HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-01-25 City Council Summary MinutesCITY
COUNCIL
MIF1UTEs
ITEM
Oral Communications
Approval of Minutes
November 9, 1981
November 16, 1981
November 23, 1981
Special Orders of the Day
Resolution of Appreciation -
Alan Henderson
Regular Meeting
Monday, January 25, 1982
CITY
PALO
ALTO
PAGE
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Resolution of Appreciation - 1 6 3. 1
Joseph J. Gosza
Appointment of Three Human Relations
Commissioners for Three Year Terms
Ending 12/31/84
Consent Calendar
Referral
Action
Adoption of the 1981 Edition of the
National. Electric Code
Gas Rate Change
Rear Easement Power Line Clearing
Palo Alto Theaters, Phase I Improvements,
CIP Project 80-01
Agenda Changes, Additions and Deletions
Finance and Public Works Committee
Unanimous ; Recommendation re Lease Purchase
Agreement with the Palo Alto Unified
School District for the Lease Purchase of
Terman School Site
Planning :Commission Recommendation re
77 Acre Arastra Site (Continued from 12/7/81)
PUBLIC HEARING: Weed Abatement
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Finance and Public Works Committee
Unanimous Recommendation re Lytton Gardens III
that the City of Palo Alto Guarantee a $300,000
Loan to Lytton Gardens, If They Can Provide
Collateral
Extension for Six Months of Joint Exercise
of Powers Agreement - North Santa Clara County
Municipal Solid Waste Management
Request of Counci-lmennber Fletcher re
of Appreciation for "More Than Meets
Volunteers
Requestof Mayor. Eyerly re Resolution of
Appreciation Congratulating the 49`ers on
Superbowl Win
Regular Meeting
Monday, January 25, 1982
The City. Council of the City of Palm' Alto met on this date in
the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, at 7:35
p.m.
1
PRESENT:
Bechtel, Cobb, Eyerly, Fazzino,
Fletcher, Klein, Levy
ABSENT: Renzel, Witherspoon
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 9. 1981
Due to technical problem, the City Clerk's Office had no tape of
the November 9, 1981 meeting.
-MOTION: Vice Mayor Bechtel moved, seconded by Fazzino, approval
of the minutes of November 9, 1981.
MOTION PASSED. unanimously, Renzei and Witherspoon absent.
MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 16 1981
-Vice Mayor Bechtel had the following correction:
Page 1422, first paragraph,.should read as follows:
"Councilmember Bechtel said she agreed with the Planning Commis-
sion's recommendation. She said that regarding Mr. Thompson's
testimony, Commissioner Christensen, during the Planning Commis-
sion discussion,- had .said that Cambridge should be a transition
street between the residential and commercial area and that there
should be be a maintenance of the 35 foot height limit. -Council-
member Bechtel said she understood that presently 35 feet was the
limit an Cambridge except if there were a mixed•use project." •
Councilmember Fletcher had, the following correction:
Page 1439, fifth from the last paragraph, second l ne, delete the
words "and force it," so that the sentence :reads, "Vice Mayor
Fletcher said the intent was to improve the retail vitality down-
town."
MOT10Ne Councilmember Klein moved, seconded by-Fazzino, approval
of the minutes of November 15, 1981 as corrected.
MJTIO►NeV SSED unanimously.
MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 23; 1981
Vice Mayor Bechtel had the
following correction:
Page 1473, sixth paragraph, eleventh line from the bottom, . the
word "perspectus" should read "prospectus.".
MOTION: Councilmember Klein moved, seconded by Levy, approval of
the minutes of November 23, 1981 as corrected.
MOTION PASSED unanimously, Renzel and Witherspoon absent.
RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION - ALAN HENDERSON
Mayor Eyerly read the resolution
the public.
MOTION: Councilmember Fazzino moved, seconded by Fletcher,
approval of the resolution of appreciation.
RESOLUTION 5988 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF PALO ALTO COMMENDING THE OUTSTANDING PUBLIC
SERVICE OF ALAN HENDERSON AS `OUNCILMEMBER, VICE MAYOR
AND MAYOR"
MOTION PASSED unanimously, Renzel and Witherspoon absent.
Mayor Eyerly said the City was very fortunate to have had Alan
Henderson's service as portrayed in the resolution.
Councilmember Fazzino said he thought the council realized what
outstanding leadership they were losing after such a long period
of time. When the Council defined political and civic leadership
in Pale Alto in the future, it would be measured in terms. of the
many years of outstanding service that Alan. Henderson provided.
He said that when Mr, Henderson was elected to the City Council
in 1971, it was a period of great political turbulence which con-
tinued through the 1970's and which involved a couple of. politi-
cal groups. He thought Mr, Henderson was a major reason why the
political acrimony and debate in Palo Alto had lowered to a rea-
sonable level over the past four years, and why people,'who many
times before could not get along, now came together on many
important issues for the City of Palo Alto. Councilmember
Fazzino said he would miss Alan Henderson during the years
ahead.
Councilmember Levy was particularly appreciative of Alan
Henderson`s leadership, and said when he was first elected to the
Council, his initial action was to join in electing Mr. Henderson
as Mayor. He voted for Alan because he admired his stands par-
ticularly on environmental and neighborhood issues and he appre-
ciated his experience, moderation, willingness to listen to every
point of view, and his desire to reconcile differences. He said
Alan's terms as Mayor were marked by progress: without Palo Alto's
traditional acrimony. Alan's administration boasted a host of
accomplishments, which included the acquisition of Terman and
Ventura Schools, dedication of Arastra lands, the beginnings of
the development of Downtown Park North, formation of the Historic
Resources Board, significant improvements in the- Baylands Master
Plan, appointment s►f --an outstanding Ci.ty., Manager and City -
Attorney, and' substantial improvements in fiscal .matters. He
said Alan's leadership worked to deal bitterness =and break 'down
factionalism, he respected all Counc lmembers regardless of dif-
ferences on individual -issues. Alan's. years as Mayor had marked
a turtling point in Palo Alto political. life. Councilmember Levy
said he believed that the -City Council was more united. than ever
before on their goals far the, community.
Vice- Mayor Bechtel said the Council would miss Alan Henderson's
jokes and puns that sometimes livened a long meeting, would miss
his -lead rship when facing difficult.a decisions, and would : miss
his interest in everything from baseball and football scores o
clotheslines. The Council knew that even though Alan was not -up
there with them, he -.would be listen ng on..the radio- sometimes,
and,.even though:he would not be voting with -the Council,_he'would'
share the same commitment. . Alan would remind_ _the Gounci.lmembe_rs
if they got out —of line, and would 'prod them to vote ,the -`way he
_felt they should vote - She. thanked him for serving Palo Alto.
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Councilmember Fletcher said she personally felt extremely grate-
ful and appreciative of Alan Henderson, the long hours, hard
work, and willingness to be available to listen and discuss
issues on a rational level. She said' the majority of Palo Alto
agreed with her sentiments, they were all indebted to' him and
would miss him.
Councilmember Cobb said Mr. Henderson left some very hard shoes
to fill and left a superb standard fore a new Councilmember to
follow. He hoped he would do nearly as well as Alan, and if so,
would be very proud of himself.
Councilmember Klein said that as a Councilmernber, he had learned
to appreciate Alan's judgment and wisdom, particularly from the
numerous discussions they had on various issues during the eleven
plus months they served together. He- first got to know Alan
Henderson during the 1975 campaign and remembered the discussions
they had after the lack of success in the 1915 election when they
discussed where things should go in Palo Alto, Those discussions
were useful to him and helped him have a better appreciation of
what Palo Alto politics should be. He thought that Alan
Henderson's contributions in making Palo Alto a better place had
been very significant Mr. Henderson was an extremely fine
mayor, but Mostly, he was a fine friend and Councilmember. Klein
would miss having him on the Council.
