HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-02-22 City Council Summary Minutes1
ITEM
Approval of Minutes
January 18, 1982
January 25, 1982
CITY
COUNCIL
Minutes
CITYCe
DAIO
ALTO
Regular Meeting
Monday, February 22, 1982
PAGE
1 6 9 6
1 6 9 6
1 6 9 6
February 1,, 1982 1 6 9 6
Resolution of Appreciation for Adiai E. Stevenson 1 6.9 7
House
Consent Calendar 1 6 9-7
Action 1 6 9 7
Resolution re Housing Improvement Program and 1 6 9 7
Non -Profit Facility Program Income Guidelines
Revised 1982-83 Community Development Block 1 6 9 7
Grant Program
Ordinance re Transfer of Authority for Banner 1 6 9 8
Permits to inspectional Services (First Reading)
Ordinance re Council Salaries (First Reading) 1 6 9 8_
0rdinar.-ce re Vacancies on Boards and
Commissions (Second Reading)
Planning Commission and ARB Recommend Approval
of Hawley & Peterson Application for Site and
Design Review
Final Subdivision Map - 431-441 College Avenue
(Continued from 2)0/82)
PUBLIC HEARING: Planning Commission Recommendation
to,.Approve Appeal of Mr, and Mrs. Kenneth Allen and
Findings to _Support a Variance
PUBLIC HEARING: Planning Commission Recommendation
to Approve City of -Palo Alto Application for a Zone
Change for Parcel Nos. APN-120-16-30 and
APN-120-16-31
1 6 9 8
1 6 9 8
1 6 9 8
1 6 9 9
1 7 0 3
PUBL1C HARING: Planning Commission Recommendation 1 7 0.5
to Approve Application. of Gary- Meeker for an
Exception to Property at 4050 El Camino Real
Ordinance Re Resale Controls for Units Financed 1 :7 0 7
with Mortgage Revenue Bonds :(First Reading)
Developer Agreements for Mortgage Revkk,nue Bond
,Program
i 7 1 2
ITEM PAGE
Ural Communications
Palo Alto Yacht Harbor Dredging Time Extension
Request of Councilmember Fletcher re Wearing of
Stereo Headsets by Bicyclists
Request of Councilmember Cobb re Biographical
Information Form for Appointed Boards and
Commissions
Request of Councilmember Renzel re Protection
of Palo Alto's Ground Water Quality
Cancellation of March 1, 1982 City Council
Meeting
Council Adjourned to Executive Session
Adjournment
1 7 1 2
1 7 1 3
1 7 1 5
1 7 1 6
1 7 1 6
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1 7 1 8
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2/22/82
Regular Meeting
Monday, February 22, 1982
The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in
the Council Chambers at City :a11, 250 Hamilton Avenue, at 7:30
p.m.
PRESENT: Bechtel, Cobb, Eyerly, Fazzino, Fletcher, Klein,
Levy, Witherspoon, leenzel
Mayor Eyerly announced the need for an Executive Session
regarding litigation to be held during the Council recess.
MINUTES OF JANUARY 18 1982
Counc i l member Fletcher had the following correction
Pa.ye 1603, fifth paragraph from the bottom, second to last line;
"come out in the black," should read "come out in the red."
MOTION: Councilrnember_Cobb moved, seconded by Fletcher, approval
of the Minutes of January 18, 1982 as corrected.
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
MINUTES OF JANUARY 25 1982
Councilrnember Klein had the following correction:
Page 1639, sixth line from the bottom, delete the words, "some
type of an emergency."
MOTION: Councilrneniber Klein moved, seconded Witherspoon,
approval of the Minutes of January 25, 1982 as corrected.
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 1 1982
�rrn.urorn esr..n�rrrrr�.ry.aa �ap.�s^sn�eaRr®7�
Councilmember Fletcher had the following corrections:
Pace 1663, fourth paragraph from the bottom, first sentence, the
quote should read, . "The types of development occurring are pre-,
dominantly yeneral business office/financial services which have
occupant intensity and day time duration characteristics more
severe than usually associated with retail areas."
Paye 1669, fourth paragraph, last line, "good service" should
read "good transit service"
MOTION: Counci lniember Fazzino moved, seconded by Renzel,
approval of the Minutes of. February 1, 1982 as corrected.
MOTION PASSED unanimously,
Vice Mayor Bechtel commended City Clerk Ann Tanner and the,: staff
person doing the work . for providing the Council with such.
up-to-date Minutes. She said that as of this meeting they - were
only one meeting behind on the Minutes and she thought that was
marvelous.
RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR ADLAI E. STEVENSON HOUSE
MOTION Mayor Eyerly moved, seconded by Levy, approval of the
resolution of appreciation.
RESOLUTION 6000 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF PALO ALTO EXPRESSING ITS APPRECIATION TO
ADLAI E. STEVENSON HOUSE FOR THEIR FOURTEEN YEARS OF
SERVICE TO SENIOR C[TIZENS IN THE COMMUNITY
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
Mayor Eyerly presented the resolution
Carr.
appreciation to. Ray
Mr. Carr expressed his thanks on behalf of the residents, of
Stevenson House and the Board. He said that they were starting a
fund raising campaign to build a fund to supplement the costs for
some people who could not afford it. Stevenson House could not
get any more Section 8 or Housing subsidies, and they were trying
to build a fund in order to use the interest to help those people
and to do some more rehabilitation work. He said that the
residents had given them a check for $1,600.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilmember Klein- advised that he would not participate on Item
9, Approval of Hawley & Peterson's_ application, because Hawley
and Peterson were clients of his firm.
Vice Mayor Bechtel removed Items 5 and 7 relating to the Mortgage
Revenue Bond Proyram.
Councilmember Levy asked to be recorded as voting "no" on Item 5,
Council Salaries.
Councilmember Renzel asked to be recorded as "abstaining" on item
5, Council Salaries.
MOTION: Councilmember Witherspoon moved, seconded by Cobb,
approval of the Consent Calendar as amended.
HOUSING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND NON-PROFIT FACILITY PROGRAM
1�4:
Staff recommends that Council adopt the new income figures for
both the Housing Improvement Program and Non -Profit Facility
Rehabilitation Program for establishing income limits for
eligibility to participate in the programs.
RESOLUTION 6001 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF PALO ALTO ESTABLISHING INCOME FOR RECIPI-
ENTS OF LOANS UNDER THE HOUSING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND
THE NON-PROFIT FACILITY REHABILITATION PROGRAM"
REVISED 1982-83 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize staff to include
the changes reflected in CMR 149:2 Lo the 1982-83 CDBG program to
be submitted to kUD.
TRANSFER Of AUTHORITY FOR BANNER PERMITS FROM SUPPORT SERVICES
10E —Pt l IllTJEPAR;MtN1
(CMR :146:2 )
Staff recommends approval of the ordinance. -
ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING SECTIONS
9.48.010 AND 16-.20-.110 OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE
TO TRANSFER AUTHORITY FOR ISSUANCE OF BANNER PERMITS
FROM CHIEF OF POLICE TO THE CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL"
ORDINANCE RE COUNCIL SALARIES
ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING SECTION
2.04.395 OF THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH
COUNCILMEMBERS SALARIES AT $400 PER MONTH FOR ALL
COUNCILMEMBERS"
1
ORDINANCE RE AMENDMENT TO CODE RE VACANCIES ON BOARDS
COMMISSIONS
AND
ORDINANCE 3333 entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF _PALO ALTO AMENDING CHAPTER 2.18, CHAPTER
2,20, CHAPTER 2.22, CHAPTER _16.48 AND CHAPTER 16.49 OF
THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROVIDE FOR AN EXTENDED
FILING PERIOD IN _ ILLING VACANCIES ON CITY BOARDS AND
COMMISSIONS AND TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR FILLING
VACANCIES ON THE HISTORIC RESOURCES BOARD (1st Reading
-2/1/82, Passed 8-0, Renzel absent)
PLANNING COMMISSION BY A VOTE OF 5 IN FAVOR, 1 ABSTENTION, AND
L
U
MOTION PASSED unanimously with Levy voting "no," and Renzel
"abstaining" on Item 5, Council salaries, Klein "not
participating" on Item 9, Application of Hawley & Peterson.
AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS
City Manager Bill Zaner announced that Items 6 and 7, regarding
Mortgage Revenue Bonds, would become Items 13-A and 13-B,
respectively.
FINAL SUBDIVISION MAP - 431-441 COLLEGE AVENUE CONTINUED. FROM
€1: I S :
Staff recommends approval of the final map.
MOTION: Counci lmeinber Klein roved, seconded by Fazzino, approval
of the final subdivision map.
Counciimember.. Fazzino said he understood that the subject parcel
which was located in Evergreen Park was officially being called
College Terraces.
Mayor Eyerly . asked if the subdivision map called the parcel`
College Terrace.
Chief Planning Official Bruce: Freeland said that the name of the
proposed subdivision was purely the developer's option and of no
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2/22/82
official consequence.
Councilrnember Fazzino commented that the name College Terraces
was an incorrect characterization. He strongly encouraged staff
to make his comments and concerns known to the developer.
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING: PLANNING COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS
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IriMirMATIAME To- mlin A SECUND ST0RY'AiDDI iJN rOT PitOPERTf
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Chief .P -fanning Official Bruce Freeland commented that the appli-
cation was for a variance which was originally denied by the
Zoning Administrator. The Planning Commission recommended that
the City Council reverse that derision and grant the variance.
He said that staff had reviewed the case, and it was their
opinion that the Zoning Administrator had made the correct deci-
sion. He said it was a house with a somewhat unique circumstance
in the flag lot configuration of the property. It was a large
piece of property, and in staff's opinion, the key issue had to
do with the second required variance finding about hardships. He
said it was a case where it was quite clear that an addition
could be built to the house, and the issue would be which addi-
tion of the potential alternatives that could be designed should
be approved. He said that the applicants had designed a handsome
second floor addition in the proposed concept, and staff did not
dispute that. Staff was concerned that there could have been
other second float additions or ground floor additions which
could have been designed for the property which would have fully
conformed to the zoning. He said the issue on which staff would
like the Council to focus had to do with whether preference for a
particular design or expression or convenience of the owners
could rise to the level of hardship. Staff could not find that
hardship in this case.
Planning Commission Chairperson Jean McCown-Hawkes said that the
Planning Commission was able to make the second finding. She
concurred with Mr. Freeland's comments that basically the Zoning
Administrator and the Planning Commission were in agreement on
the existence of exceptional and extraordinary -circumstances on
the property and the fact that granting the variance would not be
detrimental to any surrounding properties. She pointed out that
the exceptional, circumstance was the existence of a flag lot
driveway which pushed the property line for the Allen's property
within three feet of their house . rather than 15 feet away as it
would have been before the flag lot. She said the Commission
felt that granting the variance would be appropriate to avoid
unnecessary hardship because even though it w.as a large piece of
property, there were several large well -established trees to the
rear of the property which significantly impacted the ability to
construct.a ground level expansion of the main residence, and the
issue of the second story addition was such that the second story
addition would have to be built not directly above the first.
floor main bearing wall. The Commission felt that the require-
ment that.. something be built no.t above the first floor load
bearing wall would be an unnecessary hardship. She said that the
_problem the Planning Commission struggled with on _ the variance
requirements related to whether one could .properly consider the
improvements, that is, the characteristics of the house as a part
of the analysis to make the findings. She pointed out_that the
Planning Commission had, in its meeting of last week,- made a
recommendation that the Zoning Ordinance- be modified with respect
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2/22/82
to the definition of "property," which came into play in the
variance findings so that the improvements on property, as well
'as the physicial characteristics of the real property, could be`
considered in making the findings. She said the Commission
believed that a variance would be appropriate in that situation.
Vice Mayor Bechtel asked what the area of the second_ floor addi-
tion would -be if it were to meet the setback and daylight plane
requirements.
Mr. Freeland responded that the applicant had presented a drawing
to the Planning Commission which showed what a second floor addi-
tion, which conformed, to the zoning, would be like,- and deferred
to the applicants who would make a presentation.
Councilfnefnber Cobb asked that the applicant speak to the -'uestion
of the cost trade offs between building over a load bearine wall
as opposed to not being able to build over the load bearing
wall,
-Mayor Eyerly declared the public hearing open.
Susan Ailen, 3784 Grove, the applicant said that there was 32
feet between their house and the next building, and in between
was the flay lot _driveway. She said that there •was plenty Of
room for daylight and fire trucks or for the other reasons that
the daylight plane was enacted. She showed a slide of a home
close to hers which was the most similar, but pointed out that
the difference was that the driveway was an easement rather than
the rear lot owning the driveway, which reflected special circum-
stances in her opinion. She urged the Council to approve the
Planning Commission recommendation.
Mayor Eyerly declared the public hearing closed.
Cooncilmernber Fletcher said that when considering an application
such as this, the prime importance to her was whether granting
the variance was detrimental to Palo Alto or to the neighborhood
or even to the immediate neighbors. She realized that that was
not one of the legal findings, but the judgment still had to be
made on whether it was of benefit. In this case, she felt that
it overwhelmingly was. She said the Planning Commission was able
to make the findings.
MOTION: Councilfaember Fletcher moved, seconded by Cobb, approval
of the appeal of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Allen from the decision of
the 7onine Administrator with findings: (1) There are exceptional
or extraordinary circumstances or conditions 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 , preservation and enjoyment of a -substantial property
right of the applicant and to prevent unreasonable 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.
Councilmember Fletcher thought the situation was unusual in that
the property line was " moved on paper, but in essence it was not.
She pointed out that it was a technicality rather than a physi-
eal change which took place, and that the ,driveway acted as a
buffer and met the intent of the zoning ordinance without meeting
the actual specifics
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2/22/82
1
Councilmeinber Witherspoon thought that the application was
another , exampl a .why the Council needed to consider redesigning
the required findings for situations like it. She thought that
the Council and the Planning Commission expressed that the pre-
sent requirements created a straitjacket for the City. She
thought that as long as the requirements existed, the Zoning
Administrator, Planning` Commission and the City Council must
uphold -them. She symphathized`with the fact that the variance
would .benefit the neighborhood; but since she had to -sit on the
quasi-judicial proceeding and make findings, and since she could
not make all three of the findings, she felt required to vote
against the motion. She:urged that the Council ascertain exactly
what they were trying to accomplish in the daylight plane and to
provide some.legal loopholes in the findings process with which
they could address the extraordinary situations.
Councilmember Fenzel ageed with Councilmember Witherspoon that
the Council had findings: that they -..had to cake. She thought
staff and the applicant had demonstrated that it was possible to
make the addition without invading the daylight plane. She come
mented that the lot was 11,392 square feet with a second unit on
it, and while it cor!tributed to Palo Alto's housing supply, it
was available to the homeowner. She pointed out that the subdi-
vision that created the lot lines took place over 20 years ago,
and presumably the applicant was aware of the lot line when they
purchased the house. She said they did not have to go into their
rear yard and could still go up. She felt that while the height
parameter was called the "daylight plane" it was intended to con-
trol the mass and the scale of buildings, to provide fire protec-
tion and a variety of other factors as well as to control the
daylight. She could not make the findings because of the
extraordinary size of the lot a;id the other options available . to
the landowner.
