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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-01-18 City Council Summary MinutesCITY COUNCIL MINUTES ITEM Special Meeting Monday, January 18, 1982 Interview of Candidates Seeking Appointment to the Human Relations Commission CITY PALO ALTO Special Meeting Monday, January 18, 1982 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Conference Room at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, at 6:00 p.n. PRESENT: Bechtel, Cobb,.Eyarly, Fletcher, Levy, Renzel, Witherspoon ABSENT: Fazzino, Klein The purpose of the meeting was to interview applicants for three vacancies on the Human Relations Commission. 6:00 p.m. 6:15 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:45 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Diana L. Diamond Virginia M. Lee Iris M. Korol Richard R. Roe Jean M. Ramacciotti ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. ATTEST:. /ILA yi C1er(.( APPROVED: /7 7// yor CITY COUNCIL MINUT€s Regular Meeting Monday, January 18, 1982 Oral Communications Approval of Minutes Consent Calendar Referral Action JPA For Intergovernmental Employee Relations Services (CMR:111:2) Planning Commission Recommendation re Denial of the Application of Lloyd McVicker for a Parcel Map for Property Located at 3350 West Bayshore Frontage Road (Continued from 12/21/81) PUBLIC HEARING: Award of Option to Lease Geng Road at Embarcadero Road Friends of the Winter Club (CMR:110:2) PUBLIC HEARING: Planning Commission Recommendation re Approval of the Application of the City of Palo Alto for a Zone Change for Two Parcels at the Corner of Page Mill and Birch, and One Parcel in the 400 Block of Sheridan from PF to RM-5 PUBLIC HARING: Planning Commission Recommendation that the Decision of the Zoning Administrator to Deny a Variance for Property Located at 677 Tennyson be Upheld from Appeal by George and Mary Ann Young, Property Owners PUBLIC NEARING: Planning Commission Unanimous Recommendation re` Approval, with conditions, of the Application of James Portman for Approval of a Tentative Subdivision Map for Property Located at 542-550 Everett StrWit CITY Or - PALO ALTO PAGE 1 5 9 .9 1 5 9 9 1 5 .9 9 1 5 9 9 1 5 9 9 1 5 9 9 1 6 0 0 1 6 0 2 1 6 0 6 1 6 0 6 1 6 1 2 1.5.9 7. 1/18/82 ITEM PUBLIC HEARING: Planning Commission Recommendation re Denial for the Application of Clegg & Huntzinger for Approval of a Preliminary Parcel Map for Property Located at 335 and 339 Seale Avenue Planning Commission Unanimous Recommendation re Approval, with conditions, of San Mateo County's Application fo.r Site and Design Approval for a Proposed Storm Drain and Pump Station to. Replace an Existing Facility at the Foot of O'Connor Street, East Palo Alto PAGE 1 6 1 4 1 6 1 6 Human Relations Commission re Task Force for 1 6 1 9 Disabled (CMR:119:2) Award of Lease - Golf Professional Request of Councilmember Witherspoon re Repre: onta t i on at 450th Anniversary Celebration of the Founding of Oaxaca, Mexico (Palo Alto's Sister City) 1 6 2 0 1 6 2 3 Adjournment 1 6 2 5 1:5 9 8 1/18/82 Regular Meeting Monday, January 18, 1982 1 1 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at City Hal l , 250 Hamilton - Avenue, at 7:35 p.m. PRESENT: Bechtel, Cobb, Eyerly, Fletcher, Levy, Renzel, Witherspoon ABSENT: Fazzino, Klein ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 1. Kurt Johnson, Vice President, Palo Alto Youth Council, up- dated the Council on . programs established 'by the Youth Council. He noted a leadership training workshop that was held on December 2, at_the Palo Alto Cultural Center. He said it was attended by- approximately 65 students from Palo Alto High School, Gunn High School and Casti l leja. He -said • other functions by the Youth Council were social events--i.e. Fargo's night, which was a dance at Fargo's in Mountain View, and which served as a fund raiser for the Youth Council,. He said the problem of Wrho should receive the proceeds from the Youth Council parking cars at :.the School District office for Stanford games, and the school closure programs were being addressed by the School Board. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Councilmenber Levy commented that at the City Clerk's request, the Personnel Committee discussed the fact that she was concerned for the City Council because Minutes had been delayed due to technical probleias. He said a number of steps were taken by both._ the City Clerk and the City Manager to insure that the malfunc- tions which had occurred were being rectified.. He said they _expected that Minutes would be- presented to the -:Council in a timely fashion.. in the future. CONSENT CALENDAR Referral None Action MOTION: Councilmember Renzel mo'ied, seconded by Witherspoon approval of the Consent Calendar. JPA. FOR INTERGOVERNMENTAL (CMR:1i1:2). Staff recommends that the Council authori ze execution of the agreement. Funding for the City of Palo Alto Fees, $2,988 for 1981-82, under the agreement is budgeted annually in the Personnel Department. AGREEMENT JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT FOR INTERGOVERNMENTAL EMPLOYEE RELATIONS SERVICES tiPLOYEE RELATIONS SERVICES PLANNING COMMISSION BY A VOTE OF 5 IN FAV2R 2 OPPOSED RECOMMENDS DENI L OF THE' L � !V L D c CKER F R WEST BAYSHORE FRONTA't •Counci lmember Renzel said that the Council had received a lot of information at their places, and asked staff to -comment. Chief Planning Official Bruce Freeland said that the applicant's suggestion that_ 59,274 square feet be established as - the limit was in contrast to the 49,274 -that the - two main parcels together allowed, and was a reduction of a little more than :2,OQA square feet from the original proposal of the applicant. He assumed that in order to make the limit stick, the restrictive covenants needed to be written into the deed to the -parcel, or could be written into the recorded map. He thought if the subdivision did go forward, it was important that the conditions of approval include.. landscaping -of the strip as well as securing the easement over the drainage line. Councilmember Renzel said she understood that the main- advantage to the City of merging the- parcels was presumably a --better design than might otherwise occur for the 1andscaping and use of the Sterling Canal parcel rather than if it were left in its present state, and she asked :if that was correct. Mr. Freeland sai d yes, and i n _add iti o, the advantage to the neighborhood_ of eliminating what on, had been an attractive nuisance of the canal itself and providing a permanent buffer back behind -the residences all along the canal piece. Councilmembcr Renzel asked if the City could simply merge the parcels with the condition that the developable area not exceed what was possible on the two parcels. Mr. Freeland said that staff had always felt it would .be best if the restriction went forward as a voluntary act by the applicant rather than iMposed by the City. City Attorney Diane Lee said .the City Attorney's office felt the same way. She felt the City was on questionable ground, and rather than be on questionable ground, if it were something vol unitary proposed by the applicant in terms of: reduci ng the size of the building, it would be legally fine. James W. Foug, 290 Lowell Avenue, said they were asking for the merger of three' parcels of land into one, and which under the ordinance would have an allowable building area of 40% of the land area. If the three parcels were merged, the allowable building area would be 71,000 square feet. He said that at the application to the Planning Commission and at the first hearing of the City Council it was thought that the one parcel which was odd shaped could not be built on very well anyway, and the, Council . decided in the best interests of the _'City, not to allow the total amount of square footage. nHe said they offered a counterproposal at 'that same Meeting of 64,000 . square feet, and that the app l i cation was continued to tonight. He said their latest proposal was to build the allowable square footage of the two more regular shaped parcels, which was 49,274, plus an allow- able 10,000 square feet for the Sterling Canal parcel. He said that under the ordinance , the Sterling Canal parcel had an allowable building area of 22,000 square feet, but as a -compro- mise, they would submit 10,000 square_ feet to be added on to the 49,274, for .'a total of 59,274 square feet. He' said : they would agree to any kind of a legal covenant imposed on the : approval. Vice Mayor- Bechtel clarified that Mr. Foug's proposal of square feet included the same offer tp do the landscaping Mr. Foug said. it included the same improvements --the only change was less buildable area. Counci lmember Fletcher said that the letter the Council received from the immediate neighbors on Loma Verde complained about moto- motorcycle noises, and she wondered if the applicants would be able to • landscape it or build some type of barrier to prevent- motorcy►;le access. Mr. Fouy said that that could be. worked out with staff.- He said - it was possible to put in -a barrier where the long, skinny parcel Jointed the two regular parcels. MOTION: Counci lmember Witherspoon' moved, seconded by Fletcher,_ to reverse the Planning Commission recommendation for denial and. - approve the application. 'City Attorney to prepare -legal docu- ments and -add conditions re precluding motorcycles. The'Council finds that the project will not have a significant impact on the environment and that the property, including the design and improvement, is consistent with the adopted Comprehensive Plan; complies with the Subdivision Map Act and Title 21 of the Palo Alto Municipal. Code; that the site is physically suitable for the type and density of the proposed development; that the subdivi- sion is not likely to result in serious public health problems; that there- are no conflicts with public easements. Council approves the map with the -following conditions: 1. A 15 -foot wide storm drain easement along the existing pipe- line shall be dedicated to the City; 2. The easement shall be kept free and clear of any structures for its entire length; 3. The section of the Sterlin Canal parcel, which is not con - t i yuous to Parcels A and B, shall be kept free and clear of all improvements except landscaping and utilities as approved by the City; 4. A landscaping plan for the section of the Sterling Canal par- cel, --not contiguous to Parcels A and B, shall be approved by tine Architectural Review Board. Councilmemberj Witherspoon said she was sensitive to the Planning Commis'sion's, concern about the jobs/housing imbalance although she did not share the same conclusions of how to alleviate it. In this case,- she felt that with the zoning on the property, the applicant was well within his rights to build a much larger building, and she appreciated his spirit of compromise. She also appreciated that in this_ particular location the neighbors had.a special concern, and for the first time in this area, the appli- cant was one who was particularly sensitive to the neighbors. It appeared to her that if this was what the neighb'a.,rhood wanted, and if it was something the Council could live with, the project should go forward in its abbreviated form, Councilmember Fletcher said there was a commitment to ,contribute $70,000 to the Housing Corporation for housing mitigation, and wanted to be sure it did not get lost in the requirements. Mr. Freeland responded that the original housing mitigation was based on $1 per square foot contribution based on the size of the building. He thought that it was a point to discuss and whether it should go back down to $59,274 in proportion to the building size, or whether it should stay at the larger