Joyce Leonard, on behalf of the American Association of
University Women (AAUW), thanked Mr. Henderson for his exemplary
service as a Councilmember and Mayor of the City of Palo Alto,
and commended his efforts in leadership, especially in the pro-
tection of the Baylands and Foothills, for his participation and
cooperation with the other cities in Santa Clara County and
focusing on the problems they had in common, his expertise in
fiscal matters, and for his concern in providing equitable
housing in Palo Alto. She said that on behalf of AAUW, a Redwood
tree would be planted in Palo Alto Grove in Big Basin Redwood
State Park in Alan Henderson's name.
-Mayor Eyerly presented a gift, the resolution of appreciation,
and a plaque expressing appreciation to Alan Henderson.
Alan Henderson thanked the Councilmembers and Joyce Leenard for
their kind words. He congratulated Mayor Eyerly on 'election
as the Mayor and wished him good fortune in the r)st , ;' and also
congratulated Vice Mayor Bechtel in her election as ViVife,e Mayor.
He said ,if .he thanked every person that helped him it would take
five hours rather than five minutes.. He offered special thanks
to City Clerk Ann Tanner and said she had been marvelous in hand-
ling all of his questions and .requests since July 1 1971 and was
always pleasant and efficient. Her unselfish assistance during
the 2-1/2 year mayor's term made it possible for him to undertake
that task while holding down a full time job. He knew everyone
appreciated her and would take good care of her. He thanked City
Manager' Bill Zaner for himself and as the representative of All
of the City- staff,.." he said when Mr. Zan-er was interviewed, he
felt a great sense of comfort.- that the ideal candidate for City
Manager had been': uncovered, and he had : proven 'that feel ing to be
correct. -He said Palo Alto was._ extremely. fortunate that Fir.
Zaner was interested An coming to the City,- and that the City had
Council with enough 'good .sense to realize he was the ide0
choice. He -_asked Mr. Zaner :to relay his appreciation toe all
-staff members, and said, the City had- a' remarkably able and dedi-
,caned staff' which ,was equal to or superior- to .:any staff in the
private business world: Palo Alto's staff members tried very
hard too give pro mot service- and to cut through red tape. They
were Intelligent and dedicated public servants _ and dealt with the
public .efficiently and etopiateously. He also thanked Myrer,e
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Henderson, and said if one was acquainted with their story, they
would know that the entire time they had been together, he was
deeply involved as a Councilmember. Myrene had had to adjust her
schedules and desires to his demands and time requirements. Not
only had she made the tremendpM ► sacrifice, Ant had taken an
interest in what he was doing, hay served unselfishly as a sound-
ing board, had offered advice when -asked, and had dealt' beauti-
ful ly on the telephone with citizens who called during his ab-
sence. He said Myrene was always perfect in the role as the
City's First Lady when they attended official functions.
Mr. Henderson said that while he was on the Council he always
found it necessary to keep in mind who put him there and why. It
was easy to get carried away with the job and oneself because
suddenly you had power and people came to you for help, and news-
paper people called you for quotes. He . sa l d Counci lmembers need
to remind themselves continually that they're there to. serve
their community and the individual members of the community. He
found himself tested often in practicing tolerance for the views
of others. He said it was pretty upsetting at times to feel
strongly that there was only one proper direction to take -ton a
'natter and find that members of the public, or worse yet, your
own colleagues, disagreed with you. He said it must be remem-
bered that parsons with opposing views are sincere too, they must
be respected, and -differences must hot be personalized. Palo
Alto was fortunate to have elected officials with the current
intelligence, dedication. and good will. He felt fortunate to
have worked with the Councilmembers and their predecessors over
the past 10-1/2 years, to have lived in Palo. Alto, and to have
had the opportunity to serve it and its citizens. Nothing in his
working life had brought him the satisfaction he received while
serving the community. He said if he were asked in what country
in this world he would choose to live, his answer would be the
United States of America, and if asked in what State he preferred
to live, his answer would be California, and if asked in what
City he would chose in California, it woui\1 be Palo Alto. -To
have been given the opportunity to serve as Mayor for :this com-
munity was an honor almost beyond his'. comprehension and he
thanked everyone for giving him that opportunity.
Mayor Eyerly thanked Mr. Henderson, and added a vote of thanks on
behalf of the Council and the City staff, to Myrene for the time
taken froth her and given to the City. He said` everyone knew how
much a spouse had to cooperate in order -for Alan to have done
everything he did.
RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION - JOSEPH J. BOSZA
Mayor Eyerly read the resolution of appreciation.
MOTION: Councilmember Fazzino moved, seconded by Levy, approval
of the resolution of appreciation.
RESOLUTION 5989 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF PALO ALTO EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO JOSEPH
J. bOSZA FOR OUTSTANDING PUBLIC SERVICE"
Mayor Eyerly said he had. known Joe since he came on the City
Council, .. and found him to be a cornerstone of the electric
utility. He would miss Joe after all the years of service.
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Director of Utilities Edward Aghjayan said the resolution Was an
impressive tribute to Joe's contribution to the City, -and noted
that.Joe graduated from the University of Michigan in 1942, and
played on the University football team that year. Joe Bosza.
-joined the U. S. Navy in 1942 and .was an Officer on the subma-
rine, U.S.S. Archerfish, He said he recently read an article
about the Archerfi sh , which was a submarine on lone patrol out-
side of Tokyo Harbor that encountered a freshly commissioned
carrier converted from.a battleship. The crew sunk the carrier,
after being barraged by half the enemy fleet, having to dive a
depth of 600 feet, which was twice what was tested, and thinking.
they would never get out alive-. Somehow they escaped, and Lt.
J. G. bosza's name was prominent in that article. Upon leaving
the Navy in 1946, Joe spent two or three years working for PG&E
before joining the City in 1949. At that time, the electric
utility consisted of a Chief Engineer, 'Jack Taylor; Margaret
Roberts, who was a secretary in the department; and a drafting
table crammed into one room in City Hall, then on Ramona Street --
two City Halls ago. Mr. Aghjayan said that if you asked Joe
about his greatest accomplishment while at the City, he would
probably say the orderly growth of the electric system to meet
the needs of the community. Mr. Aghjayan said that when he came
to the City in 1974, Joe was a tremendous asset to him and had
provided hirii with a _great sense of support, as had Mayor Eyerly.
He said he would miss Joe Bosza.
Mayor Eyerly read a Plaque of Appreciation, and presented the
Plaque of Appreciation and Resolution of Appreciation to Mr.
Bosza.
Mr. bosza thanked everyone and said the only advice he coin'' give
at this point was to quit while you're ahead, and that was exact-
ly what he would do.
APPOINTMENT OF THREE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSIONERS FOR THREE YEAR
Mayor Eyerly said that the City was fortunate to have the quality
of applicants it had for this Commission and for the three vacan-
cies. He regretted that the City did not have ten positions to
offer everyone that applied. Regarding those candidates who were
unsuccessful, he hoped they would continue to apply. The appli-
cants were:
Harry W. Anisgard
Diane M. Buehler
Diana L. Diamond.
Irene D. Gilbert
Douglas A. Has l am
Iris S. Korol
Virginia M. Lee
Jean M. Ramacciotti
Richard R. Roe
Teresa L. Yoonf
City Clerk Ann Tannerannounced th,e results of the first round of
voting for the first position:
VOTING FOR LEE: Fazzino, Bechtel, Eyerly, Fletcher, Cobb, Klein
VOTING FOR KOROL : Levy
She said Ms. Lee received six votes, Ms. Korol received one vote,
and, therefore, Virginia Lee was appointed for a further three
year term ending December 31, 1984.