Counci lmeinber Levy said he was inclined to grant the variance,
and thought that a hardship would be imposed if the variance were
not granted. One alternative was to ask the owners to do away.
with the dwelling unit on their property, and he thought the
dwelling unit served a favorable purpose which was consonant with
what the Council was trying to accomplish in Palo; Alto, and to
destroy it would be a hardship not only to the property owner,
but to the community. .,.Another alternative was to ask the prop-
erty owner to destroy several trees including two large fig
trees, which he thought was contrary to what the City Council was
trying to accomplish. The third alternative was to build on the
second _story in a way which would not be as aesthetically satis-
factory as the one planned and which would be a disservice to the
neighborhood. He pointed out that another hardship was the, con-
figuration of the flay lot driveway and the fact that they were
only three feet from the lot line. The driveway there could only
serve as a driveway, and nothing could ,be built upon it whether
it took the form of being part of the flag lot itself or an ease-
ment to the flag lot. He thought the purpose of the daylight
plane was so that houses were not side by side with each other.
intruding on the living space of_- adjacent houses. He felt that
this -house, because of the driveway next to it, did not intrude
on the living ,space of the neighbor. He felt that in terms of
the .mass and; scale, if the Council did not allow the applicants
to go up', but rather insisted thaw they go _.,out because of the.
nature of the, sot, they would have to build an unusually shaped
ground floor addition which would, be less favorable in terms of
both mass and scale than allowing the intrusion -requested on the
second floor. He thought that _ in this particular case allowing
the variance was best for the community as:' a whole.
1
Vice Mayor Bechtel said she read the same set of extensive
minutes and the extensive staff report, and she visited the prop-
erty from the front. She said that in 1978 a different Zoning
Administrator looked at the same set of plans and denied the same
application. The applicants resubmitted an almost identical
application, and the new Zoning Administrator again denied the
application. She concurred with the Zoning Administrator --it was
a large piece o1 property and a fairly large addition. - To
restrict them and not approve the variance would allow them,
instead of a 1,023 square foot -second floor addition, an appruxi
niately 900 square foot addition. She thought it was a large
addition --a 12 x 19 foot master bedroom and several 12 x 12 rooms
and eliminating 128 square feet would not take -away a substantial
property right. She would not support the motion.
Ccuncilmember Fazzino felt the situation was a classic one where
City laws were sometimes completely divorced from reality. He
was upset that the Zoning Administrator denied the application,
and felt that the Council would start to see a lot .of similar
cases. unless the overall problem was dealt with. , He said he had
always judged --variances on the basis of neighborhood support, the
issue of enjoyment of property rights, and how a variance would
fit into the entire site. He thought it was clear that a vari-
ance was necessary to preserve the second dwelling, the open
nature of the site, and the trees. He would support the motion.
Councilmember Klein did not like to see the Council having to
grant variances and he hoped a procedure could he developed
whereby it would not be necessary for tie Council to hear too
many variance proposals. He had agonized over this variance, and
would vote in favor of it. As he read the minutes, he felt that
Finding #1 was conceded by the Loningg Administrator. To him, the
key was Finding #2, "Would denial of the request for variance
result in an unreasonable property loss or unnecessary hardship."
He thought it would and the best evidence given of that _fact was
the designs presented. He felt that the designs,, which would give
the applicants the equivalent amount of ,pace were substantially
less desirable than the one the applicant was requesting. He
thought denying the variance would also create a hardship to the
City because everyone had a stake in producing housing which was
as attractive as possible, and he thought that could be best
accomplished by granting the variance as requested.
Mayor Eyerly said he had heard: that the Planning Commission was
ready to make a suer recommendation concerning the daylight plane.
He said his decision would rest uporyswhate decision the Planning
_Commission made, and deferred to --staff for -comment.
Chief, Planning Official Bruce Freeland responded that there were
two different proposals from the Planning Commission dealing, with
the issue of variances for R-1 districts. The first was -that
where- the 'daylight plane no* starts at 10 feet in the air, it
would start at 12 feet in the ;air ---:the additional two .feet Cor-
responded to :the variety of existing . configurations of houses
which had had second floor addit.ions.put on recently. He:said re
the additional -two feet would not help the particular variance
which was for a six foot intrusion ninto the daylight plane The
second provision would be. a.::definitional change-;.of the word
"property" in the findings ,"to include land, improvements, and
incidental improvenients - Hof al 1,: --sorts on the property, which would
Rake it much easier to find exceptional circumstances -in the
future. Ae .said that even with the -change' iri definitions, staff
still ._questioned this particuiar aiplication.
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2/22/82
Planning Commission Chairperson Jean McCown-Hawkes said
third recommendation related to building a second floor
above the first floor even if it was in the sideyard
which was somewhat related to the problem.
that the
addition
setback,
Mr. Freeland said that was correct, but since it would still be
constrained by the daylight plane, it would not solve the problem
in that particular case.
Mayor Eyerly commented that when the flag lot was created, it had
to have a driveway for access, which changed the property line
for that piece of property. He said that when the City granted
the flag lot, it divided a piece of property; and in return, the
driveway was created which created a new property line. The
request for variance asked that the old property line be con-
sidered in order to accomplish what they were asking. He felt
that according to'what Mr. Freeland had said, the proposed recom-
mendations regarding the changes in the daylight plane still
would not accomplish what the applicant- desired. He would vote
against the motion.
Councilmember Renzei thought it was important for the Council to
remember whenever it considered a variance on a lot which was
11,392 square feet, it was not necessarily the only variance
which would ever be requested nor the only addition ever made.
She felt that within a given lot, the parameters were set for
what could be built, and when the Council allowed a variance into
a portion of the lot without restricting a comparable portion
'somewhere else, they were allowing more development on a given
lot than what would otherwise be, allowed under the zoning ordi-
nance.
MOTION PASSED by a vote of 5-4 as follows
AYES: Fazzino, Fletcher, Cobb, Klein, Levy
NOES: Renzel, Bechtel, Eyerly, Witherspoon
PUBLIC HEARING: PLANNING COMMISSION, BY A VOTE OF 4 IN FAVOR, 2
STEHTIO
li
G Lill
Zoning Administrator Robert Brown said that the -rezoning action
would complete _the property transfer between the City -of Palo
Alto and Northern .Cal ifor nia Savings which wzs initiated in -June,
1981.
Mayor Eyerly declared the public hearing open. Receiving. no
requests from the public to speak, Mayor Eyerly declared the pub-
lic hearing closed.
MOTION,: Counci.lrnember Klein moved, seconded by Witherspoon, ;to
adopt the Planning Commission recommendation with findings, and
introduced the following ordinance for first reading:
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
MAP) . TO CHANGE THE , CLASS I F I CAT ION OF PROPERTY KNOWN AS
PARCEL A (PARKING LOT ; E) FROM PF TO CC(P) AND: PARCEL 6
(630-636 GILMAN) FROM CC TO PF"
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Counci liner ber Renzel asked if there was anything which prevented
Northern ` California Savings. (NCS) fror!ae developing the property
into commercial, or if there were any plans to develop the prop-
erty adjacent to,Northern California Savings on Bryant Street.