size. Mr. Fouy retponded"that -it was. 99 cents per square foot, and that they would be happy .too pay that. Counci huember Cobb said he supported the combination at the Planning commission level largely out of his concern to give the neighbors what they. had requested_ for some years. He thought the neighbors wanted that protection very badly, and felt that they should get it. He thought the proposed abbreviated form was a better situation because the jobs/housing increment was so small as to be insignificant and urged Council support. Coun'cilmember Renzel asked for clarification that staff had checked to be sure that the canal, as it backed onto 3430, 3400 and 3370 was not used to determine the ,square footage of building for those parcels and the landscaping requirements. Mr. Freeland said that he was confident that jt was not being counted twice. He said.it was on a separate parcel, and didn't think there was any basis for any of that area to have been counted toward development of those other properties. MOTION PJSSED unanimously, Klein, F-azzino absent. PUBLIC HEARING: -AWARD OF OPTION TO LEASE GENG ROAD AT EMBARC OHO ROAD e FRIENDS OF THE WINTER CLUB CMR:110:2 Counc i lrnember. Witherspoon said that it was a difficult site and cautioned the Winter Club people to be certain from Day 1 to talk with the Planning Department about what had to be done there, and -shy: said that the expense would be significant. Counci lmernber Renzel -said that if the fund raising was done and the property 'went forward, did the developer of the property have the option to take out flood insurance or raise the structure to the elevation 7, or must it be raised now. Real Property Administrator Jean Diaz said the developer would have to comply to the -provisions of the flood. zone. If the Council . desired more stringent requirements, they would have to be written in. Counci lmember Cobb said that at the end of the contract when all of the leases and renewals were finally executed, if the Winter Club decided to move on, what provisions were there for removing whatever structure would be on the site. Mr. Diaz responded that the contract had the City`s standard reversion of the real estate to the City at termination. He said that indicated that any real property improvements became the property of the City at termination. Furnishings, furniture and typical tenant furnishings could be removed by the tenant if no substantial damage would occur as a result. Mayor Eyer:y declared the public hearing'open. Marvin Lee, 1241 Harker Avenue, represented the Friends of the Winter Club andthanked the members of the City Count -I.1 far - the i r encour'ayelrent over the long development of a" proposal and also compl im ed- the --City staff on their careful and forthri ght action. Ceunci lmember' Levy . said - he desired that the facility be well advertised to all members of the community. He asked if Mr. Lee would object if signs were posted at each entrance which adver- tised that the facility was available to all residents of Palo Alto; and* if the facility advertised on its own, that that fact be included. Mr. Lee said- he thought the organization would welcome such an addition, and that their intent was to `make the facility public as it always had been. He said the name of the Winter Club would disappear with the change of ownership, and the nonprofit group would try and select a name that would keep with the most open kind of admission possible. He said their location on the other 1 6 0 2 1/18/82 side of Uayshore meant hey would be open to a diverse portion of Palo Alto and its neighborhood, and every effort would be made to do so. Mayor Lyeriy declared the public hearing -closed. Mayor Eyerly said 'he was glad it .had worked out, and saw the 3O months as a time for the organization to addrea:s all the problems inherent -with any move.. Vice Mayor Bechtel commended Mr.- Lee and Mr. Diaz for- working together and thought the solution was very good. She was excited about the project, and hoped the community could raise the kind of money necessary to develop the facility. MOTION: Vice Mayor Bechtel moved, seconded by Levy, to adopt the staff recommendations: I) That awarding the Option to Lease will have. -no significant adverse effect on the environment; 2) That the Mayor execute the Option to Lease; and 3) That the Mayor exe- cute the Lease upon notice from the Real Property Administrator that all conditions of the Option to Lease have been satisfied by the Friends of the Winter Club. LEASE City of Palo Alto/Friends of Winter Club. Councilmerber Fletcher was delighted that hopefully the project would yet off the ground. She asked if the Winter Club would be free to add a retail shop and a snack bar because she thought something like that might be needed to make it go. Mr. Diaz responded that the "Purpose" clause was a general_,state- ment of what the City would like to see. He said that the next clause "Required and Optional Services and Uses" got into more specifics in terms of what was required and what was permitted. That clause called for public ice skating as well as lessons, equipment, organized skating events, and public access. He said that under "Optional -Uses:," ancillary and supportive uses to the primary use, such as a ,small snack bar, and those kinds of acti- vities that would support the primary use were permitted. Councilmember Fletcher said the clause in the Lease which read that, "tenant shall provide access at, no charge except for rea- sonable out-of-pocket expenses for community groups," night be too restrictive because of the financing charges and getting of the ground expenses. She thought that the City should take those expenses into account, and did not want to see the organization come out in the black, and thought perhaps the clause could be a little more loose. AMENDMENT: Counci lmember Fletcher moved, seconded by Witherspoon, that Page 3 of the Lease, Section VII, B(2) be amendedtoread as follows: "TENANT shall provide access at a reasonable charge, to be determined by Lessof to _ Lessor or Lessor approved community groups for the following uses: theatre and dance performances and rehearsals, gymnastics, pagentry and other community and cul- tural activities." Counci lmember Levy thought that Councilmember F l etchers point was well made. He hoped that "a reasonable charge" would be properly inter' retell` to mean that the capital costs, associated with the project could be taken into consideration, but -hoped. that capital costs would be associated at a modest level. He said fundamentally they were talking about reimbursement of out- of -pocket expenses, clean-up fees, etc. Vice Mayor Bechtel said she thought that was one of the . factors taken into consideration for the amount that the Friends of the 16. 0 3- 1/18/82 Winter Club would pay for the land --which was park dedicated land. Mr. Diaz said' that was correct. The adopted policy indicated that one of the key criteria was the nonmonetary benefits the -City would get in exchange, for writing down the fair market rental. He' said that in this case, the City was charging a nominal rental--$40-a-for the entire 40 -year period, He said the trade off made in exchange for the write down was the nonmonetary benefits, including access by the City to -the facilities at an out-of-pocket .expense reimbursement. The Winter -Club indicated that, as far as they could envision the project, the provision, was acceptable. He said there was —nothing to preclude the City Council from changing 'it in the future if there was a problem. Mayor:Eyerly clarified that the way the Option Agreement was written, start up expenses or incidentals which the Winter Club must have to carry the project along would be allowable, and that Mr. Diaz was confident that. ,wording allowed for what the motion spoke to. Mr. Diaz said yes. He believed the wording:_ reflected the non - monetary .rent being charged by the City. - Councilmesnber Fletcher said the, reason she was concerned about the fee was because her greatest fear on the venture was that it might fail financially because it was in a location which was not quite as convenient as the present location, it was a different location and people would have to learn that it was there. She said the beginning was the crucial time that the Winter Club might feel the crunch, and rather than strap them at the beginning, she thought she would rather review the lease after a year or two and see how they were doing and then possibly revert to the "no charge" clause. City Manager Bill Zaner indicated that the, clause referred only to community groups Those were the very groups to which. that Council contributed fends or facilities, and they were nonprofit groups composed largely of volunteer people'. He thought that the change would mean` that those groups would have -to pay a fee to make use of . the facilities. The way the clause was written now, commercial organizations that wished to use the facility would continue to pay, but community groups, which themselves did not have a great amount .of resources, would not. He said staff recommended that the clause remain the way it was. 'City Attorney Diane Lee said that to keep with the intent of the motion as she understood it, that the reasonable charge policy be reviewed after the initial starting point.., she suggested that the language be incorporated in the Lease because, unless there was a provision that said it could be revised at a fixed point in time, the Lease governed the entire tenancy. Councilmember.Renzel said she was inclined to stay with the language as written, and that presumably all of ,those matters were taken into consideration. She felt it was extremely impor- tant that the Council, in determining hew they would implement their -:. policy with respect to parklands, be consistent and insist upon public benefit when a nominal lease without a bidding pro- cess was granted. In that instance, she thought staff had done a good job, and the applicant was agreeable. . She thought the word "reasonable" was well defined, and the clause had limited appli- cation to community based groups that the City Would otherwise have to fund. She thought the Council should stick with the language negotiated. Counci lrsesnber Levy said that after re -read ny _, .the clause and hearing the comments, he thought the wording should be left as written. 1 C 0 4 1/18/82 1 1 1 Councilmember Cobb commented that the same problem existed in the preceding clause, and wondered if some kind of general clause which said that the Lessor would determine the reasonableness of a fee might not solve all the problems. Vice Mayor Bechtel said that while she was sympathetic with Councilmember Fletcher's amendment, after listening to the dis- cussion and staff's recommendation, she would vote against the amendment. She clarified that the City Attorney suggested that if the Council wished to review the lease at any time, an addi- tional clause should be included to indicate that the Council had that power. Mr. Diaz asked if there was a specific clause that Vice Mayor Bechtel was looking at in terms of renegotiating because there were some provisions Where 'the renegotiation option was open dependent upon certain circumstances. He said if there was a specific item of concern, he thought it should be identified and then it could be better addressed. Vice Mayor Bechtel responded that the particular item was the fees to community groups. Mayor Eyerly asked for clarification that the Lease was $40 a month. Mr. Diaz said it was a one-time payment of $40, which was $1 per year. AMENDMENT FAILED by a vote of 6-1, Fletcher voting "aye," Klein and Fazzino absent. Mayor Eyerly :.advised that there was someone from. the public that wished to speak. MOTION: Councilmember Renzel moved, seconded by Cobb- to reopen the public hearing. MOTION . ASSED unanimously, Klein and Fazzino absent. Mayor Eyerly declared the public hearing reopened. Paul Pearson, 4001 Transport Street, said he represented developers of a piece of property further out on Embarcadero, and in order -to get their permit to build, they were required to con- tribute to a traffic signal and other traffic improvements at the intersection of the Bayshore Frontage Roads and Embarcadero Road. He asked if the Winter Club would be asked to participate in the contribution since they would be adding a lot of traffic to that intersection as well, Mr. Diaz recollected that when the last staff report was pre- sented at the conceptual stage, there was a preliminary environ- mental assessment which indicates that there might be some miti- gation Measures required to handle the parking and traffic. He said that the specifics were unknown and would remain unknown until the specific plans were developed. The specific plans would tfen go through the environmental assessment procedures. He said it was likely that there would be some mitigation measures. Mayor Eyerly declared the public hearing: closed. Councilmember Levy commended staff on the clarity_ with which the lease was written. He _ wanted assurances that the facility would 1 5 0=:5. 