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Ms. Tanner read the results of the first round of voting for the
second position:
VOTING FOR ROE: Levy, Fazzino, Eyerly, Fletcher, Cobb, Klein
VOTING FOR KOROL: Bechtel
Ms. Tanner announced that Richard Roe had six votes, Ms. Korol
had one vote, and Richard Roe was appointed for a three year term
ending December 31, 1984.
Ms. Tanner read the results of the first round of voting for the
third position:
VOTING FOR KOROL: Klein, Cobb, Eyerly, Bechtel, Levy, Fazzino
VOTING FOR GILBERT: Fletcher
Ms. Tanner annouced that Iris Korol had six votes, Ms. Gilbert
had one vote, and Iris Korol was appointed for a three year term
ending December 31, 1984.
Mayor Eyerly congratulated Virginia Lee, Richard Roe, and Iris
Korol as the new members of the Human Relations Commission.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilmember Klein removed Item No. 6, Extension of Joint Powers
Agreement for North Santa Clara County Municipal Solid Waste
Management Program.
MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher moved, seconded by Fazzino,
approval of the Consent Calendar as amended.
Referral
None
Action
ADOPTION OF THE 1981 EDITION OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRIC CODE
GAS
ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE
COUNCIL OF THE. CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING CHAPTER 16.16
OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE TO ADOPT THE 1981
EDITION OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRIC CODE, AND TO MAKE
CHANGES THERETO"
RATE CHANGE (CMR:122:2)
Staff recommends that. Council approve the resolution confirming
the action taken by the City Manager adjusting ,gas rates in
accordance with Resolution No. 5982,
RESOLUTION 5990 entitled "RESOLUTION OF. THE. COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF PALLS ALTO AMENDING UTILITY RATE SCHEDULES
G-1 AND G-50 AS A RESULT OF TRACKING PG&E GAS RATE
CHANGES".. -
REAR EASEMENT POWER LINE CLEARING (CMR.:117:2)
Staff recommends that the Mayor be authorized to execute a
contract with Pied Piper Exterminators, Inc. in the . amount of
$99,970 for providing rear line clearing services.
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AWARD OF CONTRACT .
Pied Piper Exterminators, Inc.
PALO ALTO THEATERS, PHASE I IMPROVEMENTS. CIP PROJECT 8O-01
Staff recommends that Coenci l :
1. Award the construction contract for the Palo Alto Theaters
and Cultural Center Auditorium Improvements to S. J. Amoroso
Construction Co., Inc., and Verrett Construction Co,,,a joint
venture for $622,882 including Alternate 1 and K-1 and
authorize the Mayor to sign the contract, Exhibit B.
2. Authorize staff to execute change orders to the construction
contract of up to the amount of $98,000.
AWARD OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT-
S,. J. Amoroso Construction Company, Inc. _
Verrett Construction Company, a Joint Venture
MOTION PASSED unanimously, Renzel and Witherspoon absent.
`GENOA CHANGES ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS
City Manager, Bill Loner announced that item 6, the Extension of
the Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement would become Item 12-A.
Councilrnernber Fletcher added Item 13, Resolution of Appreciation
for Volunteers at Southern Pacific depot.
Mayor Eyerly added Item 14, Resolution of Appreciation to the San
Francisco- 49'ers.
MOTION: Counc i l member Cobb moved, seconded by Klein, to bring•
forward Item 11, Lease Perchase of Terman School, aheed of Item
9, Arastra Lands.
MOTION PASSED unanimously, Renzel and Witherspoon absent.
Counci lraember Klein said it was not clear to him what the
procedures were to add new items to the agenda.
City Attorney Diane Lee said final action on an item could not be
taken if the item was not placed on the agenda before 12:00 noon
on the Wednesday preceding the meeting, and printed on the
agenda.
Councilmember Klein asked if the two -items to be added were for
final action.
Mayor Eyerly said no --the items were directions to staff, asking
them to prepare resolutions.
Ms. Lee said exceptions would. be if an item were urgent or an
emergency. She said there was a distinction between "urgent" and
an "emergency" in . that an emergency ordinance required a
two-thirds vete. She interpreted that directing staff to do
something which would go back to Council was not; final action.
FINANCE AND PUBLIC WORKS. COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS TO TH
Chairperson of the Finance and Public Works. Committee Council-
member Fazzino said the Committee had a ,spirited discussion of
the issue, and the charter for the Committee was to come up with
a financial plan for purchase of - the Terman Site. He reiterated
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that. staff, Council and the Committee members were very positive
and thanked Jean Diaz for all the work he had done to bring the
matter of development of the Terman Plan before the Council which
was not only put together by City staff, but with the tremendous
help and support of the Terman Working Group.
MOTION: Councilmember Fazzino for the Finance and Public Works
Committee moved that the City Council finance the Lease Purchase
Agreement with the Palo Alto Unified School District -for the
lease purchase of Terman School Site, using $2 million from the
Jewish Community Center, $2 million from the Housing Land Bank
Fund, and $5 million from the City's Capital Reserves for a total
of $9 million. -
Councilmember Fazzino -said that the Committee felt strongly that
the issue needed to be separated completely from the discussion
of Arastra.
Vice Mayor Bechtel said the motion which passed the Committee did
not go in to listing where the money would come from.
Councilmember Fazzino said he recalled that the Committee members
agreed about the allocation of the money along the lines of the
three figures listed on this agenda. The concern on the part of
Coun i lmember Levy who made the motion was how this would appear
in the budget on an annual basis and would it be separated com-
pletely as a project, or would it be included ein the Capital
Reserve Funds. He deferred to Mr•. Zaner for concurrence.
Mr. Zaner said Councilmember Fazzino was correct, - that the
Finance and Public Works Committee discussed at some length the
derivation of the funds. He thought it was fairly well under-
stood that in line with the staff recommendation, a portion of
the money- would come from the JCC lease, - from Housing Land Bank
Fund, and the balance from some other source. The Committee
recommended that that source be a pay-as-you-go basis from the
general fund reserves.
Vice Mayor Bechtel wanted to clarify that the unanimous recom-
mendation from the finance and Public Works Committee was to
lease purchase the Terman Site on a pay-as-you-go .basis. The
sp.eci f i c dollar amounts were correct, but they were not included,
because they were not tied down to specific amounts.
Mr. Zaner said that was also correct and it was his recollection
as ►yell.
Mayor Eyerly clarified from where the wording of the motion came.
The motion the Finance and Public Works Committee put forth was
to go forward with the payment for the properties as stated on
the _agenda4 .
Councilmember Levy asked for clarification from staff exactly
what the Council was committing to at this point by way of acqui-
sition costs, program costs, and improvement costs...
Real Property Administrator, Jean Diaz said that under the Lease
Purchase Agreement the City was committing to acquisition ofthe
site for a total principal payment of $9 million. He said it
would be spread over the next 20 years --the initial $1 million
payment having already been made, the balance being due in 19
equal principal installments over the next 19 years with inter-
est.'' He said the amount would actually be more than the $9.
million if the interest the City was to pay was included. He
said previously reports had outlined the program costs and the
initial constructiin costs.
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Mr. Laner said staff's estimate was that in the first year, the
start up costs for operations would be approximately $111,000.
Staff estimated that annually thereafter those costs would be
approximately $195,000, and the improvement costs on the site for
park improvements would be approximately $1.4 million; for the
Community Center facilities, approximately $1.6 million; and for
parking and landscaping, approximately $300,000 for a total of
$3.4 million for improvements over the life of the project.
Counci lmernber Levy wanted to clarify that this eveni rig the City
was committing to the acquisition of the site, and -that further
commitments for programming, development, etc., would take subse-
quent actions on the part of the Council.
Mr. Laner said that was correct, and not only= would the Council
take subsequent action, the Terman Working Plan Document, which
the Council had adopted, specifically included language that made
it clear that the operation and improvement- of the property was
subject to Council approval during the budget process so that
those irnprovemente and operations would be inserted in the budget
and would compete with all .other budget recommendations for
Council action.