Mr. Freeland said there was nothing to prohibit development of
the property, and staff was not aware pf any plans. Staff felt
that Northern California Savings wanted the parkiny for their
customers, but ay making` a-- larger contiguous area also in the CC
zone, they had a developable piece of property if they wished.
Councilmember Renzel said that some years ago a height variance
was granted for the Northern California Savings building, and in
conjunction with that, a restriction was placed on the lot at the
corner of Gilman and Hamilton. The addition was never added, and
she wondered if the restriction was ever placed into effect.
Mre Brown responded that ttivt ees correct. If a- variance was not
activated within one year by construction, both the variance and
any unposed conditions became null and void.
Counciimeniber Renzel asked if the property could retain a zoning
such as PF and the parking continue to be a legal use within the
zone,
_Mr. Freeland said that the PF district was intended to apply to
public property. This was not public property, and he .saw no
basis for retaining the PF zone. He said the area was designated
on the Cemprehens i ve Plan for commercial use, and it would be an
unreasonable constraint to retain the property for public use.
City Attorney Diane Lee felt that because the property was in the
parking assessment district it enjoyed the same benefits as other
properties in that district. She did not feel the City could.
unduly burden that property more than the others. She felt Mr.
Freeland was correct that PF zoning was for Public facilities,
and that this was not a pubi_ic facility= If the City wanted to
continue to zone the property PF, it could create some legal
problems down the roach.
Mayor Eyerly,said that although he -would support the Motion, when
the original recommendation of staff to exchange the properties
-with no charge to Northern California Savings was presented, he
voted against it. He "felt that what had happened was that the
City had -enhanced the NCS property, and instead of having two
separate pieces of property, they had been joined together and
now NCS had a more viable option for development. He felt that
was not What - the Council or the staff had An mind originally on
the switch. 1He hoped that if NCS ever came. in for a building
permit, the minutes -would be urfacede. and that the eCouncil at
that time would. strongly survey `what was requested in view of the
way the properties were joined.
Counc i lmember Levy said he had voted i n favor: of the swap and was
now embarrassed that he did. He had not realized the'element of
enhancement taking place since the talk was completely about the
convenience of the property as a parking lot. He, said that
didn't mean there was any _ other thought in mind now, but clearly
the city was making the property more _valuable for development.
He asked staff if the City had any other alternatives --if there
was another zone which would be proper, or any other action.
Mr. Freeland said the Comprehensive Plan clearly designated the
property as commercial --the same as the rest of the downtown.
1 7.0.4
2/22/82
Mr. Freeland felt that short of renegotiating the land transfer
and putting the parcels back, there were little options under the
present Comprehensive Plan. If the Council wanted to change the
Comprehensive Plan, -he did not know what it could be changed to
that would be reasonable. He said that block was looked at and
there were some multi -family ,designations nearby, but not con-
tiguous. He recognized the dilemma, but given the fact that the
property was transferred, thi,i Comprehensive Plan designation was
clear and the CC zoning followed.
SUSS T ITUTE MOTION: Councilmember Levy moved, seconded by Renzel,
to continue the item to l_,March 15 and that staff report back on
alternative land use, and contact Northern California Savings &
Loan to see what they would be agreeable to.
Councilmember Renzel asked that staff explore the possibility of
renegotiating the exchange because she had not supported the
exchange -when it occurredeand felt the City had substituted_ a
less advantageously situated parking lot for NCS in order to
allow them to consolidate their parking and failed to look at the
overall ramifications. She was interested in whether a neighbor-
hood commercial zone would be appropriate.
SUBSTITUTE MOTION PASSED unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING: PLANNING COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS
APPR
L
HE Z O U I N tG O R
T T MT 7I TCNfit :3 5U :` J
Planning Commission Chairperson Jean McCown-Hawkes said that the
Planning Commission discussed this matter at length, and the
basic recommendation was to allow a 257year extension to make its
life compatible with the Veterinary Hospital and which would make
all the properties available for multiple family development at
the end of the 25.. years. She said the Commission had discussed
staff's recommendation that the corrugated building at the rear
of the parcel was a less desirable feature of the property and
that consideration be given for requiring that it be removed by
1993. The minutes reflected that there was concern about what
would happen in 1993 because the property owner indicated that he
would not be willing to remove the building,- and if it happened,
the flower shop use . would not be able to continue after 1993.
She said a motion was ma4 which included a condition that the
corrugated building be removed in .1993 which failed by a vote of
3-3. The Commission recommended the extension for both _the
f toWere shop in the front and the corrugated building in the rear
with the condition that if the rear building was used for . any-
thing other than in conjunction with the flower shop, the exten-
sion would 'be terminated. Unfortunately, that required some
enforcement by the City, bute it was the Commission's best attempt
at getting around. the problem of whether the building could ever
be -used for anything other than in conjunction with the flower
shop.
Councilrhember Renzel asked that if no extension were granted,
what option was available to the current landowner and the cur-
rent f aci 1 i ty.
Principal pianner George Zimmerman said that . the landowner could
stile continue with the retail flower shop use until 1993.
According to the non -conforming use termination provisions in the
Zoning Ordinance, under certain conditions, they could switch to
an equally intensive ; or ,less_ intensive non -conforming use between
now and 1993, which would be subject to Conditions out l ined - in
1
the Zoning Ordinance and subject
Building Official.
approval of the Chief
Councilmember Renzel asked if by granting the extension, the
options in the interim period were narrowed.
Mr. Zimmerman said that the;. options in the interim period were
not really narrowed, but there was a provision in the non-
conforming use provisions that if an extension or exception were
granted, and during the interim period they reverted to another
equally intensive or less intensive non -conforming use, the
termination extension or exception provisions were exempted, and
the subsequent non -conforming use was subject to termination in
1993.
Councilmember Renzel felt that if the City's nabjectiVe in the
long-term was to achieve residential development on those sites,
i t would be reasonable to require that the corrugated building be
removed in 1993 as part of the extension. If the owner chose not
to opt for that, it was the owner's privilege. She thought the
City could require that the building be terminated, but that the
flower use -could continue 'until the adjacent property was also
available.
Mayor Eyerly said he understood from the. Planning Commission
Minutes that it was decided to leave -the corrugated .building
because it would work in conjunction with the flower use. If the
flower use faded away, the owner would not have any options
regarding the corrugated building. He said that as it presently
stood the building had to stay 'as a flower use until 2018, and
the corrugated building must be used for a similar use.
Mayor Eyerly declared the public hearing open.
Gary Meeker, 4050 El Camino Real, the applicant and tenant, said
his family had operated lanai Flowers at its present location
since 1951.` He said it was important to the future of their
business that they be granted the 25 -year extension. .He said
that with respect to the corrugated building, before the Panning
Commission's last meeting they: contacted all of the residents of
the _townhouses in the complex behind them asking for their
opinion as to the building, and if screening it by landscaping
along .the southside would .be. an acceptable and sufficient solu-
tion t.o any visual _problems with the building.: He said they had
received 22 responses all of which stated that landscaping along
that side would be a sufficient: -solutions Fie said that to his
knowledge there were no negative responses with respect 'to his
business or the property in general. The adjacent parcel, 11
Camino Veterinary was granted a 25 -year extension, and he hoped
he would be allowed the same period of time.