1/1`8/82 be made available to everyone in the community, and that the com- munity would know that it was a facility to which they were wel- come. AMENDMENT: Counci lmember Levy moved, seconded by Renzel, to amend Page 1, Paragraph 3, Subsection (a) re signs/advertising= "that facility is open to the public." Gounc i irnernber Cobb asked if that language created any problems of priorities. Mr. Marvin Lee agreed that it would be better to say "public." He commented that Doug & Williams , who developed the Winter Club, did so for the purpose of making the type of facility that would be very useful over the years it operated. He said the word "club" never referred to anything exclusive. He said the facility wocid be renamed so that it wouldn't be confused, and that the incorporation would come under the title "Friendship Pavilion" with the intent to draw the community together in a common cause. AMENDMENT PASSED unanimously, Klein and Fazzino absent. MOTION AS AMENDED PASSED unanimously, Klein and Fazzino absent. PUBLIC HEARING: PLANNING COMMISSION BY A VOTE OF 6 YES 0 NO, 1 He LI I N OF THE CITY OF :E FOR T R R GL VE PALO ALTO FOR A ZONE • S ,r %LOCK OF SHERIDAN FROM Mayor L'erly declared the public hearing open. Receiving no requests from the public to speak, he declared -the public hearing closed. MOTION: Vice Mayor Bechtel moved, seconded by Cobb, to adopt Planning Commission recommendation that the project will not have a significant environmental impact and that the change of dis- trict is in accordance with the Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan and the purposes of the zoning ordinance,, and approval of a zone change from PF to RM-5. ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING SECTION 18.08.040 OF THE. PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE (THE ZONING iAP) TO CHANGE -THE CLASSIFICATION -OF PROPERTY KNOWN AS THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF PAGE MILL ROAD/BIRCH STREET AND 400 I,LOCK OF SHER I DAN FROM PF TO RM-5" MOTION PASSED unanimously, Klein and Fazzino absent. PUBLIC HEARING: PLANNING COMMISSION BY A VOTE OF 5 YES 2 NO r trerru� tut< rrtvrr:rc r r LU .P.r!~u nr Qi r r .ri i zur+ t e uk WNER LD FROM Planning Commission Chairperson Jean McCown-Hawkes said that the application for a daylight plane variance went to the Planning Commission in a context which was reflected in the _ minutes. She said at the .Planning Com=mission's first meeting in December they discussed at length some concerns regarding variance policy, and the subject of variances specifically for sideyard and : daylight plane requirements. She said the Commission received a memo in December from the Zoning Administrator on that general subject which- hi ohl i ghted a recurri rig„ problem over the last several 1 -5 0 b 1/18/82 years of the need for variances for second story additions of the sideyard and daylight plane requirements where, houses were legally constructed,;but within the City's present six foot set- back. She said that at the first meeting in December, the staff was asked to prepare some further work on anodifitatiens or excep- tions to the zoning ordinance to- address the specific problem of sideyard and daylight plane variances. The discussion of that issue would occur at. the Planning 'Commission's next meeting on Janua3y 27, and presumably thereafter._ She Said the Commission's preference was• to try to use variances sparingly -in the truly exceptional cases, and to address the common problem of second story additions on existing houses with a more , generalized 'solu- tion that would apply to properties with the same problem. She said that in this case which went to the Commission in that con- text, the request was for the daylight plane variance alone because the existing house was built legally at the setback. A majority of the Planning Commission felt that there were excep- tien circumstances applicable to that property and that there would be unnecessary hardship imposed if the property was required to comply with the daylight plane as any other similarly situated property' required by the ordinance could not be made in this case, and voted .to uphold the decision of the Zoning Administrator. She believed that the lack of unique character- istics of the lot in- terms of location of the house raised the issue of whether the daylight plane was working properly if some- one building a conventional second story -at the six foot sideyard setback could not do so within the existing daylight plane. The Commission did not feel, based on that Overall context, that they could agree to grant a variance in this situation. She pointed out that a variance was granted for the garage, but that it was not a part of the appeal because there was no appeal. The Zoning Administrator granted that request and made those findings based on the impact of property around the corner on Middlefield which also had some extensive variances.. Vice Mayor Bechtel asked if the existing roofline was in, the day- light plane. Zoning Administrator Bob Brown responded yes. He said the roof which was added to the residence encroached by a little more than one foot. Vi e Mayor Bechtel asked if the variance were not to be granted, would - ,the applicant be, able to build from that encroachment point. Mr. Brown responded ;that if a second story were added to the existing residence, it would have to comply with all the zoning requirements including the daylight plane. Mayor Eyerly said he understood from Ms. McCown-Hawkes that the Planning Commission was going to discuss the daylight plane, and it could well be that recommendations ultimately made by the Planning Commission would be to the Youngs' advantage. He asked what that would do to the application and asked if there would be advice.to the Youngs from staff? Mr. Freeland said that at the time of the Planning Commission hearing the question was asked as -to whether the type of variance the Youngs were :seeking was one that staff intended to address in the materials being prepared for the Commission. He said that at that meeting he indicated it was not and up until that time the type of, variance staff was asked to look at involved ,residences where there was an existing portion of the residence built 'within the sideyard setback and where there was a desire to use 1 6 0 7 1/18/82. the outside walls. He said that as a result of the hearing at the Commission, the assignment to staff was expanded so that now staff was looking at potential changes that might affect houses like the ap.plican#'s. He said that from the research he had done so far, it appeared that with the standard six foot setback, there was a range of construction types in Palo Alto which - resulted in the. Seconde floor sidewall ,being anywhere from two feet to five or six feet high at the point that the daylight.. plane intercepted the second floor.. He said this was one -of the many houses in Palo Alto Where the height of the existing ceiling of a first floor. was high enough that where the daylight plane intercepted, it left a very short outside wall. As a result of the discussion at the Planning Commission, staff was looking at a number of possibilities, one of which may be to raise the point of the -daylight plane by. a couple of feet because it would allow. more latitude in that type of an addition. He said that it. was favorably received, the hearing schedule would be a Planning Commission recommendation on February 17, and would.be before the City Council in March. He said it would take another 45 days for an ordinance to become effective. Mayor Eyerly declared the public -hearing open. John Levy, 651 Tennyson Avenue pointed out that 1730 Middlefield had -been subdivided and that there would be new construction in their common yard, that 1736 was constructed in the last few months and that a window from that construction was tall enough to be visible from his yard. He felt the variance process was haphazard. He said he had added orn a second story to his resi- dence, and his next-door neighbors were currently putting on a second story, and next to that was 667, the subject property. He said that not only was there no opposition from the neighborhood to the change but it was enthusiastically supported by everyone dowse the block, around the corner and across the street. He thought the Council should address that independently of the day- light plane and the variance. It was an unusual case in that everyone in the neighborhood felt there would be a benefit and that it would change things to be consistent with the aesthetic character of the neighborhood. He. urged that the Council take care of the situation promptly without' setting a precedent and at lest take note of the overwhelming neighborhood support for the change. George Young, Applicant, 667 Tennyson, spoke on behalf of him and his wife, Mary Ann, who maintained that there were exceptional and extraordinary circumstances or conditions applicable to their property which did not apply to properties in the same district in that a daylight plane variance -was essential for the preserva- tion and enjoyment of a substantial property right, and that unreasonable property loss would result if the application was denied. He presented some drawings which showed the present situation along with some photographs. He said, they asked for a 2-1/2 foot variance into the daylight plane, but that they were going to remove 2-1/2 feet of bulk below the daylight plane. He said there would be considerable -mass coming off all the way around the structure, he said the additional 15 inches they were asking for would make it possible to have conventional windows on the south side of their proposed second story. addition. He said cross ventilation would be a direct result reducing their energy requirements -and costs considerably. He said the windows would make the rooms appear larger, visually more exciting and afford a view not afforded by skylight -S. He said there were a number of Tudor -style homes in the immediate area and did not want to come up with a mismatch of styles, and a variance would ensure the continuity of an unadulterated English Tudor architectural -style home and would be in keeping with the distinct character and ,1 6 0 8 1/18/82 quality that was evident-eot only in their neighborhood, but in Palo Alto in general. He said that the roof line on their home was a mismatch and did not