AMENDMENT: Mayor Eyerly moved, seconded' by Levy, that the
Council set aside.fund`s out- of the capital projects reserve -and
the Housing Land Bank Funds sufficient so that the principal and
interest together with the lease payments from the ()CC would be
sufficient to meet the total cost of servicing the acquisition.
Couricilmember Klein said that as he understood the -amendment, its
purpose was for the City'.s financial reporting purposes. If ethe
amendment was successful, the- City would have an item on its
financial reports which would indicate that there was a fund of
roughly $9 million which was encumbered to meet the obligations
of acquiring the Terman Site.
Mayor Eyerly said that was correct, but it would al so gather the
interest from that money into that same fund so that the monies
would be available for the yearly payments.
Councilmember Klein clarified that if the City had some other
emergency or a future Council decided to make some other use of
the money, it would be legally permissible.
Mr. Loner said that was .correct. If the money were placed in a
reserve, it would take six votes of the Council at some subse-
quent session to move the money from that account, and the
Cou-ecil would be permitted to do so at any time.
Counci lmernber Klein said that regardilig the main motion, he could
not let what he considered a very momeMous action by the Council
pass without saying that he was: extremely proud of the way the
matter turned out. He thought -that Council's action last year to
approve the acquisition of Terman was one of the Council's most
significant acts, and the fact that Palo Alto was fortunate
enough to have sufficient reserves, and_ upon deeper analysis, to
finance the acquisition on a more or less pay -as -you; -go' basis,
was attributable to the fine financial; management in Palo Alto.
He was enthusiastic about the mainmotion and felt good about it.
He thought the amendment was appropriate because` the City - had
this commitment and its financial records should properly and
adequately disclose i t. It would not : be proper for the City to
have a listing on its financial record which stated that the City
had a reserve of $8 million- when, in fact, it was not so much a
reserve of $8 million, when at least $5 million was committed to
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a particular project; namely, Terman. He thought the amendment
was for an accurate and honest financial accounting and supported
the amendment.
Counci.laiember Levy seconded:Councilmember Klein's comments. He
said it was a momentous occasion, and he believed it was the
largest expenditure of community funds for.an acquisition in the
history of the City, a total involvement of $9 million, and a
specific commitment of reserves of $5 million. He said the
Terman acquisition concluded four years of intensive community
involvement, There was a great desire throughout the community
that the City safeguard the open space which was presently
endangered as school sites. were lost. He said this Council had
acquired the Ventura Site, and would acquire the Terman Site
tonight, and he was' delighted. Regarding the importance of
specifically earmarking --the funds, he said it was fiscally
irresponsible not to do so. -The Council was making a 20 -year
.commitment; and, although ,the commitment was in the form of a
lease, there was an unalterable commitment to make it permanent
and Ultimately to go through with the purchasen He said it was,
therefore, important for the Council to set aside the funds and
let the community know that the funds were earmarkethe Because it
was a 20- year commitment; it would go through many Councils,
City administrations, and staff personnel, and because of the
community's interest in the matter, they would constantly be
looking over the Council's shoulder. He said the amendment was
wise and prudent fiscal management and he urged Council support.
Mr. Zaner argued the case in the other direction, as he had at
the Finance and Public Works Committee meeting. He did not think
for one moment that this City Council nor their successors would
renege on the promise to purchase the Terman property. Once the
commitment was made, he believed the community could expect the
Council to keep it. He said the guarantee to the community was
the fact that the Council will have put a substantial amount of
money into the property --some $3 million in capital improvements
alone. Tying the money up in a reserve fund would severely
reduce the Council's flexibility for. other kinds of projects.
The trick for municipal finances was to be flexible, if possible,-
-and make the best euse of money as opportunities present
themselves, He said that by tying the money -up in a reserve,
even though the Council could legally reach the reserve and
reverse the previous decision, he believed it would be difficult
to do so. He felt the Council would be better served to leave
the funds in the reserve as they were now. While the flexibility
issue appeared not to be too difficult at the moment, he believed
it -would -become More critical as the years go on. He said that
as availability of money from the State and Federal governments
becomes more difficult, the City would have to look - to its own
resources niore fully, .and he believed the Council would be well
serVett not to have the Oney in a reserve, and to leave the money
-in the General Operating Reserves in order that it could be
reached whenever the Council wished. He thought that giving the
community a guarantee was easily done by adopting the resolution
which authorized the leaseepurchase progra€n'. _The motion that --,the
Finance' an.d Public Works Corm:ittee made vas to design a pay -as
you -go program.- He Said. a payeas-you-go progra►i was precisely
that., the funds ewere..appropriated , annually,- and paid ebf
current revenues. Consequently, he recommended, that. the Cvunc i l
not set up such ea reserve and that the funds" be left in ,the
Genera? Reserve.
Vice Mayor Bechtel thanked M_r.- Zaner four his statement. As a
•Counci lmember,- she voted t� support the contract-,, to pay. Over A;
2O -year. period the mon-ey `.to the School . District. She said she
voted 'strongly,: along with the` rest of the Council, to support
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the plan. If the Council wanted to pay for the property in one
lump sum and_ avoid the interest payments, it could have been
done. The City agreed, in its negotiations with the School
Board, to pay it Over a period of time which helped in negotia-
ting the -price down somewhat from what they had originally.
wanted. She said that by setting the money aside in a reserve,
the Council was essentially taking that money away from the very
'capital improvement projects the Terman community, wanted to see
happen on that piece of property. The.City needed approximately
$1.2 million each year, --which would decrease toward the end of
the 20 -year period. She said the City needed -- that flexibility,
and she urged the Councilmembers to vote against the amendment.
Councilmember Cobb asked if the amendment passed and a future
Council decided it needed the money for something else, what
conditions went along with that to repay the fund et some later
date.
Mr. Zaner said there were 'no requirements. The only requirement
incumbent on the Council was to make the annual lease payments
assuming it wanted the lease continued.
Councilmernber Fletcher said she failed to see the urgency of
setting aside the total amount needed. She said the City's corn-
mitment was contained in the contract, in the Council's approval
of the Terman Plan, and in the action to approve the agreement -as
recommended by the Finance and Public Works Committee, and if an
individual sought to purchase a property and went to the bank for
a loan, the bank did not expect that individual to have the
entire purchase price in a bank account. She saw the same
parallel in this case that the City was committing the annual
payments, and there was no overriding need of why the entire
amount should be set aside.
Mayor Eyerly noted that former City Manager, George Sipel was in
the audi-ence. He read comments made by Mr. Sipel in his State of
the City'`budget message in 1977-1978. "The 1977-1978 budget pro-
poses the establishment of a $2 million General Fund Contingency
Reserve. . This reserve would be created from the existing
unappropriated balance of the Capital Improvement Fund and would
be used to provide for unforeseen financial events during the
year. . The reserve would be created, but not appropriated, so
that any use of the reserve would require the approval of a
budget amendment by the Council. The unappropriated balance of
the Capital Improvement Fund is estimated to be approximately
$2.5 million at the end of 1976-77. Establishing the General
Fund Contginency Reserve at $2 million wi l l leave a balance of
$.5 million in the Capital Improvement Fund, and the 1977-7d
budget recommends a transfer to the fund of approximately $1
million, With 1977-78 Capital Improvement Fund expenditures of
$.9 million, the unallocated balance of the Capital Improvement
Fund will be approximately_ $.6 million at the end of 1977-7d."
Mayor Eyerly said he wanted the Council to be aware of where they
were on reserves in 1977-78 compared to where they were . now.
Since that time, as of January 1, 1980, the City had .set aside a
$3 million contingency reserve, which Mr. Sipel had; proposed back
for that: budget some years ago, and also a Capital Improvement
Program Surplus of $8.376 million. He said the amendment- spoke
to taking $5 million from'it and le& ing over a $3 million sur
plus. Further.2 it spoke to taking $2 million from the Land Bank.