Mayor zyerly declared the public hearing closed,:
MOTION:.. Councilmember Cobb moved, seconded by Fazzino, ..to adopt
the Planning Commission recommendation to approve the application
et Gary Meeker for a 25 -year extension to the toning Ordinance's
Non -Conforming Use Termination Provisions for property located at
405U El Camino Real with the following findings to support the
25 -year extension: (1) That continuation of a retail flower shop
use at this site until June 20, 2018 when the adjacent El Camino
Veterinary Hospital must also terminate, would not impede resi-
dential development of the surrounding area; (2) That continua-
tion of this retail flower shop use ;would not resol t in any
inJreased adverse environmental impacts such as noise,'air pollu-
tion or traffic; (3) That rcontinuation of the retail flower_ shop
1 7 0 6
2/22/82
1
1
1
use beyond_ its current termination date of July 20, 1993 may
'impede one of the major proposals specified in the Comprehensive
plan, i.e., to'chanye this section of El Camino Real fromservice
commercial uses --to multiple family residential uses. However in
this finding, staff found that given the 'smal l area of the site,
its limited access to El Camino Real and its proximity to El
Camino Veterinary. Hospital which can continue until July 20,
2013, it is unlikely that housing would be developed on this site
until the adjacent El Camino Veterinary hospital site becomes
residential in use;. (4) That the corrugated steel storage
building located in the rear of the parcel and which is accessory
to the retail flower._ shop. use is visually Incompatible with the
adjacent Villas de las Plazas townhouses, but that this visual
incompatibility _can be successfully mitigated if -a) the corru-
gated steel storage building" is painted, and b) a landscaped .bdf-
fer is planted between the storage building and the wall abutting
the Villas de las Plazas common area so that the storage building
will not be visible from the adjacent residential areas.
Councilmeniber Cobb complimented the Planning "Commission on
creating what he considered to be a good compromise soiuticn to
the problem of allowing Mr. Meeker's business to continue' by
tying the back building's use to the life of the flower shop in
front. He responded to Counci lmernber Renzel's remarks that if
the City's goal was to encourage housing on this site eventually,
he thought that to take the corrugated building out without the
front piece of property would not give the City a very nice
housino development, and that tying the two uses together was
logical and proper.
Mayor Eyerly said that there were no alternatives in view of the
fact that the Veterinary Hospital was given a 25 -year eXtens ion.
He was disappointed that the extension was not given originally.
MOTION PASSED unanimously;
ORDINANCE RE RESALE CONTROLS FOR UNITS FINANCED WITH MORTGAGE
Councilmember Levy asked City Attorney Diane Lee if he could par-
ticipate on this Item. He _recalled that he had not participated
originally; but after reviewing the matter again, he did not see
that it directly conflicted with his employment.
City Attorney Diane Lee said she saw no problem with Council -
member Levy's voting on the ordinance.
Vice Mayor Bechtel said she . removed the matter from the Consent
Calendar because after her conversations with members of the Palo
Alto Housing Corporation Board and staff, she would propose minor
changes to the ordinance. She said that page 2 of the Ordinance
contained a definition for "Median household income." She recom-
mended ° ;that "Median household income"- be deleted; Item (3 )
"Qualified buyer" would become (2) and would be rewritten to
read, "Qualified Buyer" meansa person or persons whose household
income does not exceed that max imUm income , established for a
person r� o persons who qualify to obtain a housing unit in the
City of Palo Alto Below' Market Rate Program and is otherwise
eligible under said program." She said that "otherwise eligible"
included such items as living in Palo Alto or working in Palo
Alto. It also included the present, income restrictions. She
thauoht this would make the program the same kind of program as
the below -market -rate (BMR) program.
7 0 7.
2/22/82
Vice Mayor Bechtel said she thought that for clarification the
title for Section 9.70.030 should be Resale Controls for units
originally financed with mortgage revenue .bonds; and, under
Item (1), the beginning. of the second line, the word "originally'
should_ be inserted. She said that under Item (2), fifth line,
after "units," insert the word "originally." Under Section (3),
the way the program worked was that a sel 1 er,- under the mortgage
revenue bond program, offered his property first to the City of
Palo Alto, or its designee, who in this case would be the Housing
Corporation, and the Housing Corporation would be obligated to
find a- buyer, within sixty days. She thought that was restric-
tive and did not provide much time to find a buyer. She said
staff and the' Housing Corporation were being optimistic and
thought they could meet that obligation in sixty days, but after
further discussion it was: felt that ninety days Would be more
appropriate and . would allow more flexibility. In Section (3),
line 2, word .''sixty" would be changed to "ninety"; and-, line 5,
word "sixty" would -be changed to "ninety." She said. the ordi-
nance was prepared at Council's request last December; and-, at
that- time, there was some discussion about whether the Oak Creek
conversion units should be included in the Mortgage Revenue' Bond
financing. She said the Oak Creek units were the only ones
presently part of the program which were not BMR units as were
the others in PaloeAlto's package. She said 35 units that were
BIER units were being constructed in some projects' already
approved as Well as the Housing Corporation's Project which was
in the -process of receiving Architectural Review Board (ARB)
approval. • She said this was to insure that someone who was able
to purchase property would not receive a windfall if his loan
were not assumed. If it were a mortgage revenue bond and the
property was sold several years later to someone else who assumed
the same loan, in order to assume the loan, the new buyer would
have to meet the 'same restrictions as the first buyer, i.e.,
first time homebuyer or not buying within three years, as well as
the sale price and the income limitations. She said this would
keep the same restrictions for those units that would not be an
assumed loan.
MOTION: Vice Mayor Bechtel introduced the following ordinance
for first reading and moved, seconded by Renzel, its approval
with amendments: ?
ORDINANCE FOR FIRST READING entitled "ORDINANCE OF THE
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO ADDING CHAPTER 9.70
TO THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH RESALE
CONTROLS FOR UNITS FINANCED WITH MORTGAGE REVENUE BOND
PROCEEDS"
AMENDMENT: Delete Section 9.70.020(2), "Median household
income" and substitute "(2) 'Qualified buyer` means a person or
persons whose household income does not exceed the maximum
income established for a person or persons who qualify to obtain
a housing unit in the City of Palo Alto Below Market Rate
Program and is otherwise eligible under said program." Title
for Section 9.70.030 be changed to read "Resale Controls for
Units Originally Financed with Mortgage Revenue Bonds"; and,
under 9.70.030(1) , line 2, the word "originally" be inserted
-before the word.. °"financed." Under Section 9.7.0..030(2) fifth
line, insert the word "originally" after the word "units."
Section' 9.70.030(3), line 2, the , word 'sixty' be changed to
"ninety"; and in line a, the word "sixty" be changed to
"ninety."
City Attorney Diane Lee said that in terms of the staff report,
her office listened to the tape and read the minutes to make
sure they were proposing the appropriate resale controls. She
said that based on. the motion and its proximity to suggestions,
staff understood Council's direction to- be to draft an ordinance
which proposed a limitation on the resale to be 90% of the
average area home price, and the qualifications of the buyer to
be 120% of the median county income. She said she had run into
a snag known as "the rule against restraints on alienation"
while drafting the ordinance which required that a provision for
right of first refusal to the City be inserted as opposed to
just blanket restrictions, which required the administering
agency such as the Housing Corporation. -- When Staff got into
discussions with the Housing Corporation, they requested certain
changes in the ordinance relating to what the appropriate resale
price would be and who a, qualified buyer would be. She said
they were somewhat concerned about deviating- too far from
Council's direction which was why Vice Mayor Bechtel made the
recommendations directly to the Council.
Councilrnember Levy asked for clarification that the restrictions
would be in the deed conveying title for the property and Would
run with the land for thirty years, and that the owner of -the
property at the end of thirty years was free to resell the prop-
erty at market rates, and would be the one to reap the market
wi ndfa l -1 .
