lawrence More said . Vice Mayor Cobb concurred with Councilmembers Klein and Sutorius. He was somewhat disturbed to see the degree to which the process began following M -PAC instead of them being at arms length from it. He hoped Council could think it through a little more care- Councilmember Renzel said she would abstain from voting because Council did not have the motion written before them in order to get input from the public on it. She was concerned there might be some problems. MOTION PASSED by a vote of 6-0-1, Renzel 'abstaining," Levy, Witherspoon absent. ADJOURNMENT Council adjourned at 10:10 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: 6 4 5 8 10/15/85