Funds to encumber those two sets of figures, With interest, to
pay for the Terman purchase on a pay-as-you-go method. He
thought :it was; importante that;' the-. Council do that because the
City would pay` substantial interest more than was paid on the
principal, fur about the first 13 years. He did not think it was
financially prudent to proceed on a purchase of this magnitude
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without encumbering the funds so that the interest would be built
.up within the same reserve and was available to spend. . He felt
that staff was concerned about the size .of the Capital Improve--
ment Reserve, and pointed out that years ago it was much lower
than that. With proper financial handling, the City had built it
up again and was in a position to basically pay cash for the
Terman property. He disagreed that the. School District would
accept the cash in -one lump sum. The'Capital improvement spoken
to by staff on the Terman site of some $3 million would have to
come about sooner or later, but did not have to happen in the
,first year, He felt that those capital improvements had to be
suggested in the Capital Improvement Program, scrutinized by the
Finance and Public Works Committee, _and approved by the Council
as it became evident that they could be done.
Counciltiiember Levy said that the- issue was not reneging on a
promise regarding Terman. The issue_ was clear reporting to the
community. He said the budget was a complexe difficult to under-
stand document, he worked with the budget -intensively :for 'the
2-1/2 years he -had been on the . Council and for a number of years
prior to that. He knew that, with the .exception of Bob Moss,
almost everyone in the community had ..a great deal. of difficulty
getting the information ,they wanted out of the budget and
understanding clearly what the position of the community was. He
recollected Alan Henderson's statement that the Council needed to
remember who put them up there and wh, He thought it was the
Council's obligation to report to the community as clearly,
openly and honestly as possible regarding the City's fiscal
status. He was not concerned about Terman--the Council was
making a commitment, and he was sure it would be, honored for 20
years and beyond, and was sure that the acquisition and
development of, Terman would go through. He was .concerned with
the overall fiscal policies of the City and other capital items,
and that the Council would have to go to the community in the
future and ask for a vote of approval on things they did, and if
the community was confused, they would vote no. He thought it
was: the Council's obligation to try and unconfuse as much. -as
possible, and one way to do it was to simply earmark the reserve
being considered to be called a "Terman Reserve. He said' it
would not commit the- Council irrevocably to anything, that this
and future Councils would always vote on emergencies on special
items, but nonetheless, this. was the way to begin reporting
clearly to the public.
Councilmember Klein said that Councilmember Fletcher had compared
this to an individual buying a --home. He said the City- was a dif-
ferent kind of entity, and one obvious example was that the City
was not allowed to have deficit financing. If individuals did
not have deficit financing, the economy would be in total
col lapse. He said individuals were not subject to the same type
of reporting requirements as cities. He did not think the City's
situation should be``compared with what an individual world do.
He said Vice .Mayor Bechtel -had said that tying. up -the money would
preclude the City from , engaginy in,; other _ capital improvements..
He `felt that was precisely what. the Council should be. doing, and
thought it would be very unwise for ,the Council . to require some
type of emergency to make $9 or. $10_ million in capital
commitments when they only had $8 mil l ion. to use. The very -idea
of the "set• aside" was -to say -loudly -:and clearly __to the citizenry
that the City only had;so much__ money, and $5 million had_ been
committed. If the City wanted to finance more than -the. total $€'.•
million, sacrifices; would have to. be: made and _ oth.er sources of
Money found.
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Councilmember Fazzino said he felt mach too much time was being
spent fighting over something that could have been, resolved in a
minute and_a half. Whethee the funds were set aside or -not,
future Councilmembers .could come along and undo what had been
done. He said the approval , of the ---motion was in no way any pro-
tection. He recognized that Councilmember Levy had a problem
with the way in which the budget presented the City's program,
and he, thought it was a good point and wa.s one which the Finance
and Public Works Committee agreed on last year. It- was his
understanding that the Finance and Public Works Committee would
look at revisions to the Budget during the 1.982-83 budget process
so that all City programs and their total costs were represented
in the budget. He applauded that approach, but to change horses
in the middle of the stream in terms of how the budget Was looked
at in present terms was an unwise move in his opinion. He was
also concerned about loss o€ flexibility, and said the City had
been very fiscally responsible in past years with capital
improvement funds and had made major- commitments before to
capital improvement programs. At the same time, flexibility was
retained, which was -what Mr. Zaner was asking the Council to do.
He encouraged the Council to vote against the amendment and
support-the.nnain motion.
Vice Mayor Bechtel commented that the City had a number of obli-
gations. For example, the City spent money each year on road
improvements --the Council knew they would spend money on road
improvements each year, but did not have a separate reserve that
said Road Improvement Fund. There was a line item in the budget
and the City had an obligationea make some improvements to the
roads. She believed that the City had an obligation, and the
Council knew there was an obligation to pay the amount owed each
year to the School District which could be listed fairly and
accurately as a line item in the budget.
Councilrrember"Klein said the difference was that the City did not
have a contract, there was no one out there on the roads the City
owed money to specifically. There was a contract here, and a
specific amount was owed to the School District..
AMENDMENT PASSED by a vote of 4-3, Fazzino, Fletcher, Bechtel
voting "no," Witherspoon and.Renzel absent.
MOTION AS AMENDED passed unanimously, Witherspoon and Renzel
absent.
:PLANNING- COMMISSION BY i b.-0 VOTE l ABSENT RECOMMENDS-) THAT
177 U cyrtanD IN AN OPEN .SPACE
H N E H `'
RV VOTE
ANO 3 BY A VOTE 0r 4 IK. AVOR, I OPPOSE ' , EN tr4 PL NNING
OMMISS iN RECOMMENDS THAT IF DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE CONSIDEREE
E L _EN P NS b B A COMBINATION OF THESE
W+ AR R C . M HD D
CMR:12
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Chairperson of the Planning Commission Jean McCown-Hawkes said
the Commission's basic conclusion, after reviewing the study and
after hearing from the public, was that..de\•eiopment or sale of
the 77 acres was, premature particularly if the purpose of the
possible sale or development was to generate funds for the
purchase of school sites" or other properties for public use. She
said the Commission believed that this option was one that should
be taken only after- ver=y deliberate Consideration._and discussion.
by the public . and after _ all other sources of _ revenue " were
exhausted.. .The Commission -voted on dedication of the 77 acres,
which failed to pass on a split vote.- She said the reason it
failed was that members of"the'Commission believed that the maxi
mum options for the use -of the land should be maintained and that
dedication would affect the flexibility the City may have in the
future. She said the -Commission desired that the community be
given an -opportunity to fully express its views on the policy
issues inherent in considering the sale of City property such as
this land. She said that was the basis of .the Commission's
recommendation that _there be some kind of advisory vote before
this acreage were ever sold by. the City. She said that of the
various development concepts presented in the Arastra report, the
Commission's preference, if nevelopment were to occur, would be
that options 1(b), 2, or 2(b)`be the ones pursued -because those
Options were felt to be the best combination of environmentally
sensitive- design, consistent with the policies of the
Comprehensive Plan for Foothills development.
Councilmember Klein asked Ms. McCown-Hawkes for a definition of
the phrase "Open Space Reserve."
Ms, McCowneHawkes Said the sequence of the -Commission's delibera-
tions and vote was whether the land should be developed, which
failed. Then the Commission discussed whether the land should he
dedicated for park use by the City, which also failed to gget. a
majority vote. She said that although the Commission did not
discuss what the zoning should be, the concept was probably
OS/ROS zoning, but that the City not pursue any development at
this time.
Linda Grandmaison, 2253 Park Boulevard, represented the Committee
for Green Foothills, and said that on December 7, 1981 when the
Tanning Commission's recommendation was first on the Council
agenda, the Committee submitted a statement to each Councilmember
in support of dedication to open space. She read a portion of
that statement submitted on December 7, 1981, which is on file in
the City Clerk's Office. She said the Committee for Green
Foothills urged the Council to approve the Planning Commission
recommendation and dedicate the 77 acre Arastra site as open
space as an option 3 of the summary report.
Irene Sampson, 3992 Bibbits Drive, represented the League of
Women Voters (LWV) of Palo Alto, and reiterated what was sub-
mitted by them on December 7, 1981, and which was also on file in
the City Clerk's Office. She said the LWV recommended develop-
ment of plan 1(b), 2, or 2(b), and although the LWV's position
had been retention of maximum possible open space in the
Foothills, they felt that 51 units, clustered on 77 or fewer
acres of a 515 acre. site retained a lot of open space. She
reminded the Council of the dangers of the recent extra amounts
of rainfall and any development of the Foothills, and urged that
the Council make sure that soil, landslide, earthquake and fire
hazards were carefully taken into account in consideration of any
development proposals in the Foothills. The LWV believed there
were other methods for the City to use to raise money to meet its
financial needs, but if sale for development of the 77 acres was
one of the methods selected by the Council, the. LWV hoped proper
use of the ;land, resource conservation,; and an innovative
approach to its development would ,be urged.
Rose Gray°, 1235 Hamilton Avenue, represented the Loma Prieto
Chapter of the Sierra Club, and said they had closely followed
the progress for the use of the Arastra lands. They were
involved in the ;initial meetings fir the use of that land and
contributed their input and views. She said the Sierra Club had
consistently suggested that the entire 550 acres be dedicated as
open space parkland, and firmly continued with that stand. The
Sierra Club believed that the best use for that land, as an
investment, would be to preserve it in its natural splendor for
the people of Palo Alto and they were pleased when 438 acres of
the Arastra land were set aside as dedicated parkland. The
Sierra Club urged that the Council make a commitment tonight
towards dedication of the 77 acre parcel of Arastra land as open
space parkland, which would set a precedent by preventing unnec-
essary expansion of development in the Foothills. The Sierra
Club thought it was -a unique opportunity to take a stand for
future generations.
Bob Moss,:4010 Orme, 'said he disagreed with Rose Gray. He said
he thought it was probable that after complete evaluation of the
77 acne site, the pros and cons of building, the problems of
access, etc. versus return to- the City, it would be dedicated as
parkland. He_supported the Plannipq Commission s three recom-
mendations because the City owned the property and would not be
faced with some developer coming around and asking for .4 subd ivi-
eton map.. He said there was a real need to involve the commu-
nity. He was disappointed at the lack of public input and corn-
ment at. the Planning Commission, and thought it was unfortunate
that the public did not come down and speak to the issue when it
had the opportunity, He thought an advisory vote would be help-
ful. Finally, he thought the public should be given the opportu-
nity to balance off the possible return for selling off part of
the land with the costs --was it worthwhile to get money back for
things like other school site acquisitions. The public had to be
convinced that the Council tooK due care and concern and used the
public's assets wisely, and since there was no urgency,. the
Council had time to think about it, get all the facts, get.. an
updated Livingston and Blaney equivalent report, look at it
again, and come back to the public with all the facts in hand to
decide intelligently.
Joe Hirsch, 4149 Georgia Avenue, said that as a member of the
Terrnan Working Group, he app)auded the action the Council took,.on
the Merman School Site. He thought it was a bold move and would
be remembered for years in Palo Alto. He was also concerned with
open space and enjoyed the open space in the Foothills., but
thought it was important to retain open space in the urban area
of Palo Alto. Accordingly, he thought- the action taken to date
by the Council was good, but suggested that it would be premature
to take any action on the remaining 77 acres at this time. He
thought it was necessary to view that property as an economic
asset that may have ,to be used in the future, and to retain the
flexibility and preserve the status quo. He agreed with .
I r.
Zaner's recommendations that should income from that property, be
needed to be available in the future; the Council should have the
opportunity to consider its sale for possible funding.
MOTION`: Councilmember Fletcher moved, seconded b;7 Eyerly,
approval of the Planning Commission recommendation 1) that the 77
acre Arastra site remain undeveloped in an opera space reserve for
the foreseeable future and that none of the development options.
presented be pursued, 2) that before possible sale of the 77 acre,
site, a citizen advisory vote be obtained; and 3) that if .devel-
opment should be considered, then development options 18, 2 and
28, ora combination 'of these twobe used.
Councilmember Fletcher said Palo Alto had taken. the lead in
acquiring open space for the 'purpose_ -of dedication to a permanent
state of open space, and she supported the acreage which had
already been dedicated. She said that this particular, parcel had
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potential at some time if it was ever needed by the City, and
she believed the Council should keep their options open. She
Said Proposition 1.3 was slow and Uneven in catching'up with
various jurisdictions. The State was ok for a while, and was now
starting to feel the crunch, and the county had very suddenly
felt the crunch this year, and Palo Alto could also feel the
effects of Proposition 13 at some time. The City had some expen-
sive long-range programs coming up which had to _be funded, such
as --finding an alternative to the garbage dump, other school
sites, and the Baylands Master Plan had to be developed. She
said there were various aspects of- City government where the
Council needed to keep all options open so that ways of dealing
with them could ebe found. When the Council had 'ssets like this
one, she wanted to keep them open as long as possible, and,maybe
they would never _.be needed. She said it would have to be a very
urgent need for her to approve building on that site. Regarding
the recommendation that before the land was developed that there
be an advisory hiote, -she was not sure.. the Council could' legally
advise itself on such a matter.
City Attorney Diane Lee said she thought the Council could
establish a policy, but a policy was not necessarily binding.
Councilmember Fletcher agreed with the remainder of the compo
nents of the Planning Commission's recommendations.
Counc lmember.Klein agreed with everything Councilmember Fletcher
said. He felt strongly about open space in the Foothills, but
thought the 77 acre site was in a different category. He thought
the Council should preserve its options for the future because it
might very well have to be sold He eras concerned about some of
the Planning Commission's wording because of the actions the
Council had already taken tonight. He thought it was premature
to yet as specific as to state which options the Council pre-
ferred now. He did not like the provision for the Citizens
Advisory vote because it was rather gratuitous at this time. He
was troubled by the phrase "open space reserve" when there was no
definition of that within the City.
MOTION: Councilmember Klein moved, seconded by Eyerly, for
1) that the 77 -acre Arastra site remain undeveloped at the
present time.
Vice Mayor Bechtel agreed that it was premature to discuss
development options at this point, and would oppose items 2) and
3) of -the Planning Commission recommendation. She said she would
support Councilmember Klein's motion.
Councilmember Cobb said he would support dedication of the 77
acres at this time.
Councilmember Levy agreed with Councilmembers Klein and Fletcher.
He thought the point was ' that :the Council did : not have to take
any action on the Planning Commission recommendations. He said
recommendation #1 said to, maintain the. status 'quo, which was his
desire. He said recommendations #2 and #3 were made by chi;
Planning Commission after due consideration and they would hold
when it ,came time to consider possible development. Since than.
was not being considered, he thought it was pointless ,in voting
on those recommendations.
Mayor Eyerly asked how it was possible to move dedication of the
entire property at this time with Councilmember Klein's motion
already on the floor.
City Attorney Diane tee said if he were to make the motion and
obtain: a second, the substitute -motion would take precedence, but
as Chairperson, Mayor Eyerly could arbitrate. She said the
Counci-l's rules and procedures left it to him to arbitrate the
confusing kinds of occurrences and deferred back to him,
SUBS'T`ITUTE MOTION: Councilmember Cobb moved, seconded by
Fazzino, to dedicate the 77 acre Arastra property as open space
parkland.
Councilmember lmember Fazzino said he would be restrained, but thought a
perfect title' for all of the words, meetings and reports on this
subject was "Paralysis Through Analysis." He was disappointed
that the Council did not make the decision to dedicate or build a
few months ago._ He was convinced that the Council would always
possess the same data to make an informed decision it had now,
and dish not need to waste $100,000. of taxpayers'. money for a con-
sultant report. He thought holding off on the dedication- as
recommended by the Planning Commission was to avoid dealing with
the obvious facts. He said before the Council finally concluded
the subject, it will probably. have spent the entire Arastra pure
_
chase price on new consultant reports. The Councilmembers must
decide whether potential development would contribute toward
elimination of the City's housing problem, whether they wished to
begin trading off one open space area to pay for another; with
the establishment of a very poor precedent where political power
was the most important ingredient for retention of park space in
a. particular area of town, whether the financial return given
probable development would help the City Purchase large numbers
of school sites, and whether the: infrastructure would support
housing development without taking away from the golden goose of
financial revenue to pay for schoo' sites. He thought all
answers were no, and asked that whether the Council supported
dedication or not, a decision be made now to get on with this
particular public policy issue, and move on to something else.
SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO DEDICATE FAILED by a vote eof 4-3 as
follows: •
AYES: Fazzino, Bechtel, Cobb
NOES: Eyerly, Fletcher, Klein, Levy
ABSENT: . Witherspoon, Menzel
Councilmember Cobb. commented regarding keeping the 7.7 acre
Arastra site in open space at this time, when the motion was made
at the Planning Commission, what they were trying to achieve was
that a firm statement be made that the property should stay in
open space and would only be -changed under very extraordinary
circumstances. The Commission tried to put some protections in
there so that the decision could not be made by some subsequent
Council in any kind of a cavalier manner, but rather with consid-
erable public control on i,t,: He asked if staff could advise him
of a gray to put those kinds -of feelings and controls in that
it would be more consistent with the City's zoning ordinance, and
if so, he would be pleased to pursue them. The Planning
Commission took a stab at it because they were trying to make it
clear that it should stay in open space and Council should make
it hard to change the decision.
Director of Planning and Community Environment Ken Schreiber said.
he thought the phrase "remain undeveloped" was a stronger state-
ment thaN citing a zone which allowed a range of developments.
1 6 4 4
1/25/82
Councilmember Klein said he thought the language was pretty
strong and he supported his motion.
MOTION TO RETAIN 77 ACRE SITE UNDEVELOPED AT_ PRESENT passed
unanimously, Witherspoon and Renzel absent.
MOTION TO TABLE : _ Councilmember Klein moved, -:seconded by Bechtel,
to table Items 2) and 3) of Planning Commission recommendations.
MOTIOU"PASSED by a vote of 6-1, Cobb voting "no," Witherspoon and
Renzel absent.
Vice Mayor Bechtel commended the consultants for their effort.
She knew they had spent a great deal of time, and reminded the
Council that in spite of the fact that she commended them for a
good report, she had not wanted to do the report in the _.first
place, and she hoped it would be filed and not used for a long
time.
siECESS FROM 9:15 p.n TO 9:48 a.m.
.... =..dam..
PUBLIC HEARING:' WEED ABATEMENT (CMR:118:2)
Mayor Eyerly read the following into the record:
"This is the time and . place set for a Public Hearing on
Resolution 5991 declaring weeds to be a nuisance. Let the record
show. that- notice of th-isa hearing has been given in the time,
manner and form provided for in Chapter 8.08 of the Palo Alto
Municipal Code. Ms. Tanner, have you received any written
objections. Hearing none, the. public hearing is declared open."
Receiving no requests to be heard, Mayor Eyerly declared the
public hearing closed, and stated:
"Let the record show that no one appeared or filed written
objections against these weed abatement proceedings, and that any
Resolution passed by the Council on this matter will reflect this
finding.. .
MOTION: Lounci lmember Fazzino moved, seconded ' by Klein, approval
of the resolution:
RESOLUTION 5991. entitled , "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF PALO ALTO. ORDERING WEED NUISANCE ABATED"'
MOTION PASSED. unanimously, Witherspoon and Renzel absent.
FINANCE - AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE UNAN ImOUSL Y RECOMMENDS TO THE
CITY` .CG(iNCT1 Rr 1.YTTtJN G THAT TFTF� CM OF PALO ALTO'
HE CCi
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Councilmember Fazzino said the Finance and Public Works Committee
(F&PW) was hopelessly split on the issue of collateral and
instead of moving ahead with a motion which would have been
defeated, the Committee decided to give the issue to the Council.
He said City staff felt the project was not acceptable under land
bank ; funds, and he felt they were talking about an ancillary use
to the housing, prpgram:_and indeed the money would be appropriate
and. that the Council should move ahead with $300,0)OO in that
way.
MOTION: Councilmember Fazzino for the Finance and Public Works
Committee moved that the City of Palo Alto re Lytton Gardens III
guarantee a =$300,000 loan to Lytton Gardens if they can provide
the collateral.,.
1
Mayor Lyerly reiterated there was a feeling within the Committee
that the motion was fine, but there was a split as to whether the
City should ask for collateral.
Vice_ Mayor Bechtel asked the representatives from Lytton Gardens
if they had managed to secure some form of collateral as dis-
cussed in the Committee session?
Horace Healey, 656 Lytton Avenue, representing Lytton Gardens,
said since the time Lytton Gardens had met with the F&PW
Committee, they had actively been involved in fund raising. He
said they had not secured any further line of credit than the one-
presented to the F&PW Committee. Lytton Gardens had raised about
$35,000 in additional funds which were cash gifts, and which
helped them as far as their fundraising was concerned and rein-
stated some- of the items- which were deleted, but they still tad -
quite a ways to go.
Mayor 'Lyerly asked Mr.. healey for his comments on why Lytton
Gardens had a $300,000 shortage, and how it affected their
ability to go ahead with the building on Lytton Gardens 111.
Mr. Healey said that when Lytton Gardens was initially prepared
to build the project, they had contractors' bids which came in
higher than their basic budget, and had to delete some items from.
their plan. He said they were_almost in a position to finance
the project, and then .received the restraining order which
required a four -month delay In reapplying for the building
permits, etc., which added another $150,000 to the construction
bid which was already in. Since that time, Lytton Gardens
received bids to ascertain how much it would cost to reinstate.
the items which were deleted in May in order to make the project
go. Lytton Gardens now estimated about another $1513-,000 of
increased costs to reinstate the items. He thought a conserva-
tive figure was that they needed at least $300,000 to reinstate
several key items. He said specifically, those related to fin-
ishing the adult health care center which was taken out of the
contract.
Mayor Eyerly commented that Lytton Gardens was on an ongoing fund
raising program and had done well; but due to the delay in Phase
11!, their fund raising was set on the back burner pending the
results of the restraining order.: He said Lytton Gardens' fund
raising was starting up again and had raised some money. He said
it was not easy, the program must be regenerated, and Lytton
Gardens had to commit themselves to properly complete Phase III.
He said Lytton Gardens could do it with a loan from the bank, and
could borrow the money at a much lower interest rate with a guar-
antee from the City than if they did it themselves. He said the
F&PW Committee recommended approval of the. $300,000 loan guar-
antee but had attached .the cont-i nyency, _.that. collateral must be
obtained from Lytton Gardens- to obtain the loan guarantee from
the' City.--- Mayor Eyerly 'thought that was. difficult, and 'it ewas
-practically as hard to obtain the collateral as the money. He
had no doubts- that. .Lytton Gardens would taste care of:enyeloaa
guarantee given by the City and take care of their loans from the
bank. Further, he s_a i d c.hey had done so with an $800,000 --loan a
couple of years ago which.: they paid off.
AMENDMENT: Mayor Eyerly moved, seconded by Levy, that the
collateral contingency beremovedfrom the loan guarantee.
Councilmember Fletcher said she would oppose the amendment with
reluctance because it was a sad case where an individual stepped-
in and hampered a project which was ready to go. Shethought the
project was worthy, but thought it was irresponsible for the City
to encumber itself with a. $300,000 budget amendment outside of
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the budget process, and was precedent setting as Councilmember
Levy had .said in the F&PW Committee meeting.' She said once the
Council did that, there were numerous other groups who had very
worthy causes and whose financial crunch was growing with the:
trend and the federal priorities for fundings. She thought it
was unwise for the City ,to come forth with a loan with, such a
high risk.
Councilmember Klein said it was with anguish that he felt
restrained to vote against the amendment. He said he was proud
of Lytton Gardens and hoped the project succeeded, but thoughte
the precedent was bad for the City. The City had not been part
of the project and it was beyond the Counci l's financial ability.
Although the City had participated to some limited degrees, but
here the Council was getting in the position where they were
unsecured and he did not think the City could take that kind of a
risk. He thought the Council had to draw the line and be tough.
He said it was unfortunate because all the organizations were
worthy, and it was hard to think of one that was more worthy than
Lytton Gardens, but it was not the Council`s field.
AMENDMENT FAILED by a vote of 5-2, Fazzino and Eyerly .voting.
"aye," Witherspoon and Renzel absent.
Mil; IOi4 PASSED unanimously, Witherspoon and Renzel absent.
EXTENSION FOR SIX MONTHS OF JOINT EXERCISE- OF POWERS AGREEMEN1 .,
NORTH SANTA CL RA COUNTY MUNICI AL S LID _WASTE MANAGEMENT
Councilmember Klein asked why the extension was for only six.
months rather than one year, and what financial impact would it
have on the project if the City assumed that the County was out
of the project on a permanent basis?
Director of Public Works, David Adams said that several members
of the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) Board felt it would be
inappropriate to extend the present form of the JPA longer than
six months. He said it was hoped that within the six-month
period, the JPA would be restructured and come up with one that
was. more suitable for continuing with whatever they decided to
continue. He said there -was- some discussion by some of the mem-
ber agencies .oft the JPA, concerning which direction they were
going. This provided a six-month period to re-examine that
direction-. He said if the City went with a project for consid-
eration and power production, the project would still be approxi-
mately the same cost and would come out of the garbage rates of
those who participated.
City Manager, Bill caner added that if the costs of the program
were based on the amount of solid waste contributed ' by each
agency into the refuse area or into a waste recovery plant, ,the
County's contribution was -very small compared to the total can-
tributiori--something on the order of six or seven percent. Even
if the County were to totally withdraw, it would leave, the County
with the problem .of what to do with their solid waste. He said
the financial implications would not be too bad --the cost would
be spread over the rest of the cities. Mr. Zaner regarded the
six-month extension as positive because it would give the City a,
chance to lobk'at what the JPA should look at in the future. He
said the present JPA was 'designed to do the preliminary studies,
not to operate and run a resource and recovery plant. He said
they hoped to look at that in the next six months and decide what
to do about restructuring it. He said it would have to come back
to the City Councils involved.
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Vice Mayor Bechtel said she understood that the County's portion
was based only on the unincorporated population,' based on the
1975 census, in the area covered by the JPA. Because many of the
areas that were included as unincorporated in 1975 were no longer
unincorporated, i.e., many portions of Mountain View and --
Sunnyvale which were annexed during the island annexatidn move::,,
she ethought the County's share would have decreased even more.
She thought- that with the change and in six -months down the line,
the basis upon which each entity made a contribution should be
updated and based on more recent data.
Mr. Adams said the contribution amount was a question to be
addressed. He said the- census had been corrected to the latest
one, which was presented to the Council last fail. He said a
challenge had been made of whether it was fair to charge by .popu-
lation versus the contribution to the garbage problem, which
would be addressed separately. For the study period, the.popula-
tion was felt to be a.fair''and equitable portion.
MOTION: Vice Mayor Bechtel moved, seconded by Klein, approval of
the agreement.
AGREEMENT TO EXTEND UNTIL JULY 1, 1982,
THE JOINT EXERCISE OF POWERS AGREEMENT -
NORTH SANTA CLARA COUNTY
MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
City Attorney Diane Lee commented that many of the .MOROA island
annexations referred to by Vice Mayor Bechtel had been challenged
in court and, therefore, for the purposes of calculating- the
contributions, they were still -included in the County.
Mayor Eyeriy said he had expressed concerns to Mr. Zaner that the
original JPA was signed on March 10, 1977, about five years ago,
and at that time, the City Council was concerned as to what time
parameters they were working. under for solid waste disposal and
what would happen out at the refuse area. He said those time
constraints had been narrowed down considerably, and he was con-
cerned that the JPA accomplish what it was set out to do in time
to preclude any raise in the dump. Knowing how difficult it was
to get cities to agree on JPA agreements, Mayor Eyerly felt that
if the JPA accomplished what they set out to do in six -months
time, he would be happy. He asked Mr. Zaner to provide the
Council with a short staff information sheet, so they would know
where they were on the JPA and the waste disposal problem.
Mr. Zaner said staff had put a note in the. Councilmembers'
packets that the JPA would have a major one -day briefing to bring
the Councilmembers up to date on what they had been doing. He
said staff would take the briefing material received by the
Councilmembers from the JPA and give them ,a Palo Al to view, so
that they could see how what the JPA was "doing fit. Palo Alto's
situation specifically. Mr. Zaner said a whole day would be.
spent on February 24, 1982, and hopefully every Councilmember
could attend. If a Councilmember could not spend a whole day,
they hoped they would spend at -least part of the day.
Councilmember Cobb asked if restructuring the JPA would get done
soon enough so that there would not be a last minute action to
take in May and June. He hoped the Council could anticipate time
to take a look at it before action.
Mr. Adams said he thought they would be = down_to the wire before
any restructuri nq was., presented.
He said the new general
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manager for the JPA, Tom Henderson, was working on it, and it was
the last item on his work agenda. He, said the Council may face
another extension while any details were ironed out, but they
hope to meet the target date of July 1.
JIOTiON PASSED unanimously, Witherspoon and Renzel absent.
Rt (ZEST OF COUNCILMEMBER FLETCHER RE RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION
t: YE
Councilmember Fletcher commended the volunteers who spent their
Christmas holiday painting the Southern Pacific depot buildings
along the peninsula. She urged that the ;cpu,ncilmembers go by the
California Avenue depot, and -said it was incredibly improved from
what it looked like before.
MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher moved, seconded by Fa'zino, that
staff be directed to prepare a resolution of appreciation for
February 1, 1982 to the volunteers of the "More than Meets_ the
Eye" Community Organization for outstanding public service in
taking responsibility for maintenance of local railway depots.
MOTION PASSED unanimously, Witherspoon and Renzel absent.
RE VEST OF MAYOR EYERLY RE RESOLUTION . OF APPRECIATION
u
q I LRS U SUI'LKki'JWL wit
Mayor . Eyerly felt that with Bill Walsh having been a Stanford
coach and with the 49"ers practicing, in neighboring Redwood City
and being a part of. the Bay Area community, a -resolution of
appreciation would be appropriate.
MOTION: Mayor- Eyerly moved, seconded by Klein, that, staff pre-
pare Resolution of Appreciation congratulating 49"er.s on Super -
bowl win.
Councilmember Levy said he had long held to a policy of not
voting on resolutions which did not affect Palo Alto-, and this
one did not. He felt staff had better things to do with their
time.
MOTION PASSED by a vote of €-O, Levy
Witherspoon and Renzel absent.
ADJOURNMENT
T
Council adjourned at -10:20 .m.
ATTEST:
APPROVED
Mayor.
participating,"
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