Ms. Lee said that was correct and was a term of the mortgage
revenue bond.
Counci l meiirber Witherspoon commented that the Report from City
Attorney mentioned that the resale unit must be owner occupied.
She asked if that meant that the unit could be rented for any
period of time.
Planner Glenn Miller responded that: under the City's Below
Market RatePrograrn there was a possibility that a unit could be
rented upon acceptance from the City Manager of the City of Palo
Alto which had occurred in one BMR unit where there was an
extraordinary case where a person needed to be away for a short
period of Lime.
Vice Mayor Bechtel said that at the end of the new 9.70.020(2)
".,.and is otherwise eligible under said Program would include
the restriction of using the unit as the owner's principal place
of residence.
Ms. Lee said that the staff report had addressed the ordinance
as it appeared in the packet. She said there was language con-
tained under "qualified buyer" which read, "...who intends to
use the dwelling unit as his or her principal place of resi-
dence." The staff report did not apply to the particular amend-
ments before the Council this evening.
Scott Carey, 1180 University, Palo Alto, said that they would not
proceed with the revenue bonds with the resale constraints
because it would not allow them to honor a right of first
refusal .with someone else. He said that the way the ordinance
was worded, the City got the right of first refusal on those
units and determined who would purchase.
Councilmesrber slain was concerned because his recollection was
that the Council had made it clear that Oak . Creek would be
included and that the the right of first -refusal for:, limited
profits on resale would also be`included. He suggested that
whether to include Oak Creek be continued.
Ms. Lee pointed out that a blanket ordinance was before the
Council that applied to everyone except Oak Creek that came
within the City's terms. If the Council did not wish to have
1 7 0 9
2/22/82
ordinance apply to Oak Cree
adopted.
then the ordinance- should not be
Mr. Miller said they were told by the County that the City
needed to have developer agreements approved by the City tonight
with all: constraints to be included within the developer agree-
ment by February 26.
Cooncilmember Fletcher said she thought the agreement with
Stanford was limited to 200 units, an.d asked Mr. Carey for
clarification.
Mr. Carey responr':ed that Stanford had an option to initially
acquire 200_units outright. With respect to other sales,'there
would .be an equivalent of the right of first refusal on other
units which: would conflict with the language in the proposed
motion.
Councilmember Renzel said she understood from the last time. Mr.
Carey Was before the Council,' that -the conversion _would not go
forward without the mortgage financing.
Mr. Carey responded that he had said he did not know if the con-
version would go forward even if the mortgage revenue bond
financing was available. He said it would 'help, but was not a
cure to all the problems.
Councilmember Renzel felt that the Council was put in the posi-
tion that since concerns were raised with respect to the fact
that Mr. Carey had already made interest rate guarantees to the
people to whom he was selling that the mortgage revenue bond
rates were higher but would simply buy down the market rate for
his purposes. She was concerned before because in this. instance
the subsidy was not needed to go to the people who were the
buyers because they already had ae guaranteed subsidy. It was
competing with other possible units for the mortgage revenue
moneys which was why she moved to incorporate the resale con_
trots. She thought it was very clear at that time that it was
specifically related to Oak Creek since the other applicants
from within Palo Alto were the Housing Corporation who already
had the resale restrictions on their units.
Mr. Carey said Oak Creek Associates was not competing for the
bond money and if another project came forward that needed Oak
Creek's bond money, he thought it should be given to the other
project because it was not certain that the Oak Creek Conversion.
would actually go through.
Vice Mayor Bechtel said she thought that Mr. Carey was_ concerned
about the right of first refusal, and the-. income restrictions,
which was a percentage increase equal to the increase in the
average area purchase price, which might not be that severe a
restriction. She agreed with Mr. Carey that the issue of the
right of "first refusal was not discussed at the December 21,
meeting —that it was something the City Attorney discovered
would be necessary in order to make the bond financing legal.
She asked if it would be possible for the City to have another
designee, i.e. Stanford.
Counci lrember Levy said that, as he read item #7, which was the
ilevel oiler Agreements . for Mortgage Revenue Bond Program it indi-
cated that the program would not go ahead on the mid -March
target date , if a mortgage rate of approximately 14% was not
obtainable. Heasked if ..the mortgage rate was 2% above what the.
bond rate was likely to Je.
Mr. Miller responded that it .was more like 1%. The limitations
of the law required about 1%, but it was irrelevant from the
County's standpoint because they wanted the City to move from a
conservative standpoint that it could sell as soon as all thee
cities had approved the Developer Agreements. He said there was
no way of knowing what the bond market would be like from day to
day. He .said the County- intended to go ahead and market the
bonds within two weeks, which was not rational by looking at the
bond market right now.
Mr. Carey was concerned that subsection 4.05.€ of the Developer
Agreements stated that the developer must offer the units to
first-time homebuyers on a first corne first serve basis. He
commented that by State law they must ofer the eunits to the
tenant in possession, and therefore, it was net truly a. first
come first serve basis.. He wanted assurances that the statutory
requirements and tentative map conditions superseded that para-
graph. Further, regarding the qualification that a buyer must
be a "first-time home buyer," he specifically recollected the
discussion and that that qualification was. a "first-time home
buyer within the last .three years."
RECESS FROM 9:35 p.m. TO 9:50 p.in.4
;Cit.y.Manager Bill Laner said that the issue was a question of
the ordinance. Mr. Carey Andicated that hP would prefer eo see
the designee listed in the ordinance itself named as Stanford.
Mr. Laner said staff could not recommend that, and recommended
that the ordinance be adopted as presented which would give the
City ar its designee, the .right of first refusal-. He said the
designee was to be decided by the City Council in a formal
action. He pointed ont that Mr. Carey was free to come back to
the- Council and recommend a designee for the Council to choose,
but that the Council would not be required to accept that recom-
mendation . and could designate whoever they chose. He recom-
mended that :.the Council adopt the ordinance as presented, and
that the Developer Agreements be adopted subject to any minor
chanyes'the City Attorney might approve.
Vice Mayor Bechtel thanked staff for taking the time to meet
with Mr. Carey. She asked how long Mr. Carey or his associates
had had the copy of the proposed ordinance prior to this
meeting.
Mr. Carey responded that the packet he received included the
Developer Agreement and staff report, but did not include a copy
of the proposed ordinance. He said he first saw the ordinance
tonight. He said if Council chose to pass the ordinance, as
written, he would probably come back before the bonds were
issued and request- that a designee be appointed.
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
.,Counci lmember Renzel commented that as far as she .was concerned,
,f..tanford had already, made agreements to purchase 200 of the
units; and, if Stanford was sincere about acquiring those. 200
units, perhaps ',hey would release Mr. Carey from his obligations
to give them ri jht of first refusal on all the remaining units
at least with regard to those financed through mortgage revenue
bonds. She hoped that would be subject to some negotiations
between Mt`. Carey -and Stanford.
DEVELOPER AGREEMENTS FOR MORTGAGE REVENUE BOND PROGRAM - RE'UEST
City Planner Glenn Miller pointed out that the Mayor would be
authorized to sign the agreements when the developers and the
County had signed the agreement which would be when the bond
market was favorable to an issue.
Vice Mayor Bechtel pointed out that there were.two agreements.
The first one was for the Housing Corporation, and the second
one was for Oak Creek. She said the end ndf the second agree-
ment; under Exhibit "B," it paid that "...the City's resale con-
trol if applicable," and clarified that it would be the ordte
Trance just adopted by the Council for first reading when it was
appropriately drafted to fit_ into the spot. She .removed - the
item frrim the Consent Calendar because this could not be adopted
before the other was discussed.