fit the residence. He said they were a family of four, with his children being ayes 11 and 6. He said that as the children grew and required more room, it was- drama- tically evident that they required more living space. He said the proposed addition would give them the room and without the variance would lose 276 sc are feet of usable living space. When the space loss was converted into dollars and cents,, the cost was astronomical in terms of what they had versus the cost per square foot. He. said that over the past month, they attempted to find another residence in Palo Alto with the necessary space to meet their requirements, but with the current high interest and the high cost of homes, it was not an of f-o.'dabl a alternative for them. Addressing the issue of extraordinary circumstances, . or- conditions applicable to their property, he noted the adjacent parcel of 40 -feet by 50 feet with a three story, 30 foot high structure situated on their north property line. He said the result of that structure .created severe. privacy loss and showed photographs which demonstrated that even with the gable _hoof that the -variance was granted for the garage, the -entire north side of their residence had the "big brothers watching effect," There was -no place on the entire north side that was not under a sur- veillance type situation. He said they felt their living pattern had been interrupted. by the severe -visual end psychological encroachment 'of the three-story structure compelling them to shift,- their emphasis to the south side of their home. In view of the evidence he presented and above all the full support of the affected property owners, documented by the letter on file in the City Clerk's office with 67 of their neighbors signatures, they felt they met all of the grounds and conditions for the variance and implored that the City Council consider the matter in light of its merit. In closing,. he said they had lost a number of months in construction and if they had to wait to refile, it would be next year before they could start. Bill Schiffbauer, 635 Tennysr,n emphasized that the variance request was supported 100% by the ;iffected people in the area. Frankly, they saw no reason why the variance shouldn't be granted. - Fred Sharkey, 138 West San Carlos Street, the architect for the Youngs, said that from their prospective they filed for a legiti- mate and reasonable variance which was unreasonably denied and hoped the Council could change the situation, He said that from the minutes of the Planning Commission hearing together with other staff report, the Council had a substantial outline of their position. He pointed out: 1) that they believed they had met all of the requirements to the degree required, for the vari- ance; 2). that variances were granted in the past by the City Council without actually meeting all the requirements and vari- ances were currently being granted i_ n that manner; and 3) the daylight plane was overly restrictive in cases such as theirs and they proposed . that it be rewritten to allow , a minimum of 6- feet. 6 inches head height on the property where a second story was per- 'mitted and where all of ,the setback requirements were met. He said a substantial property right was involved and there were exceptional and extraordinary circumstances, Andrei Wyatt, 659 Tennyson, wanted to go on record as the prop- erty owner most affected by the granting of the variance and that he favored it. He thought that in this ` case, even if the three criteria were not Diet in the strictest sense as the Zoning Administrator had interpreted, the overriding net benefit to the 1 6 0 9. 1/18/82 community should be taken into account and the ruling should be in favor of granting the variance in this case. James Portman, 220 Bryant, said he was granted a variance on the daylight plane three years ago. His project for a PC was approved by both the City -Council and the Planning Commission. He said that the daylight plane rule at the time said he could only go up six feet and over at a 4a' angle after coming six,feet in the property lin€,'t which did not even allow a single family house. He said the Planning Commission recognized_that the rule was not a good one, -and the daylight plane was. raised so that if he were going to build now, he would not even need the variance he obtained then. . He.recollected-hearing at the time of his application that variances were not given out lightly; however, when projects seemed to be unique and command something differ- ent, a variance could be,granted on an individual project and not have to be stated as a precedent ;someone Rise could use. He realized that some people hesitated .in giving variances because they felt that someone else would come in aryd command one, but from what he- could determine, the project was not a terrible encroachment and he thought it. should be favorably looked upon. Mayor £yerly declared the public hearing closed. Councilmember Fletcher. thought the variance was unusual in that the neighborhood Overwhelmingly supported the variance. . She agreed that the building of the second story as proposed_- would improve the aesthetics of the structure, She asked if when the Planning Commission reviewed the procedures, whether the findings could also be that there was a public benefit and that aesthetics could be considered. Ms. Lee said that in terms of the City's variance ordinance or variance procedures, the City had the authority to do whatever it chose so long as it was reasonable. MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher moved, seconded by Cobb, to reverse Planning Commission and Zoning Administrator's recommen- dation for denial and approve variance at 677 Tennyson with the following findings: I. There are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances or con- ditions applicable to the property involved that do not apply generally to property in the same district. 2. The granting of the application is necessary for the preser- vation and enjoyment of a substantial property right of the applicant, and to prevent unreasonably property loss or unnecessary hardship. 3. The granting of the application will not be detrimental or injurious to property . or improvements in the vicinity and will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, general welfare, or convenience. Counci lmetnber Fletcher mentioned that t the encroachment was mini- mal, and that in this instance, the daylight plane did not. restrict solar access to the immediate neighbor, which she thought was crucial. She would not be in favor of restricting solar access to the neighborhood, but because of the southern exposure in, this case, the neighbor's solar access was not infringed upon at all. Further, she thought the Council must be sensitive to the needs of growing families --school children were being lost in Palo Alto; and,- if the City was so restrictive as to deny the small variance requested here and require the occu- pant to go to added expense or to . move in order to accommodate his family, more children would be lost. She urged that the Council approve the ,Application. 1 6 1 0 1/18/82 1 1 Vice Mayor Bechtel said she supported the motion -and believed that there were exceptional and extraordinary circumstances; namely, the variance which was granted to the adjacent property on Middlefield which affected not only the garage for which a 17 foot high variance was granted by the Zoning Administrator,. but also the house. She also supported Councilmember Fletcher's feelings that the City was losing young families, and that fami- lies should not be discouraged from living in Palo Alto. She felt it would be unreasonable to deny the variance or to continue the matter until after the Planning Commission reviewed the Day- light Plane Ordinance which could be another three to six months. She would support the motion. Councilmember Witherspoon said that she agreed with the applicant that what he was asking for was -reasonable, and agreed with the neighbors that it would be a vast improvement to the aesthetics of the block, and also agreed that it was probably difficult to live under the shadow of the three-story house, but in the narrow range of options open to the Council, she could not make the findings. She said the City Attorney had remanded the Council that they were talking about the real property, not the improve- rnents on the nei ghbor' s house nor the improvements on this house. She could not find that .the property as a piece of land was extraordinary. She would vote against the motion and hoped that when the Planning Commission reviewed the daylight plane and what the Council was trying to accomplish, that it would be tailored to be responsive to that kind of situation, and hoped it would be less than three months. Councilmember Cobb said he thought the variance should be sup- ported because 1) The net benefit to the neighborhood --if the City could come out a winner when a variance was granted, clearly it should be done. 2) The strong approval of the neighborhood, and the people who would be immediately affected. 3) The par- ticular daylight plane incursion had zero impact because of the path of the sun on solar access. 4) The provisions of the Comprehensive Plan to encourage families. 5) All the findings could be made --the owner would be denied a substantial property right partly because of extraordinary circumstances already referred to and because of the nature of the --development that would result if -the variance were not granted. He thought that while granting variances 'on adjacent properties should not be any type of precedent for the next property, the incident around the corner had been so significant in terms of both size and quantity of variance, that Mr. Young Jiad had his property rights eroded and in a sense, he was getting a little of that .back. He pointed out _that if the Council enforced the rules on variances abso- 1 utely and rigidly in every case' the City. had become a bureau- cracy rather tin -•-a City: that cared. He -did not- think it would set a precedent for any sim lar_development and ihaped the vari- ance rules could be cleared up- so they could be applied with more general consistency and fewer exceptions. The variance was clearly needed for all the reasons -he- stated, and he hoped Palo Alto could avoid -`becoming a bureaucracy and be a City with some feeling. Councilmember Renzel said shewas on the Planning Commission when the daylight plane ordinance was first adopted, and pointed out that the City's old zoning ordinance was designed essentially for lots 50 feet and 60 feet wide, and was all part :.of a common scheme that created a scale for the City which had operated suc- cessfully for the last 40 or, 50 years when the original zoning ordinance was adopted. She felt -that` the City's rules had relaxed since the lot sizes were adopted and bigger houses could. be allowed., She pointed out that families had been raised In_. al l the little bungalows in Palo Alto successfully. She added that predictability for the neighborhood as ,to what could 0_- ;n -next door to them, privacy, and a fire issue -were other factors involved in this case -- Just .daylight plane. when ther_ a was a space which was narrow, a vertical -. chimney effect was -created 1 which fed fire in that event. -She said she was a person who very strongly supported following the City's strict rules for vari- ances because she felt that no matter what zoning rules Were established, there would always been someone who wished to exceed them and would request a variance. She thought that should be acknowledged and the City could not design variance_ procedures to make them easier. ,No matter what criterion, was established, variances would always be requested. She said that in this case, all of the abutting neighbors came in and affirmatively supported this proposal. She did not think that the Council and -Planning Commission could simply depend upon a lack of opposition as being considered support, but in this case there was an affirmative support of the neighbors. She would support the variance in this instance, but did not -support the City's lessening its rules for variances. She thought the Zoning Administrator quite properly followed the rules as outlined to him. Councilmernber Levy felt that the variance request was difficult. He thought that the unique -element was the strong neighborhood approval. In looking at the petition, he found that virtually every adjoining lot favored the granting of the variance. He believed that the overwhelming' neighborhood support was the factor that caused him to come down slightly in favor of granting the variance. He wanted to make it clear that the granting of this variance was just that. .It..was not to he:considered an item that should be considered precedent for the granting of many future- variances. He was also influenced by the proposed design that was inherent in the structure to be built. He thought there was a basic reduction in bulk and that the variance would enable a house to be built which would be in keeping with the overall neighborhood. On -that basis, he ,woul d vote in favor of granting the variance. Mayor Eyerly said he would support the. variancee He was glad to _ see that the Planning Commission and staff were going to restudy the daylight plane. MOTION PASSED by a vote of 6-1, Witherspoon voting 'no," Klein and Fazzino absent. PUBLIC HEARING:- PLANNING COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS AnROVALJ WITH CONDITIONS, OF TUE A C I Pl F J MES PORTMAN FOR 'APPROVAL OFA TENTATIVE SUSDIVISI M FOR PROPERTY LOCAM AT 542-550 EVERETT STREET Planning Commission Chairperson Jean McCown-Hawkes stated that the Commission made findings that the application was consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, and that the project would. build five units to replace two old homes. Mayor kyerly declared the public hearing open. John Parsons, 356 Hawthorne opposed the application because the project involved the destruction of currently existing rental units.. He believed that affordable rental housing, i.e., older but completely inhabitable buildings, was of such immediate importance that any project which involved the destruction of units to erect much more expensive condominiums must be suspect. dilly Davis, 344 Tennessee, represented the Neighborhood Coalition, and urged the City Council to deny the application.'. Unti l guidelines: could be formulated, the Palo Alto Neighborhood Coalition tion requested that the City. Council impose a- blanket mora- tori m on all new construction which required the destruction of existing rental units Greer Sellers, 150 Middlefield . Road agreed with the previous speakers and pointed out that the two houses which , presently 1 6 1 2- 1/18/82 occupied the site provided housing for five people and had pro- vided cheap rental housing for six people in the recent past. He also pointed out that although the proposed development would perhaps -provide housing for more people, it would be at a sub- stantially greater cost and the people_who would. be displaced; might have difficulty finding housing anywhere in Palo Alto. H urged that the subdivision be denied. James Portman, 220 Bryant Street, the applicant, said he under- stood the speakers` concerns. He, said that the zoning allowed for six units and he was only putting in five, which would give more open space: and there was no underground parking. One of his tenants had already expressed an interest in• investing in the project, and one of his units had been damaged by a fire and extensive repairs were needed. He said the Comprehensive Plan allowed for greater densities closer to downtown, and; his block had mostly higher density. He was far below the number of -units around him, and so he could not see why his request should be denied. Mayor Eyerly declared the public hearing closed. Councilmember Cobb said that Mr. Portman was one of the respon- sible developers in Pala Alto and.- appreciated that he did not always come in at maximum density. MOTION: Councilmember Cobb moved, seconded by Witherspoon, to uphold Planning Commission recommendation that the project, including the design and improvements (e.g., the street -align- ments, drainage and sanitary facilities, locations and size of all required rights -of -way, lot size and configuration, grading, and traffic access) is consistent with the adopted Comprehensive Plan and complies with the Subdivision Map Act and Title 21 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code; that the project will not have a significant impact on the environment nor be likely to result in serious public health problems; that the site is physically suit- able for the type and density of the proposed development, and that there are no conflicts with public easements, and findings: 1) The proposed project, together with its design and improve- ments, is consistent with Housing Program 1 (p.9), "In areas adjacent to the Downtown shopping area', maintain single-family and duplex areas and have higher density multiple -family close to shops and offices." The p-roposed project site lies in the inter- mediate zone between single family residential and commercial. It is surrounded by commercial, multiple -family, and two family zoning. Its RM-4 zone allows for a. density of six units and this project proposes five units. 2) The project, together with its design and improvements is consistent with the Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan Objective (p.5): "It is important to maintain the character and physical quality of residential neighborhoods ...to avoid drastic changes in neighborhood character...to pro- tect neighborhood-quality...to improve visual quality," in that the physical project is in conformance with the surrounding structures and in keeping with the existing mixed .use cha-ratter of .the neighborhood. Councilmember Fletcher said she was sensitive to the comments of th.e first speaker: regarding loss of -rental units and hoped that the City would shortly come up with some kind of a policy which would take that into consideration when developments were looked at. However, legally she did not believe the City had any right to deny the application which met- the overwhelming thrust 'of. ;the Comprehensive Plan to expand housing opportunities, it was in the right zoning,, and it expanded the number of units. Without . a moratorium already in effect, she did not see how the application could be denied. Councilmember Levy said he favored the application and would vote` in favor of it. He mentioned that he had , opposed rent control, and what had been 'advocated' tonight was a form of ' rent control, i.e., even though buildings were older and in need of substantial repair or perhaps should be replaced-, the concept enunciated was that they should not be allowed to be replaced or repaired if it would mean rents substantially increasing. He thought that con- cept lead to the deterioration of a community on many grounds. Councilmember Renzel commented that preserving rental housing was not necessarily rent control and she was reluctant to tall it such. She thought that nothing prevented a landlord from charging whatever rents they wished. In this particular instance, two units of housing were being replaced by five units. -She thought the proposal was consistent with the neighborhood and .would support it. Vice Mayor Bechtel was sensitive to the concern of protecting existing rental housing, but thought that this parcel was in a different situation because it was surrounded by multiple family. -She said this project was for one less unit than would be allowed under the zoning, it -was close to Lytton Avenue, and she could find no reason to deny it. Mayor-Eyerly added that the application .conformed to the Zoning Map and he would find it difficult to vote against it. MOTION PASSEL) unanimously, Fazz i no and Klein absent. RECESS FROM 9:35 p.m. to 10:50 p.m. PUBLIC HEARING: PLANNING COMMISSION BY A VOTE OF _6 YES 1 NO, RE={: MENDS DENIAL i JR Th!' APRLICAi !O i OF. CLEGG & EfUNTZINGER ri7R R/ ti 0 4 b D S LE AvtHLE iR;i Planning Commission Chairperson Jean- McCown-Hawkes stated that the principal focus was the possibility of a restriction if the reconfiguration of parcels were to be approved. The restriction would limit any .structure- on the rear lot to a single story which was consistent with what was agreed to as a condition on the adjoining •property when a lot split was approved a little less than one year ago. She said- that at the Planning Commission hearing, the applicant. stated she. was .not willing .tea consider agreeing to such a• restriction on the parcel. .The Commission's concerns and the reasons for the. restriction were that without such a restriction, the exception needed to allow that the recon- figuration would be detrimental. to the public welfare and to other property- in the territory. She said that .given the appli . cant's position, it seemed futile for the Commission to approve it with that condition- imposed -because. basically -the applicant could -go An and do. the work on the proposed building without the application_ being granted,.therefore, the .application. for recon- figuration was -denied. Mayor Eyerly declared the public hearing open. Mrs. Ann, kidney, 355 Seale Avenue, said that a little over a year ago she was before the City Council to request a lot split at 355 Seale --the property immediately adjacent to 335-339 Seale --with the same flag lot configuration that was being requested by Clegg & Huntzinger on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Farrell. She said the total area of the two parcels was identical --100 feet by 200 feet or 20,'000 square feet. She said that at the time of their request, they were informed that the Council would not look favorably upon the application unless they agreed to a single - story limitation, and indeed, the Council recommended the lot split only with the definite restrictions 1) that neither -struc- ture be more than a single story in height; and, 2) that -no other exceptions to lot coverage or code be made. She said that during the course of ;this Year, they spent considerable time, effort and expense with the intent to design, build and landscape a single -story house foe' themselves to occupy which would ensure the maximum amount of privacy and sunshine for all of their neighbors. .Critical to the design was the -fact that withe the current building, land coverage, and daylight plane restrictions, the existing lot configuration at 335 and 339 Seale would Anake a two-story house toward the rear of the adjacent lots impractical. - However, with this request for a flag lot configuration, it would be quite feasible to build a two-story house within six to ten feet of their rear lot house and garden and would seriously infringe upon the privacy of not only their property, but of the gardens and swimming pools of their neighbors. She ' asked that the Council understand that she was not opposed to the Farrells' request for a flag lot configuration, and since the garden at 355 Seale was on the Waverl ey side, it would not be detrimental to have a two-story house on the front lot, but one on the rear lot would be disastrous to everyone. She urged that if the Council entertained _the Farrells' request,,a single story restriction be placed on_ the rear lot-. She said it was inconceivable to her that the same Council that imposed a single story and limited lot coverage restriction for one resident, could, a year later, place no restrictions on a request for the very same lot configuration made by a nonresident which clearly stated that its purpose. was to permit construction of two two-story houses --one on each lot. Pauline Jacobs, 342 Seale, said that since the Farrells had 'taken ownership of the property, the property had degraded. She said students had been living illegally in the front house, no painting had ever been done to the property, and it was always overgrown with weeds. The Farrells did not live on the property and did not participate in the neighborhood. She said the neighbors considered themselves a close-knit block, and felt -that the Farrells' only purpose was to buy the property at a low price and to make an enormous profit on it. She urged that the Council consider_ the Farrells past history in the neighborhood. John Cambridge, 348 Seale Avenue said he was raised in the neigh- borhood. His mother had said recently that she could not remem- ber when that property had been maintained to the same standard. as the rest of the neighborhood in 43 years. He said the front house had holes `in the walls, the doors were broken and the windows were broken. Vandalism was not the cause of the damage, presumably it was done at the owner's request, because the owner hired the people that did it. He urged that the Council deny the application. Jean Cambridge, 348 Seale Avenue, said there had been a minor improvement in that clean-up had been started yesterday. She was concerned about the two substandard lots, and if they were sub- divided, she thought the City would be losing a lot of open space. She was a1, ) concerned about the two std,ry construction infringing upon the rights of the neighbors in the back and the side. She urged deni;l of the application. Mayor Fyerly declared the public hearing closed. MOTION: Counciimember Witherspoon moved, seconded by Renzel, to uphold the Planning Commission recommendation to deny the appli- cation, and makes the finding that the approval of the 'prelimi- nary parcel map with exceptions will be detrimental to the public welfare and injurious to other property:,in-the territory in which it is situated din that: It will allow expansion of the- rear house over the width of the proposed rear.. lot and this would facilitate construction- of a second story which would impact neighboring homes more than the second story _which would be allowed with the lots in r:heir,present configuration., 1 6 1 5 1/18/82 Councilmember Witherspoon said there were two 10,000 square foot lots which conformed to the neighborhood zoning, which were in two parcels now which was not true of the Kidney land when it was subdivided into a flag. lot. She could see no public benefit by rearranging the two legal lots into two substandard lots. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Klein and Fazzino absent. PLANNING commissioa UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS APPROVAL, WITH rMlir CONDI NS Planning Commission Chairperson Jean .McCown-Hawkes said that the only concern at the Commission level was whether anything could be done to make the size and bulk of the building Tess intrusive than it was, but everyone had felt that the purposes and need for the structure and the period of time which had passed since the original plans were conceived made it appropriate for site and design approval to be, given. Betsy Crowder, -Palo Alto Planning Department, said that the pro- posed facility was- designed -to handle the 1% or so-called "100 -year flood." She -said flooding problems were bad in East Palo Alto at this time. Edward Barns, San Mateo County Department of Public Works, said the project started in 1971, was funded by HUD, San Mateo County and a:special assessment district which meant that the property owners in the area had to pay a fair share.- He said the special assessment proceedings were challenged in Court so the project was abandoned by the Board of Supervisors at that time. It had been 10 years, and the County had been unable to fund the pro- ject, and now, with CalTrans developing the Dumbarton Bridge, putting in„the drainage along Willow Road, HUD was willing to give the County that same -grant as long as there were -matching funds. He said they would allow the HUD expenditures for drain- age on Willow Road as matching -funds for the project. With HUD's grant, CalTrans' matching funds and the County contributing about $700,000, the project could be funded now. Councilmember Renzel said that while she understood. that the structure probably could not be modified, did, it have to be 46 feet -long. . Mr. Barnes said the project could:;:probably be trimmed a little, but enough room would be needed inside to vent the heat to be generated from the units when they were' running-, and you had to be` able to yet in to Maintain the facilities ---to remove them for relairs. He said _,the floor of• the structure was established to be above the 100 -;dear flood p l a ne. Councilmember Renzel said that while the project would probably have to .go forward, it should be- clear to all of the agencies involved exactly. what the impacts would -be. • She felt there were a lot of answers contained in the Environmental Impact Assessment which .were incorrect. Mayor Eyerly asked regarding the outflow into San Francisquito Creek if the San Mateo County Department of Public Works had con- sidered whether i t ini ght not be more feasible to put the outflow into the Faber Tract/Laumeister Tract.- He thought that with high tide and intense rains creating certain flooding problems, the water being pumped into the creek from East Palo Alto might impact the danger. 1 1 Mr. Barnes felt that the water must go where it always had gone. Bill Chapman, =KZA Engineers said the project did not attempt to drain the wetlands any more than the existing pump station. Fur- ther it was a new pump station replacing an old one which had a great deal of architectural heritage in the fact that it was made out of wonderful rusty corrigated metal. As -Mr. Barnes had stated, there was really no change in the flow, but the delay caused a backup and flooding. He said there had been a great deal to do in East Palo Alto and they were very anxious to get on with the removal of the flooding. He said the building -size was made necessary because of: the elevation whereby it would not flood or would remove the purpose- of. performing its function. The height was necessary -to dissipate the heat so that there were sufficient heights and lengths to get the heat out of the four very large pumps in that area. Regarding the noise, the mufflers on it were the best made An America and he believed that those - pumps, because they were storm water pumps, would only run during a storm.. It was very difficult to hear them at all during a storm. Mayor Eyerly said the reason he had raised the question regarding the outflow was because he did not know if it had any impact on the flooding dangers and if there was an impact, would there be a danger of the housing areas being flooded. Mr. Chapman said he thought the question was whether it could legally be placed anywhere else because once storm water was put into other areas, the guy in whose creek it was put now had a real legal cause for relief should he be flooded. He did not think the City of Palo Alto nor any other municipal agency dared to make too many changes in the storm drainage pattern. He said this was discharged at a point so far down stream, the effect of backwater into the neighborhood where flooding was, taking place was almost negligible because you were practically on the Bay. Ms. Crowder said staff realized there were some possible omis- sions in the Environmental Assessment as presented to the City so another initial study was made. She said that regarding item 1(j) whether the project could involve a natural drainage channel or streambed, or water course, she said the creek had been realigned and was now in an unnatural channel so staff felt it was correct that it did not involve .a natural drainage channel. Regarding 2(c) and (e) that the protect could be -adjacent to, or include a habitat, food source, water source, nesting place or breeding . place for rare or endangered wildlife species or be located inside or within 200 feet of a marine or wildlife reserve, staff was not aware of any rare or endangered wildlife in the Creek nor any in the Faber Tract. She said that origi- nally the Faber Tract was diked. off and was filled : with dredgings from the Palo Alto Yacht Harbor. After. the City purchased that piece of land, the dike was breached and: tidewaters had been allowed to come in and had allowed marsh growth to reestablish itself. She said ,i t was 'possible that ,some wildlife had moved in along with the.marsh growth. She thought it would be agreeable to fut "yes" for both (c) and (d). Regarding _No. 4, the. air quality and the water quality, during a storm= the diesel pump would produce some pollutants. She said the runoff would be no different with a new drainage system than it was with the existing drainage system as far as water quality was concerned. She did not believe it should be checked as "yes." Regarding the noise aspect, she thought it should say "yes," that it would increase the noise level. Aesthetics were addressed in the sup- plemental study, and the aesthetic appearance would be changed,. that from East Palo Alto residential areas one would see the building, and it would visually intrude into natural scenic qualities,. so that both items should be checked "yes." Councilmember Renzel asked how the diesel fuel would be de`s i vered to the pumps and was there a safety feature in terms of any spills in that -area. Mr. Chapman responded that the fuel would be delivered by truck in the same manner ' as it was to every diesel station in the Bay Area, and that there would be a. storage tank along side the building. Councilmember Renzel asked if there would be a containment basin around the entrance to the tank so that if there was a spill, it would be contained. Mr. .Chapman said he would have to check the plans,.. but thought it would be covered by the EPA regulations on the loading and unloading of that material and the -certain precautions those trucks had. Counci lrnember Fletcher said she understood that the pumps, would not operate on a day-to-day •basis. They would operate in the case of flooding threats. Mr. Chapman said they woeld only operate during a storm; however, from time to time, to make certain that they were working, they must be exercised. He said that would only be during the day when the maintenance crews were out there. MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher moved, seconded by . Cobb, to adopt the Pl anni ny Commission recommendations 1) that the project would not have an adverse environmental impact; 2) that the application for site and design review be approved subject to the following conditions: a) Any conditions of BCDC approval be added to the City of Palo Alto approval; b) Following construction, of the facility all lands of Palo Alto be restored to their pre - construction conditions; c) An area north of the pumps station be designated on the approved plan for "future bicycle bridge and bicycle path"; d). All disturbed ground be re -seeded with ground cover; trees and shrubs be planted to shield the pump station from view; all plants shall be species from the. Baylands Master Plan List; e) Refer the project to the ARB for review, noting that fencing must be designed not to conflict with the future bicycle path and bridge; f) Urge San Mateo County to incorpOrate recommendations from the soils reports in the Construction; and plans as approved by the Architectural Review Board. AMENDMENT: Councilmember Renzel moved that around the loading area for the diesel fuel a containment basin be added to the design. AMENDMENT FAILED for lack of a second. Councilmember Renzel asked for, confirmation_ that access to the- dike to go to the Faber/Laumei.ster Tract was not impeded by the fencing. 1 .6' 1 8 1/18/82 Mr. Freeland said that was confirmed,. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Fazzino and Klein absent. HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION RE TASK FORCE FOR DISABLED (1MR:119:2) - Staff recommends that the City Council support and endorse the designation of a permanent task force on disabled awareness under the guidance of the Human Relations Commission and authorize the Mayor to appoint task force members as recommended by the Human Relations Commission. Hal Anjo, Administrator, Social and Community Services said that staff support would come from existing allocation of 'staff. He said it ,was not anticipated that any additional resources beyond those currently allocated would be needed. Councilmember Fletcher said that 1981 was declared the Inter- national Year of the Disabled Persons by.the United Nations. She said activities were carried on internationally, and locally the Task Force for the Disabled was formed to plan activities during the year and they were an active, hardworking group. She said that at the end of the year, it was felt that the Task Force's function Was useful and that it should not be disbanded. It was requested that ethe Task Force remain as an ongoing group and be officially recognized by the City. Councilmember Witherspoon said that if it was to be an ongoing and official task force, she assumed a procedure would have to be spelled out in the City Charter. She. said that although this time around things were very easy for the Council. by having a Committee already in existence, next year's budget would have to allow for advertising, etc., assuming there would be a term of office for people who serve. Mr. Wilbur said he did not think this was quite the same thing as the Youth Council which was a resolution. He said RHMTF might be supported by _ a resolution based ,on an HRC recommendation of the early 1970's. He said the Task Force concept required that -the Commission recommend to the Mayor who they thought should be on a task force. He said vacancies would not be advertised as on the HRC membership itself. Mayor Eyerly asked staff if procedures would have to be drafted for such a task force. City Attorney Diane Lee said it would be up to the Council. From a legal standpoint, she did not feel it was necessary. She understood that .presently RHMTF was never created by ordinance, but was sort of a creation Of the Human Relation Commission's power to establish task forces for advisory purposes. .She said this was purely within the Council's discretion. She suggested that -rather than an ordinance, something more along the lines of a resolution be used. MOTION: Councilmember Levy moved, seconded by Bechtel, to adopt the Human Relations Commission recommendation to establish a per- manent task force for disabled awareness., : This task force to be set up to accomplish:. 1) Ongoing community education . about the needs, experiences, and contributions of Persons with dis- abilities; 2) Advocacy for disabled persons, with emphasis on training for self -advocacy; 3) Providing a public forum to which people may come with their concerns; and 4) Acting as a central clearinghouse of -information, services and sources of funding. Mary Minkus, Chairperson of the Task Force for the Disabled, said that they felt their task force was a successful and an exciting group of people. She said they first held a workshop in April to determine what the community of disabled persons felt were the problems existing in Palo Alto and how they might be dealt with. It was determined that the major problem seemed- always to be one of public attitude, 'and it was thought that the way to go about creating awareness and changing public attitudes was exposure and having people get togethere who had never spent much time with people with disabilities before. She said this was done in a series of four events between September 24 and October 24, ending with a United Nations Day and'Disable.d Task Force dinner com- bined. She thought the task force should be set up so that any- one who wished could become involved. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Klein and Fazzino absent. MOTION: Councilmember Levy moved, seconded by Witherspoon, to refer to the Human Relations Commission the following items: Maximum size of task force; term lengths; method of appointment; and limit on number of members from Palo Alto. Counci liiiember Renzel clarified that the HRC would suggest the procedure for establishing a permanent task force. Counci lmember Levy said that was correct. He thought the final establishment should be done by ,the Council, and that it deserved recognition at the Council level. Vice Mayor Bechtel said she was -concerned about making the Task Force too formal. She thought one purpose might be to try and involve as many people as possible so that if she were to •support the motion, she hoped the HRC would have maximum flexibility, to look into all of those things. She asked if there were members of the present task force that were not Palo Alto residents. Ms. Minkus said all of the current members were Palo Alto resi- dents. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Fazzino and Klein absent. AWARD OF LEASE - GOLF PRfFESSIONAL (CMR:II6:2) Director of Recreation Paul Thiltgen said that in April, 1981, the Council received a study of the golf course management which contained several recommendations: 1) to conduct an open and competitive selection process for a permanent golf professional; and 2) to negotiate a contract which enabled the City to share in the incremental profits, of a successful pro shop operation. The Council approved the recommendations and to set them up, a pro- ject team was established which represented the Golf Community, PGA, and the City staff and was formed to develop the selection process, the criteria for selection, and a Request for a proposal (RFP). He said there were six final candidates to be inter- viewed, . and a six -member selection : committee composed of. different golfing interests, representatives of the golf com- munity in Palo Alto, and experts in golf management interviewed the six candidates and rated Mr. Brad Lozares as the No. I choice for the position..: Mr. Lozares was chosen first by five of the committee members and was second choice by the sixth. Because _Mr. Lozares was clearly chosen= and cleanly the best choice, 1 6 2 0. 1/18/82 staff entered into contract negotiations. He said the proposed contract before the Council was consistent with the recommenda- tion of the golf course study to allow the City to share in the incremental profits of the successful pro shop operation. - Councilmember Witherspoon asked how the selection committee was chosen. Mr. Thiltyen said staff chose the committee Mayor Eyerly said he was surprised that this came laeck to the Council with a lease agreement provided without the Council actually directing staff as to whom to negotiate with. He asked what would happen if the contract were not worked out with Mr. Lozares. Mr. Thi-ltgen said it was staff's initial intent to negotiate with three different candidates, and come back with a recommendation to the Council, but because the interview panel recommendation for Mr. Lozares was so high and clearly he was the. best choice, he was the one staff .n gotiated. with. Real Property Administrator Jean Diaz pointed' out that Mr. Lozares did not know he was the only person being dealt with until the negotiations were completed. He said the negotiations' were drawr, to make every indication that the City was talking with at least two of the top three candidates. Councilmember Levy wanted to be sure that in the interview com- mittee there was only one direct representative of the staff and that the other five members were outside appointments. Mr. Thiltgen confirmed that that was correct. Mr. E.. B. Gray, Immediate Past President of the Palo Alto Golf Club which consists of 540 members who played at the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course, said that as president, he was directed by his ward of Directors to write a letter to the Council reitera- ting the position they took on November 3, at which time a reso- lution was unanimously passed which recommended Roger Graves as the Golf Professional. He said the Palo Alto Golf Club requested that the Council -consider Roger Graves on the basis that he took over when Bill Hartley resigned, and Hartley strongly recommended Roger Graves as his successor. Hp said' Roger Graves had excel- lent relations with all the people who played golf at Palo Alto, and he worked diligently for each of the clubs. The group that - made the final selection was a lady representative of the 9 -hole. group; a representative' of the Senior Group who also happened to be president rf the Golf Corporation that floated the bend -issue; - two recreation directors —one from Palo Alto and _ one from Salinas, the Executive Director of the Northern _California Golf Association, and Mr. Ray young, the Director of Golf at Stanford- Uri versity. He requested an analysis of the Mariner in which_the' the questions were put to the six finalists. Were they verbatim, were they given individuall to,each to each one at a Separate --session, or were they given as -a, -group he'said there was no quarrel with whomever was selected, he would obviously be a good professional. They were econceened that sufficient consideration forr all : Roger had done for all of the golfers was net given, to him.-. Mayor Eyerly asked staff.. to reply to time schedule, and- how the.. questions were put to -. the ..°individuals.. 1 1 City Manager Bill Zaner said that with regard to scheduling, staff tried to schedule items for the agenda eas soon as possible. He said that when the 25th agenda was looked at, Arastra, Terman and Lytton Gardens was on it. - Staff felt it would be too burden- some to add the 'golf pro to that and moved the golf pro to this meeting since it was ready, and neither: Arastra, Terman nor Lytton Gardens were. Mr. Thiltgen said there were six -individual interviews, and each candidate was interviewed for an hour. He said the .selection committee met and talked about what questions should be covered in order to rate each of the -candidates against each other orior -to the. start of the interview process. He said there were some basic questions decided upon, and each Of the panel members were to take on apart of those questions. From that point, after the question was asked, if the person that asked the question felt they needed further information, they had the freedom to proceed, but the basic interview questions were about the same for each candidate. Dr. Alex Forrera said he could not understand staff. He felt they sometimes_ liked to get involved in the political process and thought they were active players in the decision -making process. He said they were to a certain extent, and should be respected for what they had done in the'. City, but in this particular instance, he resented the way the matter had been handled. He said two -of the largest groups in Palo Alto were left out of the decision —the men's group with 500 members and the ladies group with about 100 members. He felt that was a serious oversight on staff's part, and they would like staff to go back and place Roger Graves back in consideration. Phil Damner, 51 Greshen Lane, Atherton, said an article in Saturday's Times Tribune, stated that Roger Graves' tenure as golf pro at Palo Alto Municipal was just about. terminated. He said the man, who was so well -loved by the golfers would be looking for another job. He played golf for many years, and had never seen a pro work as hard as Roger had been doing. He implored the Council to reach back into the principles that made the United States great and reward a person who had done an excellent -job. Mr. Zaner said that regarding the accusation that staff had engaged in some type of rumor, he had kept the Council closely advised with regard to the financial condition and the handling of funds at the golf course. Those reports were well -documented and were available in the City's files. He said the irregulari- ties which ufej have occurred, had . been corrected, but to set the record straight, they had most asee redly occurred. Councihlmember Fletcher reminded the Council that it was the Council which directed staff to conduct the competitive bid and selection process for a golf professional. She said staff put together a selection group which consisted of two active golfers and three'outside professionals. She had heard the outside pro- fessionals spoken of very highly, , that they were very competent and expert 'in their field, and had extensive experience in golf course management. She said the fact that the City had outside recommendations was very useful in that the applicants could be viewed in .an impartial manner and personal friendships would not interfere. She said one member of the selection committee, Mr. Davis, who was on the Senior Men's Golf Club, felt that -the selection,procedure was extremely complete ,and was impressed with. the methods used in the selection process. She said that if the Council did -not ,go alon9 with -the -recommendation of the selection committee, she felt Palo Alto would be. discredited 'among golf —16 2 2 1/18/82 professionals and in future recruitment drives, Palo Alto would have a hard time recruiting competent help. MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher moved, seconded by Levy, to adopt staff recommendation 1) the selection committee's and staff's recommendation of Mr. Brad Lozares as the Golf Professional at Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course; 2) the Mayor to execute the lease agreement. LEASE AGREEMENT City of Palo Alto/Brad Lozares' CounciA member Levy supported, Councilmembor Fletcher's comments. The process that the City s taff went through- was careful and. thorough and the Council's job was to rely on representatives of the community and the golfing profession to do the interviewing. He commented that . the lease to be approved would be such -ta .pro- ject a $12,000 expense greater than the current expenses. He said the amount of money was not sign ficant in the total.oper'a- tions of,the golf course, but was a $12,000 step backward finan- cially in a situation which was found over the past two years not to be positive. He Said the Council had given direction that the golf course be Self-supporting by 1983-.84, and pointed out that too many steps backward could not be taken in 1981-82 and 1982-83 and in one great leap be self-supporting 'in 1983-84. Councilinember Renzel said it was obviously a difficult issue for many of the golfers who had grown accustomed to dealing with the current interim golf pro, and that it was difficult. for the Council to make the decision to bring in someone else. However, the Council committed themselves to a process and at that time should have heard from the golfers who were concerned with the process in order to generate a process that was satisfactory to them. She said now that the process had been used, she thought the Council was obliged to follow through on the process they i nstructea staff to uphold. She Would support the recommendation and did it with some reluctance because she knew there was a great affection for the interim pro. Vice Mayor Bechtel concurred in the statements made by her col- leagues. The decision was difficult and she knew many people were attached to the interim pro. She wanted to be sure that the recommended. pro not only had the financial or business expertise qualities, but also had the experience of being an excellent_ teacher as well as someone who could work with the young golfers.. She found that he did have those qualities and she would support the staff recommendation. Mayor Eyer'y said he had great appreciation for Roger- Graves and the way he filled in for the City in its time of need. -He was sure that the 2 Council and ,staff felt similarly from the comments he had heard. He said it came down to the sel ect i on commi ttee and the staff's recommendations, and the direction on which staff. was given to proceed, acid by the way the point. system' worked, he did not see that the Council - had' -any .alternative other than to -- support'.the recommendation, MOTION PASSED unanimously, Klein and Fazzino absent. REQUEST OF COd$CILMEMBER WITHERSPOON RE REPRESENTATION AT. 450th ANNIVERSARY cELEIr ;QLT0 STST MOTION: Councilinember Witherspoon ::thoved, seconded by Eyerlys=` that Council authorize two representatives to attend the -450th 1 1 Anniversary Celebration in Oaxaca, at a cost of $2,000. Mayor Eyerly felt that int authorizing funds for trips to Oaxaca that he would feel comfortable with the amount being set, and if the Council supported the motion, they could address who might be appointed to go, or what system might be used. Ralph White, President of Neighbors Abroad, Palo Alto, said that 18 years ago next month, Palo Alto and Oaxaca launched a sister city relationship which grew and flourished in the interim period, and which resulted in outstanding accomplishments jointly by the two cities. He said that during the interim period, the two cities designed, constructed and activated an observatory and a planetarium in Oaxaca, both of which Were -among primary attrac- tions for people in Mexico to go to Oaxaca. He -said that -last duly the Mayor of Oaxaca extended a gracious Anvitation to the Mayor of Palo Alto to visit Oaxaca in April when they would cele- brate their 450th anniversary, and in addition, Palo Alto was asked by the Oaxaca Committee to send down a sports team, musical group and a Mies Palo Alto. He was pleased to report that a - soc- ter team, as part of the Palo Alto Soccer Club, was making plans to attend during Spring break for a series of exhibition: games,, a. jazz band at Palo Alto High School was making every effort to make the visit, and Neighbors Abrod was sponsoring a Miss Palo Alto Competition et Palo Alto high schools to select a Miss Palo Alto to also participate in the celebrations. He said that cere- monial activities of this type were very important to people in Latin American countries, and they placed this as a very high priority item in their scale of activities. He understood that there was a precedent set in 1974 where the City had official representatives in Oaxaca for the dedication of the observatory. He pointed out that Oaxaca had been extremely -generous in gifting Palo Alto when they had official visits here and mentioned the eight tribal costumes presented a year ago last August. He said that Neighbors abroad felt it was extremely important that Palo Alto be represented at the. Anniversary Celebration and strongly recommended the Council's favorable consideration of the motion. He said the current round trip air fare to Oaxaca fore an tnd i- vidual was about $500. Ross Thompson, 555 Forest, said he could not develop the enthusi- asm that some people had for that type of project. He said that in most of those reciprocal cases, there was more going out than coming in. He felt that too often, Palo Al to programs, sympa- thies and attitudes were- geared toward "minority" or differing groups. He thought it should be noted that the United States was a unique country, and was the best in all history, and had done more for more people. He did not think the money should be spent to attend the celebration. Counc i lmember Renzel asked the City Clerk._ about the City Council's budget for travel, and how it had been used. City Clerk Ann, Tanner responded that $12,000 was budgeted for the year, $2000 had been spent, and some funds were encumbered, and it did not include the four Counci lmembers -who would, be' attending the National League of Cities convention. Counci lmember Fletcher said she deplored the type of comments made by a native Palo Altan. She was in favor of this type of. cultural exchange, but she did not want to say she thought the City should fund trips -for Councilmembers to Oaxaca or any other sister cities. She thought to lump that kind of expense in with the travel funds which were allocated for conferences and conven- tions implied that the travel funds were used for social trips for the (.ounci lmembers. She .:thought that if the Council ` wanted 1 6 2:4 1/18/82 i 1 to budget for a particular item, she thought it should be clearly. labeled what it was for and not to be called part of the funds allocated. She thought. the City could have exchange programs without funding Councilmembers trips to the Sister Cities. Counci imember Levy said when he moved to Palo Alto about 15 years ago, one of the first community activities of which he became aware was the sister city relationship with Oaxaca. He thought the program was valuable and would support the motion. Mayor Eyerly said he believed that the funds were not necessarily designated for conferences and conventions. Ms. Tanner said it was designated travel and meetings, and that there was a separate miscellaneous account. Mayor Eyerly said he thought the program was invaluable, that it offered contact with other countries and helped to build world fellowship and to do the things which were needed nationally at a local level. He said_ from the expense prospective to the City of Palo Alto, times had changed due to hard times, and that the City did.not have unlimited funds to spend for trips to Oaxaca or other Sister Cities; and, consequently there was no financial support these days for the program. He said this particular request for money was for the 450th anniversary of the City of Oaxace, and it seemed to him that it was a special occasion, and the Council should be free to go ahead and approve a budget item for two people to represent the City. If the Council did not want to do that, he felt the City should withdraw from the program completely. Councilmember.Witherspoon shared Council.nember Fletcher's con.ern that the funds in the account be accounted for and used wisely. She thought the occasion was special, and she thought the Council should be public and up front as to why they were doing it if they did. Councilmember Renzel said from her owii prospective she valued the social exchanges which took place in not only the Sister Cities program, but other international exchanges. In general, she did not feel the Council should measure the value of the exchange by dollar amounts and what they were willing to spend. She said that for the 450th. anniversary, she did not think the Council was setting a precedent by sending delegates to Oaxaca. She thought that the City was a participant in the Sister City Program, and opted to continue in .that program. She thought it was appropriate to send City officials, and she favored the Mayor and Vice Mayor as. first .choices.. MOTION PASSED by a vote of 6-1, Fletcher voting "no," Klein and Fazzino absent, MOTION: Councilmember Witherspoon moved, seconded by Eyer.ly, to allocate up to $500 for gift from Palo Alto to Oaxaca --Neighbors_ Abroad :to`recommend appropriate gift. MOTION PASSED by a vote of 6-1, Fletcher voting "no," Klein and Fazzino absent. ADJOURNMENT Council adjourned at .11:55 p.m. ATTEST:.