MOTION:. Vice Mayor Bechtel moved, seconded by Fletcher,
approval of the developer agreements, and that the Mayor be
authorized to execute the two agreements after execution by the
approved developers and the County, subject to minor changes
approved by the City Attorney, and stiff to draft resale
restrictions to conform with .the ordinance.
DEVELOPER. AGREEMENT - Mortgage Revenue: Bond Program
Palo Alto Housing Corporation/County of Santa Clara
1
DEVELOPER AGREEMENT - Mortgage Revenue Bond Program
Oak Creek Associates/County of Santa Clara
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
Councilmember Levy said that in Item 13-A, he objected to the
element which stated that the restrictions would run with the
land for a period of thirty years, which meant that the property
owner who owned the unit at the end of thirty years would be
able. to resell it on the open market without any restrictions.
Since restrictions applied when the owner bought it, there could
be a speculative profit made because that person - -was the owner
at the end, of thirty years. He thought that could be taken care
of by saying that the restrictions would run :for a period
extending through the owner as .of thirty years, whichlieant that
the owner would also -be subject to the same restrictions that he
too would have to offer the City the rU nt-_ of first refusal .on
the same basis as previous owners had. L He thought. that would
allow the City . to have the' right of .first refusal on the
property after the mortgage expired and the City -could reoffer,
the property °an any basis it felt was appropriate..
MOTION: Councilmember Levy moved, seconded by Fletcher,
reconsider Item 13-A.
MOTION FAILED by a vote of 3-6, Levy, Eyerl y, - F1 etcher voting
"aye."
Mayor Eyerly said he would permit a citizen who had arrived late::
to speak under Oral Communications atthis time.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Melanie Villafana, 425 High Street, said she had complained
previously --:-about the Palo Alto Police Department and her
automobile. She said she _`'found, her car and explained that to
the police officers, .who was going to send, her a letter
stating that she had found her own car, and including all the
particulars. As of this date, she had received no letter from
the Palo Alto Police Department.
City ManayereBil1 Zanee commented that staff would have a writ-
ten report in the next .packet responding to Ms. Villafana's com-
ments'. He indicated that Palo Alto Police Department officers
had been in touch with Ms. Villafana's attorney, and that the
vehicle's whereabouts was known. He said the autornobi 1 e had a
Mechanic's lien on it, and that the City had no authority to
pick it up.
PALO ALTO YACHT HARBOR DREDGING TIME EXTENSION (CMR j 53:2)
fr
Director . of Public Works David Adams said that the Palo- Alto
Harbor Association had asked for a twoemOnth extension because
they were held back due to weather. He said staff .felt the
request was reasonable, and BCDC indicated that they would make
an extension to the permit if the Council_ agreed it was
reasonable,
Counci lrcienrber Renzel said the staff report indicated that 35,000
cubic yards were removed from Yacht Harbor Point, and asked for
clarification that the end of the contract called for removal of
mud at Yacht Harbor Point, or was it expected that more mud
would be removed from Yacht Harbor Point to complete. the 50,000
cubic yards,
Mr. Adams responded that the City had the obligation to make
sufficient room to excavate approximately 50,00.0 cubic yards.
He said the City was stopped from completing the excavation
because of weather, but that there was sufficient room for the
Harbor Association to start the dredging. Staff _decided it was
best for the dredging to commence and that the City may. have to
remove more as the work progressed. He said the contract was
terminated, and that a new contract would be needed.
Counci1nember Renzel asked for clarification that the extension
was just for this year and next year, and subsequently the
Schedule would be l iraited'to the August 1 to March 1 period of
time. Since the Yacht Club had purchased their own dredge, she
asked if the City could change the period of time for the final
three years to September 1 , since the period was moved back to
August to accommodate the Use of the Santa Cruz dredge which was
not now at issue.
Mr. Adams said .that could be addressed, but that the City would
have to deal with BCDC. He said staff could work with BCDC
staff and the County to see what could be worked out.
MOTION: Counci lmember Renzel moved, seconded by 'Klein, to grant
an extension of two months for the current period and corres-
pondingly shortening next year, and in subsequent years dredging
to start on September 1 and end on March 1.
Counci l meriber Witherspoon asked for clarification that the
reason for the delay was because the City was not . able to exca-
vate Yacht Harbor Point and not because the Yacht Harbor
Association had any problem.
Mr. Adams said that isas correct, and that the City'
the weather.
Mary, McLean, 645 College, said that as the Council looked into
the two -month extension because of the weather, she hoped .that
the Council would be alerted that wet Bay mud had been deposited
on the road leading out to the ramp, which was within. the first
week of dredging_. She was- concerned how it would be enforced --
if there was money available from the County for the enforcement
or was the City going to do something about it.
Mr. Adams responded that the City had been- in touch with the
Countyy, and the County had been asked to clean it up.. They said
they would to the best of their ability.
Counci lmernber Renzel commented that she .was concerned that the
County goofed because In 1969 they had also goofed' and filled
the same area. She said they were required to remove the mud
and -should have known better particularly since there was such
sensitivity and concern expressed at the time the permit was
granted by the City.
John F. Walker, 19375 Greenwood Circle, Cupertino, President of
the --Palo Alto Harbor Association, said he was confused in terns
of the move to dredge in the future from September 1 rather than
August 1. He said that the length of time they had originally
planned to dredge, from August 1 until March 1, was good because,
it allowed the .required work to be done and the mud could dry .in
the middle of the surr,mer. He said that if another month was
lost, at the end of five years, the entire project would not be
accomplished.
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
Mayor Eyerly commented that the Council was aware of the mud
dumped on the marshlands by the County in error, which had been
done before. He said it was a sensitive area environmentally,
and it seemed that what should not happen could not be pre-
cluded.- He said that in investigating the- contract, the city
had no administrative control, and that if the City did have
some administrative control, perhaps some things could be
precluded.
MOTION: Mayor Eyerly moved, seconded by Renzel, to direct staff
to attempt to gain administrator control of dredging operations
either by County or by the Harbor Association.
Mr. Walker commented that the mud which was on the road had been
placed there by someone working on the road. He said that what
the Harbor Association was doing would not put mud on the road.
MOTION PASSED unanimously..
Councilrrember Renzel asked if, aside from the financial implica-
tions there were any major problems with the City trying to
bring the road back into the City's purview on the lease rather
than being in the County's leasehold so that ,the road could be
properly maintained by the City.. She ,thought it was unlikely
tnat within the _ next five years the County would have the money
to expend to properly maintain the road.
Mayor Lyerly said - ,he. was contemplating a meeting with some of
the staff concerning the Baylands and areas of concern` of which
the road was one. After 'the information was obtained from
staff, some of the Councilmemberc might be in a position to
-agendize the matter for proper discussion.
1 7 1 4
2/22/82
Mr. Zaner responded that Mr, Adams had almost put together the
final draft of the CIP and in the process had prepared a compre-
hensive overview Of the entire Baylands project. He said that
staff now knew..what it looked like spread out over=a number of
years, and it Might be appropriate to have a short work session
where Mr. Adams and his staff could crime in and refresh the
Councilmembers' memories and lay out what was planned in she
Baylands, what the steps were as perceived by staff, and how 'the
financing might work.
Mr. Zaner responded to Councilmember Renzel's question, and said
he did not think there were any financial problems, and he
thought the County would love to give the City the road back
immediately, but he Would rather have an instruction from the
Council to start insisting that the County uphold its
responsibility for maintenance of the roadway and parking lots.
MOTION: Councilmember Renzel moved, seconded by Fletcher, to
direct staff to urge County to uphold its commitment to maintain
the roadway and parking lots.
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
RE BEST OF COUNCILMEM Ft ETCHER RE WEARING OF STEREO HEADSETS
BY
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Councilmember Fletcher said- that what triggered the agenda • item
was a letter from Diane Lewiston, -who said the matter was
brought up before the PTA and many members were concerned about
the increasing trend to ride -around on bicycles with headsets.
She felt that it made sense that bicyclists should be inc uded
in the prohibition, along with motorists, who were already
banned from wearing headsets while driving an automobile.
MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher coved, seconded by Levy, that
the Mayor send a letter to our legislative representatives
urging legislation to prohibit the wearing of headsets by
bicyclists while using the roadways.
Diana Lewiston, 1849 Newell, said she received a letter from
Captain T. D. Star of the California Highway Patrol (CHP), who
advised that the CHP's official position was that the CHP had
also observed an increase in the wearing of the headsets by
bicyclists and pedestrians. He said that as part of his unit's
responsibility they monitored accident trends and searched for
the reasons for their occurrence. The CHP agreed that there
appeared to be an increase in the use of stereo headsets by
bicyclists and pedestrians, and that his staff had examined
recent accidents reported in California to ascertain if such
headset use had created a safety problem. He said the CHP was
unable to show:a relationship between the headsets and traffic
safety at this 'point. He said they would continue to monitor
headset use and would support new legislation if such a rela-
tionship could be established. Ms. Lewiston felt that the "wait
and see" attitude was improper because under the, California
Vehicle Code bicyclists enjoyed the same rights and responsi-
bilities on the roadways as motorists, and if stereo headsets
were deemed hazardous enough to . be banned r from ;motor vehicle
operatcrs, she thought the same factors that made them undesir-
able -for motorists also made them undesirable for bicyclists.
She wondered how many police officers ; would note whether stereo
headsets were worn at the time of an accident because it was not
an observation required as mart of, the standard accident form.
She felt there was a need, . for the legislation without waiting
for accident data to substantiate the need.. She said she, would
appreciate the Council's statement in support of legislation to
change the California Vehicle Code to include bicyclists in a
law banning the. wearing of stereo headsets.
Councilor ember Levy supported the motion and urged that the
Council communicate with their Assemblymen and with their
Senators while they still had one.
Vice Mayor Bechtel said she agreed that when the headsets were
on loud there was no way someone could hear another sound, but
when they were soft, one could definitely hear. She was con-
cerned . that there would be a problem of enforcement with such a
law, and asked if skateboarders, rollerskaters ,ors pedestrians
would be prohibited from wearing headsets. She was not sure
where the line would be drawn. She applauded_ Ms. Lewiston's
concern and warning, and:thought that there was no question that
they were unsafe if turned up loudly.
Councilthernber Renzel said she supported the motion.
Counci l rie;nbe r Fazzino said he thought Diane . Lewiston and
.Counci lmember Fletcher had satisfactorily stated the case. He
was symphathetic to Vice Mayor Bechtel's commentse and could
remember the human cry a couple of years ago about whether
motorcyclists shoOld be forced to wea'={ helmets. His reaction
was that if they did have an accident, they would be scraped off
the sidewalk and public funds would have to be used to do it,
and, therefore, it became a public issue. He: thought that to a
less gory degree, the argument applied here also. He thought it
was reasonable, given the safety factors, to broaden the law
which now applied to vehicles to include bicyclists.
MOTION PASSED by a vote of 6-3, Bechtel, Cobb, Witherspoon
voting "no."
RE JEST OF CQLJNCILMEMBER COBB RE BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION FORM
PROCEDURES co 1Mr TEE FcyRFt$RTJ
Co.uncilmemoer Cobb said he wanted to see the City obtain a
little more information about persons who applied for -the Boards
and. Commissions. He thought the existing form tended to give
insufficient data to make a choice truly open to everyone
including persons unknown to the Council or --people who had not
surfaced in town previously.
MOTION: Councilrnember Cobb moved, seconded by Fazzino, to refer
the Biographical Information Form for Appointed Boards and
Commissions to the Policy and Procedures Committee for the
February 23, 198? meeting.
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
RE UEST OF COLINCILM .MBER RLNLEL RE, PROTECTION OF PALO ALTO'S
Councilmember Renzel commented that it was reported in the news-
paper that one well was contaminated with trichlor.oethylene and
provided each Counci lmember with a copy of a campus report of an
article' with respect to contamination of ground water. She said
it was a _ serious problem nationwide, but was reaching closer to
h orne
1 7 1 6
2/22/82
MOTION: Councilmember Renzel moved-, seconded -by Bechtel, for
staff to report on how the City monitors the safety and security
of chemical storage in Palo Alto and whether the City has a
regular program of ground water monitoring to detect the intru-
sion of poisonous —chemicals before the_. water is permanently con-
taminated and include investigation of underground storage..
Councilmember Fletcher•'said she was alarmed when she read the
reports in the paper and called Alan Henderson, Chairman of the
State Water Quality Control Board. He advised her that they
were looking into the problem and had set up a Committee to con-
centrate on it and develop new controls. He also pointed out a
possible conflict in the manner in which the storage was desired
to be kept by the various regulating bodies. Councilmember
Fletcher said that the Palo -Alto Fire Department was one that
regulated storage of chemicals and their emphasis was on the
prevention of explosions and fires and, therefore, preferred to
have the chemicals stored underground. She said that the Water
Quality Control Board preferred to have those types of facili-
ties stored above ground because of the. possibility of contami-
nation and especially because it was difficult to know when a
Teak occurred until after the damage was done, and would be
easier to detect above ground. She desired that when staff
prepared the report to Council that they coordinate with Alan
Henderson to ascertain what was being done at the regional
level.
Councilmember Renzel pointed out that she had been told that
some of the solvents evaporated through plastic containers and
were not properly stored. She presumed that the companies were
aware of that fact, but thought it was important to look .at some
u pects that traditionally were not looked at.
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
CANCELLATION OF COUNCIL MEETING OF MARCH 1 1982
Mayor Eyerly said that with the number of Councilmembers
attending the National League of Cities meeting in Washington
Monday, March 1, the regular Council meeting needed to be
cancelled,.
MOTION: Mayor Eyerly moved, seconded by Levy, cancellation of
Council meeting of March 1, 1982,
MOTION PASSED unanimously.
Councilmember Fazzino said that Colonel Walter Gaspar, Mayor of
Palo Alto from 1948 to 1951:::had passed away. He said Mr. Gaspar
was greatly responsible for the development of the City's first
',significant Master Plan in 1Q48 and was involved in the
establishment of the City Management form of government in 1950,
and was the one who personally selected Jerry Keasley who was
then in Stockton to be Palo Alto's first City Manager. Further,
he lead the effort in 1951 to annex most of the area in Palo
Alto south of Oregon. After _ leaving the City Council, Col.
Gaspar served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for
four years. Councilmember Fazzirro thought it was interesting
that .,Col. Gaspar's natural leadership ability was demonstrated
by the. fact that he was elected as Mayor only one year after
being el eeted to the Council in 1947.
ADJOURNMENT.. TO EXECUTIVE SESSION AT- 1.}:45 p.m.
FINAL ADJOURNMENT
Council adjourned at 10:50 p.m. in memory of former Mayor Walter.
Gaspar.
ATTEST:
City_ Ci erV
APPROVED: