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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-10-04 City Council Summary Minutes1 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES' CITY OF PALO ALTO Regular Meeting Monday, October 4, 1982 ITEM PAGE Oral Communications 2 5 6 6 Consent Calendar 2 5 6 7 Action 2 5 6 7 Item #2, Palo Alto Humane Society 2 5 6 7 Item #3, Animal Shelter Rehabilitation 2 5 6 7 and Quarantine Room - Project 80-11 Item #4, Professional Services of Health Resource Coordinator - Contract Renewal Item #5, Amendment to Election Sign Ordinance (2nd Reading) Agenda Changes, Additions and Deletions Item 15-A (Old Item #1), Resolution re Palo Al to Jaycees -° Item •6, Public Hearing: Community Development Block Grant Progress Report Item #7, Policy and Procedures Committee Recommendation re Age Discrimination in Housing ITEM #8, Finance and Public Works Committee' Recommendation re Portion of Baylands Nature Preserve Being Named in Honor. of Harriet Mundy Marsh Item #9, Planning Commission Recommendation re Employment Intensification Item #10, Parking, Grocery:.5tore and Retail Complex - Parking Lots S and L - Conceptual Approval Item #11, ,Cancellation of Council Meeting of October 18, 1982 It** •12, Countilmember Witherspoon , re Hetch Hetchy Tour Adjournment 25 6 7 2 5 6 7. 2 5 6 8 2 5 6 8 2 5 6 8 2 5 6 9 2 5 7 3 2 5 7 4 2 5 7 4 2 5 8 0, 2 5 8 0 2 5 6 5 10/4/82 Regular Meeting Monday, October 4, 1982 The City, Council of the City of Palo Al to met on this date in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, at 7:30 p.m., Vice Mayor Bechtel presiding. PRESENT: Bechtel, Cobb, Fazzi -no, Fletcher, Klein, Levy (arrived at 7:31 p.m.), Renzel, Witherspoon ABSENT: Eyerly ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 1. Dr. Harvey K. Roth, 3422 Kenneth Drive, apologized for taking so much Council time regarding the alcoholic beverage labeling and memorial izati on. He read a letter from Allstate which is on file in the City Clerk's office. Vice Mayor Bechtel said there was no question that the entire Council was concerned about the problem of drunk driving. There was some question about whether the Council was the appropriate body to deal with labeling of alcoholic beverages. 2. Ptah X Si ki Ronald Francis Bennett, 524 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, said he appeared before the City Council about a month ago with a statement that he .was building "The Gates of Heaven" alongside his house and that the sculpture would be available for sale to the City of Palo Al to for $15,000 . His sculpture was apparently illegal because he was arrested last Wednesday and held in Palo Alto for 28 hours. His gesture of sale of "The Gates of Heaven" was only to the City of Palo Alto, and the sculpture was not otherwise for sale. He could not understand the weight being pushed on him for trying to bear the truth about the mother and father of humankind. 3 Glenn Affleck, 3830 May Court, said he resided at his home for 17 years, and the vacant lot next to him was zoned R-1. The vacant 1 of now had a si gn whi ch read "Future Si te--Sol ar Electric Power System," and the stream of construction and spectators had made the court into a busy place. The neigh- bors looked forward to someone building on that lot, but were not prepared for the 4,600 square foot building now being con- structed. The neighbors thought that the City's zoning and building codes would protect them. from anything objectionable and would provide homogeneous kinds of things in areas of the City. Each day the construction progressed, the-_neighborhors becaie more alarmed. He was concerned about two particular, code violations with a primary effect on him. About two feet of the property was filled in with compacted fill, - and when the house was built, the foundation was uptwo feet. When the dirt was pushed over to fill, it would be two feet on his fence. He was advised by the building inspector that a retaining wall would have to be constructed. A two foot retaining wall would be necessary ' to hold the dirt. He was concerned that the six foot fence on his side would • become a four foot fence on Ws neighbors and _the privacy of his six foot fence would be lost. It the neighbor put up a six foot fence : on hi s si de, it would; be an eight foot fence on Mr. Afflecks side, and he would be deprived of sunlight for his trees and garden. 'He thought it was incorrect to have the foundation abovethe original. grade._ Further, he said huge laminated : beams appeared last weekwhich were two and one-half feet from the property line, -- As he read the building code, the closest ` they , could,' come to the property - line was four feet. He asked the City Council why the City's ,building codes were not being enforced. Vice Mayor Bechtel advised that the City Council was unable to take action under 0ra1 Communications, but requested that staff report back to Mr. Affleck. 1 Councilmember Fazzino said Mr. Affleck raised some series issues, and asked that a. copy of the staff report be given to Council- members in next week's packet. 4. Jon Parsons, 323 Maclane, invited the Council , on behalf of the Palo Alto Civic League, to a forum to be held entitled "Palo Al to Cable Television --Who Should Own It and Who Should Control It." It would begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 6, in the Jordan Middle School Cafetorium located at the corner of M1dd:l.efie? di,and C4ti,fornia :f011 o►yi,rng an , intro- ducti on by Mike Omen of the Stanford table. Tel,evisi on Task Force, there would be presentations and rebuttals by Bi l i Zane'', John Kelly on behalf of the :Cable Communications Co-op and Jerry Yanovitz of the California Cable Television Associ a- ,tion on behalf of the private sector. The question and answer period would c$ncl ude the evening., and it should prove to be entertaining and informative. CONSENT CALENDAR Vice Mayor Bechtel removed Item #3., Resolution re ' Palo Alto Jaycees, to become Item 5-A. MOTION: Coancilmember Klein moved, seconded by Witherspoon, approval of the Consent Calendar as amended. ITEM #2, PALO ALTO HUMANE SOCIETY (CMR:516:2) Staff recommends that the Council authorize the Mayor to sign the contract with the Palo Alto Humane Society. AGREEMENT - AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO CONTRACT NO. 4130 Palo Alto Humane Society - Fiscal Year 1982-83 ITEM #3, ANIMAL SHELTER REHABILITATION AND UARA'NTINE ROOM - In accordance with procedures set forth in Section 2.30.080(c)) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code, staff recommends that Council reject all bids for the Animal Shelter Rehabilitation and Quarantine Room Addition Project. ITEM #4 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES OF HEALTH RESOURCE COORDINATOR - tOM1 RAtT RENEWAL l M : 5U?: Z l It is recommended that the Police Department Stress Management program continue. The program would be monitored and properly evaluated. The merits of its continued success could then be based on its demonstrated cost-effectiveness to the entire City. Staff further recommended that. Council authorize the Mayor to execute an agreement with Mr., Ray Launier, effective October 1, 1902 to June 30, 1983, to continue professional services designed to reduce stress -related disabilities in the. Police Department. Sufficient - funding not to exceed $12,500 was included in the 1982-83. Police DepartMeot _Budget for the program..: AGREEMENT,- _POLICE STRESS MANAGEMENT Ray Limier iTEM DMENT TO ELECTION_ SIGN ORDI ANCE (2nd Redding) OR 'DANCE . 3394 entitled "OII$I NANGE - OF THE COHIICIL; OF ALO ALTO AMENDI MG ; TOE -;. PROIe1 SI0NS OF :: THE IEELBIMG `REGOLATIONS; ANO ",DECI.A*IU A* EMENGE1CT" (1st *Wing, 9/20/82, Passed 8-09 E7erly : absent) MOTION PASSED unanimously, Eberly absent. AGENDA CHANGES, ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS Item #1, Resolution re Palo Alto Jaycees became Item 5-A. Councilmember Witherspoon added Item #12, re Hetch Uetchy. WELCOME TO BOY SCOUTS. Yice eMayor Bechtel welcomed a Boy Scout Troop with former Couheilmember John Berwald. ITEM #5-A FOLD ITEM #1 , RESOLUTION RE PALO ALTO JAYCEES MOTION: Comucilmember Fazzino moved, seconded, by Cobb, approval of the resolution. RESOLUTION 6070 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL PALO ALTO ENDORSING THE RIGHT OF THE PALS ALTO JAYCEES TO CONTINUE TO BE A JAYCEE CHAPTER AND TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AS WELL AS MEN AND PROCLAIMING NOVEMBER 15., 1982 AS PALO ALTO JAYCEES' DAY' MOTION PASSED unanimously, Eyerly absent. Yice Mayor Bechtel presented the framed resolution to Steve Posner. Steve Posner accepted the resolution and thanked the Council.'' He said the Palo Alto Jaycees appreciated the Council support. He advised the Council that the Palo Alto Jaycees served the U. S. Jaycees with a summons to appear in front of the Honorable J. Barton Phelps in the Superior Court of the State of California on October 25. Judge Phelps would be asked to enforce the injunction he ordered in. 1981. On November 13, the Palo Alto Jaycees were sponsoring, a Thanksgiving party in celebration of Palo Alto Jaycees' Day to whieh`he invited the 'City Council 'and staff. ITEM #6, PUBLIC HEARING: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT - Yice Mayor Bechtel said the report outlined the progress on Cobmuni ty.- Ueve1 opment Block Grant (CDBG) funded activities for the 1981--82 and 1982-83 program years. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations require 'that the progress report be reviewed by Council at.e formal public_ :hearing prior to planning the 1983-84 CDBG --Program. The report --was reviewed .and approved by the Citizens' Advisory Committee: She was very impressed with the variety of activities .that Palo Alto was involved with using the CDBG funds. Counci lrember Fazzino. complimented Glenn MI.i ler on the excellence of the ..report. Mr. Mi-1 i er had administered the program` for a couple of years and always presented the Council with the right information to make a decision and had done- an outstanding job of getting the citizens involved with the program. :_ -He He said $300,00 was mentioned as revol vine, -back into the loan.. fund_ through. repayments `:and interest .and he asked how the repayment program ewas going. eHeHwas specifically= interested in whether` payment= were made on time and the delinquency`rratek City Planner Gl enp Miller re$p9nde4 ytOit 'one' or t ?o `loans had been delinquent," but_ these were suCteisfuil.y worked around. ARproxie meltely 4465,000 tee $70e09.0_would. ,, be : coming back yedrl.y in repay ments -oi`: loans which would `keep- an ongoing ,seepiy of funds for :a;, small po,rtiQn.;of.. heycos% o.f:.:the, ._p".Aar`a!m ,for a. w dears. There ' had beets "no .signif1cint, lrob-eai5 Ott �teriia' bf�.repayirit.: { Counciliiea lier 'Fazztno clarified tie*.t' the fi'gur�e' ,w uld 1 order of_ ten percent _._ , �,., Mr. Miller said that in comparison to the general economy where there were a si gni fi cant number of foreclosures and problems with delinquent payments, the program was very successful. He pointed out that the loans only went to people who met low and moderate income qualifications. City Manager Bill Zaner said the City received an audit report from HUD with regard to the program. It would be included in the next Council packet. It was a glowing report from HUD on the con- duct of the City's program, which had been administered by Glenn Miller for a number of years. It was a personal credit to Mr. Miller that the program received that kind of a report. Mr. Miller commented that each year the amount of funds went down and it was expected that the program would receive $40,000 less this year, but significantly more applications were expected. It was doubly difficult for a citi zens' committee to make recommenda- tions. He anticipated five or ten applications more than last year. Y ice Mayor Bechtel decl ared the public hearing open. Receiving no +bequests to speak, she declared the public hearing closed. Vice Mayor Bechtel said she was familiar with the programs in other communities and found Palo Alto's to be outstanding in the types of programs funded. NO ACTION REQUIRED ITEM #7, POLICY AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE. RECOMMENDATION RE AGE Councilmember Levy said that the United States Supreme Court today refused to review the decision of the Cal ifornia Supreme Court that discrimination in housing based on age was not .an acceptabl e practice in the State of Cali forni a and was an appro- priate item for city consideration and consideration by jurisdic- tions within the State. The Policy and Procedures (P&P) Committee considered the item in its meeting of September 21. MOTION: Coencilmeaber Levy moved, on behalf of the Policy and Procedures Committee, that the City Attorney be directed to draft an ordinance on Age Discrimination in - Housing which uses the, County ordinance as a basis, and that the, City Attorney work with the Human Relations Commission in drafting the ordinance and broadening the senior housing aspect. Counci !member Levy said the Committee recommended that units which were only temporarily in the rental market be excl uded from the ordinance, and that the definition of "senior exclusive housing" be broadened to include housing of 70, percent or more seniors. Councilmeatber Klein Commented that the P&P _Committee did not spe-- . ifically adopt the 70 percent language, but merely that the City Attorney would work with the HRC , to better define- the meaning of senior housing. Dick Roe, member of the Human Relations Commission (HRC) and Executive Di rector..' of Midpeninsul'a Ci ti lens for Fair Housing (MCF H) , 720 Kendall Avenue, said that the HRC - recommendation regarding the 70 percent . language was made almost three years ago; there had been :almost a total turnover in the HRC membership . since then, and he was not sure what it was meant to accomplish. 1978 and 1981 MCFH_ Conducted surveys throughout the peninsula and found that the situation . i;n Palo Alto was generally ` the same as that in other cotamunrities, namely that 80 percent of the avail- able apartment units were not available to families with children. Coupled with the -vacancy rate of approximately_ one percent, the vacancy' rate for families with children was: 25 ` percent. Between February 18 and June 30, 1982, after the Wolfson decision, his office received 144 telephone calls --some requesting information and some claiming discrimination. Out of those calls, 28 cases were actively pursued by MCFH. Of those 28 cases, 5 involved situations where the flat out statement was still made that children were not allowed; 10 cases involved overly restrictive rental . regulations in terms of the number of persons per bedroom, which was found to be the primary way to avoid the effects of the Wolfson decision. For example, one bedroom per person was required which meant that a couple with one child would be required to rent a three bedroom apartment. Five of the cases involved other kinds of stringent regulations like limiting the time when children could use the pool area to times when they obviously should be in school. There were a number of other cases of other sorts of stringent regulations that made it impracti- cal---if not impossible --for families with - children to consider renting in that complex. An Unruh Law interpretation provided that the conditions of the law apply to rental housing and dis- crimination against families with children, but it was not an easily enforced regulation. The discriminated against person must either depend upon the Department of Fair Education, Employment and Housing to follow through, or they must bring their own civil suit, which was costly and time-consuming, and not the sort of thing that many families want to become involved in. MCFH believed that a local ordinance to define the law more specifi- cally than Unruh, and which provided ways for enforcement, would help both the people who experience the discrimination and the well-being of the community. Councilrnember Fletcher said she understood that it would be up to the HRC to review the 70 percent senior housing aspect. She would be concerned that any landlord could easily discriminate by making sure that 70 percent of his housing was rented to people over 50 or 55 years of age and calling it senior housing. She wanted the HRC to review that aspect rather than instruct the attorney to include that in the ordinance. City Attorney Diane Lee said that prior to the P&P Committee's discussion, the only ordinance of that nature she had reviewed was the County ordinance. Since then, she had reviewed several ordi- nances that cities in California and in other areas of the country had passed, and all provided for .exclusive senior Fciti xen housing. Every ordinance the had -seen provided an excepti on; onl y for exclu- sive senior citizen housing. Counciln+ember: Fletcher : asked for clarification about was part of the ordinance. whether that Councilmember Levy said that the P&P Committee recommended that the senior housing aspect be broadened, and intended that there be some way to have senior housing that was ex:l usi vely senior housing. Councilmember,Fletcher was concerned about the practical effects of the ordinance if implemented in a broader than normal sense. It would be easy for apartment owners to discriminate by calling the building senior housing ' and renting to older people. The HRC should also consider a clause whereby the definition of ":senior housing" would be at the time of Construction rather than retro- actively, and a definitionof #senior" was also needed. Counc i l meaber Renzel clarified that Counci lmember Fletcher was concerned about _ the loophole effect of less than exclusive senior housing. Councilwember Klein said he --was concerned about the recommendation that units "temporarily in the rental markets be exempted from the provisions of the Age Di_ scriminatio# Ordinance. It was inconsis- tent with the parallel idea of discrimination on the basis of race, religion, etc., in single family homes, and those units should not be exempted. As the Supreme Court stated in the Wolfson ,case, children were members of society, and a society that wanted to exclude its young could not exist. He recognized that people were fearful that children would do damage, but there were other ways to be protected rather than discriminating against children. AMENDMENT. Councilmember Klein moved, seconded by Renzel, to delete the exemption of units temporarily in the rental market. Councilmember Renzel said she concurred with Council members. Klein and Fletcher. She strongly supported doing everything possible to make housing available to families with children. Councilmember Levy said the Committee: unanimously agreed that legislation was needed to protect families with children in the housing market. Regarding units temporarily in the rental market, the Committee referred to homes and condominiums which were per- manently occupied by their owners and which owners were away for a limited period of time and thus were renting their units. That situation should be recognized by the Council as being different from units recurringly in the rental market. Units always in the rental market could be designed and furnished in a way to make them satisfactory for people of all ages. On the other hand, units that were essentially owner -occupied and only available for rental as an exception could not be changed so easily and were often rented on a furnished basis. Councilmember Levy said that while the Council may wish the situa- tion were different, the recognition was of the differences between younger people and older people. It was a minor element because the total ordinance dealt with 98 percent of the rental housing units satisfactorily. Councilmember Fazzino was pleased that the Council was ready to adopt an ordinance. He echoed the .> remarks of ..Councilmembers Fletcher and Klein on both issues. .While .he did not want to pre- clude any'• senior housing from being established or continued, it was important for the Council to develop a rational, sensible approach to determine what was legitimate senior housing in order that the provisions of the Age Discrimination Ordinance not be bypassed. He was concerned about the issue regarding the temporary renting of units. If that were adopted, there was a clear presumption of guilt, and, that children were second class citizens. Palo Alto had not done much for children over the last 15 or 20 years, and the community had become much more of a segre- gated, singles community. The amendment was one small effort towards bringing families and children back into Palo Alto. Everything possible should be done to encourage children to remain in Palo Alto. Councilmember Witherspoon sart;d she agreed. with •t the Committee wholeheartedly, including the exemption of :short-iterw rentals She thought Councilmember Levy's statement was well taken that those were not commercial . rental units, and the owners of those units could rent to families with children i f °they wished. She did not feel that she should tell them that they had to rent to children. The test to determine whether a unit, was commercial was. whether they had the homeowners exemption or property tax. If so, chances were that the unit was' owner -occupied. She felt that was. a small drop in . the bucketand was something that was out of the business area. The Council was in the business to regulate the rental business, not.. to regulate private people making contracts to rent their homes while they were out of town. Counciimember Klein, fn 'response to Councilmember 1:evy's comments, said that as one who had twice gone on a sabbatical and rented his house to families with " children, there were always things 'to be put in storage,and changing the house for that purpose was not, a problem. When renting to a family with children, you would not 2 5 7 1 10/4/82 1 leave everything around, some things would be put in the attic and locked up. He felt that everyone who rented on a short-term basis did that, and it was not a problem. He concurred with Counci 1 member Fa zzi no's eloquent remarks that children should not be referred to as second-class citizens, Vice Mayor Bechtel concurred with the statements made by Council - members Fazzino, Fletcher. and Klein, and said she argued in the minority at; the eComrni ttee level . She: believed that :° if there was discrimination, there was discrimination whether one had 20 units or one unit, and whether it was a unit owner -occupied the majority o f the time. She was opposed to the exclusion of temporari l y rented properties because she objected to age discrimination on any level, and she believed there would be serious enforcement difficulties with the provision to determine whether someone was gone for a short period of time or a long period of time. She asked for clarification that those who were free to take sabbati - cals-- doctors, lawyers, college professors --could discriminate, but the average person who was renting their property could not. Counci1member Witherspoon said she noted in the minutes that the. City Attorney also pointed out that the Unruh Act referred to businesses, and she assumed the City was modeling its ordinance after the State law. She did not consider someone renting their house on an occasi onal basi s as a busi ness basi s. City Attorney Diane Lee said the pointed that out to the P&P Committee at the time because there was some concern about the approach. The Council was free to take any approach it desired, and there was nothing in the Unruh Act to prohibit the Counc i from excluding the .exclusion. Vice Mayor Bechtel restated that the amendment was to delete reference to excluding units temporarily in the rental market. AMENDMENT PASSED by a vote of 5-3, Levy, Cobb, Witherspoon voting 'no,' Mayor Eyerly absent. Ms. Lee said there was a lot of discussinn at the Committee level about the 70 percent, but she did ..not recall .it being part of the motion. The only way the 70 percent could be part of the motion. was if :originally the referral to the Committee from the HRC was that the Ccmmi ttee look at the County ordinance with two amend- ments --one regarding mobile home parks which was._ not recommended because it was illegal, and the other was the 70 percent change in the exclusive senior housing. The posture of the motion was not clear because it went to the P&P Committee with those two amend- ments in the County ordinance. She thought it could be clarified if the Council made another motion. AMENDMENT Counci 1 eeamer Fletcher sieved., seconded by Renael , that the reference to . the broadening of the senior aspect . be deleted .fro" the 'meti on Council member Reflect said the _ amendment might be a clearer direc- tion that the : Council was concerned about the 1oopholes which might be created , with . less than exclusive senior housing. Ms. Lee said that in drafting the ordinance, she clearly sensed that she was to do an ordinance on the basis of something less than exclusive. If that sense was incorrect, it shouldbe handled nor.: ViceMayor Bechtel said she understood that the amendment was to delete reference to that particular section _broadening .the ordin- ante . to mean less s than exclusi ie senior housing. 2 5 7 2 10/4/82 i 1 Councilmember Klein said he thought the way the proposed amendment was worded was unnecessarily strict at this particular time. The Council had heard about many different problems with regard to the definition of "senior housing" and what exclusive senior housing meant. For example, if senior housing meaint-peopl a over 65 years of age, would the existence of one person who was 40 years of age living in that complex destroy the whole thing. Given the number of, problems, he preferred that the Council give a broad direction to staff and the HRC to have them work on the• definition of "sen- ior"_ and how broadly or narrowly the exemption should be' drawn. Hopefully, the discussion at the HRC would produce a series of -recommendations or alternatives for the Council to consider. He felt that staff and the HRC should engage in free spirited debate on the point. Councilmember Levy said he agreed with Councilmember Klein. The point was not discussed at particular length at the Committee level because they were responding to an HRC recommendation which was two years old. Since the Committee's recommendation to Coun- cil would be followed by the draft, two readings of an ordinance and a referral to the HRC, the Committee felt that there would be substantial discussion and the exact definition could be refined before approval of the actual ordinance. Vice Mayor Bechtel said she also felt there was some value in leaving the definition loose because there were locations, such as Lytton Gardens, where there were people under the age of 65 living there forvarious other reasonsbesides age. She felt that: if the definition said "ex°cl usi;vely, the Council ' may be eliminating locations such as Lytton Gardens. She would like the HRC to dis- cuss the issue and report back. Councilmember Fletcher asked if it would be easier if the item was referred to the HRC before the ordinance was drafted. Ms. Lee said there were a couple of issues that still had to be resolved, for example, at what age should "senior" be set, and how to deal with situations where one of the residents of . a unit qual- ified and another who lived there to assist that resident did not. The issue was briefly discussed at the P&P Committee, but she did not know how i t :would be dealt with. If there were other issues she had not yet heard, it could be a difficult problem to re- solve. SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT: Vice Mayor Bechtel moved, seconded by Cobb, that the NBC be instructed to explore the issue of the defi- nition of senior. Mousing esd to work with the City Attorney. SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT PASSED unanimously, Mayor Eyerly absent. MAIN NOTION AS AMENDED PASSED unaniueasly, Mayor Eyerly absent, ITEM #8, FINANCE AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION RE pbRTiau TIF BM LANDS- .NAmkt ria-s-moirt o41. 1Acu in Uf 'M�. 41ZRAWONFKINIPOW Ir MOTION: Cesnciluember Witherspoon for the Finance and Public Works Cacti ttee moved approval of the Resolution that a portion .of. the Navel ands Nature !Dreier,. be sawed in honor of Marriott Mundy. RESOLUTION 6071 entitled °RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF flirtirrarillt0 ALTO DESIGNATING A PORTION OF ITXSEE PARK. AND : TIIE _CITY.O IfiED . RAYLA$*S TO . RE TAWAS HARRIET MUNDAT ° *AOSM" Councilmember Renzel commented that Harriet Mundy was most deser.v= ing of having the area named_ after :.her. She was active to protect the'` Bayl and s long before it was fashionable and before the Say Conservation and D,evel opment Commission. She, along with Lucy Evans, Betsy Peterson, Kay McCann and manyothers did a great deal 2-5 i 3 10/4/82 of lobbying to see that the Interpretive Center was built in the Bayl ands and had followed all the legislative actions with respect to the Bayl ands and the Bay in general. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Eyerly absent. Vice Mayor Bechtel announced that the dedication ceremony for the Harriet Mundy Marsh would be held on October 23, 1982 at 10:00 a.rn. at the Lucy Evans Nature Interpretive Center. Ms. Mundy would be present as well as representatives of other agencies. COUNCILMEMBER FLETCHER OUT OF THE ROOM TEMPORARILY IITEM+! #9. PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION RE EMPLOYMENT INTENSI- A, • • . Yice Mayor Bechtel said that an additional report was received from staff concerning employment intensification. She understood that the Council originally referred the item to both the Planning Commission and the Architectural Review Board (ARB). The matter was back from the Planning Commission, but the ARB had not yet had the item on its agenda. Therefore, no action would be taken tonight. Chief Planning Official Bruce Freeland said the item was scheduled for the ARB agenda on October 21. MOTION: Corncilmember Klein moved, seconded by Renzel, to con- tinue the item until after the Architectural Review Board hear- ing. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Eyerly and Fletcher absent, ITEM #10, PARKING, GROCERY STORE AND RETAIL COMPLEX - PARKING LOTS Real Property Administrator Jean Diaz said staff had no formal presentation. The outline from the Committee for Downtown Parking and Retail Enhancement for the Parking, Grocery Store and Retail Complex proposed for Lots 5 amid L was in the packet. Members of the Committee were .in the audience to answer any questions. Staff sought initial Council response to the concept in terms of whether to pursue the development of the proposal in greater detail. Counc i lmeraber Fazzi no : said he ,wes excited about the concept, but before 'approving anything' would want to carefully review the plans.. Regarding the revenves,e the staf€eerepert projected $700,A0 in initial annual revenue, but talked about a. $450,000 deficit., : He, fasiced for clarifioation about ;how the City would eventually make revenue on the project. Mr. Diaz reiterated that all of the figures came from the commit- tee. Staff took a preliminary- look at the pro forma analysis and the figures presented and they seemed to make sense. Of course, if Council approved the project, staff would do a much more refined economic analysis to look at the project's costs and reve- nues.' The revenue ` poi nted Bout. I n ttac: sta ff- report --was from three priearresou1ces.- .Ti ere : would ,be revenue.: from the :grocery stove, and' the revenge,=prof ecited in they Committee' s`f Economi c Analysis was significantly below the current market in the downtown area-- suff1c1entIy so that it would: be- aeonomici for the kind- ofgrocery store operation that staff was -;2ooking t',for. _, = In addition, the retail I component would genetate- eVenue ;,in --terms of= rent coring in from the. retail coannercial space, and a small co parent Of. addi- tional Commercial office space. Traditionally, there would be some _ income from the parking itself, through the permit system, which would be used to offset the costs. The costs of construct- ing• the project were significantly more than the revenue. How- ever, How- even, in return, the City 'would receive a significant ,parking st,ucture, and it appeared as though there would be a significant addition of new public parking. The revenue would be used to off- set the construction costs. Councilmember Fazzino asked how many years it would take for the entire project to be paid off by the assessment district. Mr. Diaz responded that typically assessment district bonding was for 20 years. After 20 years the bonds would be paid, and the property would be free and clear. Councilmember Witherspoon asked if Mr. Diaz sensed that the Com- mittee foreclosed private financing because i t seemed more conven- ient to go with the City, Mr. Diaz said there was an advantage 4-o using assessment district financing because it had the benefit of public agency involvement which generally indicated a much more favorable economic situation as well as the mechanism of the assessments, which would go back to the owners of property within the assessment district. Councilmember Klein asked the City Attorney if any consideration was given as to the legality of the parking assessment district renting out at less than fair market value. City Attorney Diane Lee deferred to Mr. Diaz, who had been in touch with bond counsel, for response. Mr. Diaz said the preliminary response from bond counsel indicated that the project was viable and legal under the assessment dis- trict acts and statutes. Councilmember . Klein asked how the procedure was visualized by which a decision would be made as to who would be the lessees of the commercial space contemplated in the project. Mr. Diaz said that the criteria would largely fall under the pur- view of Council policy. The Council could set criteria to focus the retail space, in terms of the particular kinds of retail uses it wanted, which would be reflected in the economics because hot all uses had the same economic • potential. Councilmember Klein asked if it would be administratively handled by Mr. Diaz. Mr. Diaz said his department would deal with the Planning Depart- ment, the City Council and the members of the community supporting the project. Ms. Lee added that staff would be very sensitive to antitrust con- cerns in the ray the project was structured. CouncilMeMbere Renzel clarified that the revenues would pay the costs, and the deficit would be financed by the assessment dis- trict and would be considered an -assessment for parking. Mr. Diaz said that was. correct. Councilmember Renzel sal d the figures i ndicated 3.29 per square foot for assessed commercial floor area within -"the district-, coal- pared with $.38 Per square foot for the 424 spaces in Parking Lot a. She asked how that compared on. a per space basis. Mr. Diaz said .it. was very .comparable. lie did the calculation, but - did not have it in front of- him,. Givefl the sable'nuwber of Stalls that , the City .would receive,-. the assessment worked out Ito be pretty_ much equal.-. The economic benefit to be derived was: the ability to -put together, a project with a mix, of `uses:. -to .hel_p sup- port a grocery store, which, tas of.criticel concern to:Ahe coral un-:. ity. Councilmember- Renzel said she was -concerned about the break even point and how much additional: revenue -producing space the City had to put i n . That al so produced ' a demand for parking, and she 1 1 1 preferred to see the City minimize the creation of new demands for parking dnd maximize parking without getting too far out of line in the assessmentsper parking space. Mr. Diaz said it was important to realize that the $.29 per square foot was for the net additional public parking. That did not include parking that would be provided to support the new commer- cial and retail uses. Councilmember Renzel said she understood that, but suggested that perhaps there might be some way to move a little further toward providing a little more parking, a little less parking demand and raise the assessment by a small amount, but still get a more sig- nificant amount of parking for the existing businesses without creating the new parking demand and traffic problems. She asked if the formula would be subject to discussion by the Committees. Mr. Diaz said the proposal was from the Committee and represented a certain mix. As the process progressed, there would be com- ments, suggestions and alterations. He sensed that the community felt that the proposal was a particularly viable mix because of the combination of revenue producing economic uses that would go largely to help offset some of the costs of the project. Counci lmember Renzel said that different kinds of appropriate uses in the zone had different parking demands per square foot, but might command the same rents. She thought the City would want to optimize the amount of rent to be received for the fewest number of parking space demands, which was also something she hoped would be discussed by the Planning Commission and the two committees. Mr. Freeland said there might be conflicting objectives. The use that had the least demand on parking would be the office uses --one space per 250 square feet. Retail uses were one space per 150 square feet under the zoning ordinance. The desire to enhance retail downtown would be at the expense of higher parking require- ments. That was sornethi'ng to be considered in the development of a project. Counc i l member Renzel clarified that offices were not using more space than retail uses since they were all day parkers versus the retail in and out. Mr. Freeland responded that not only were more parking spaces per foot needed for retail , but retail had a turnover during the day so that the in and out traffic was greater with retail. The actual numbers in the zoning ; ordinance were subject to question because of the mix of uses downtown, but the relationship appeared to be constant. The Wilbur Smith Study for Lot ,T came -up with pretty much the same kind of relationship of office to retail need, although the numbers had less of a requirement than the City's zoning ordinance. Courcilmember Levy asked what happened if the rents generated -by the commercial space were not up to forecasts. How would the City Meet the .deficits. Mr; Diaz said presumably through greater assessments. The con- cept, as presented, called for the 'assessment district backing the deficits from the project. He .wanted to awake it clear that the committee which was putting the' package together initially Was comfortable with the projects because they were going to be paying the deficits. Staff would do their ":own- analysis, if Council decided` -to go ahead with the project. lde; quoted the saying that "every real estate disaster was-' proceeded, by - in economic report that _insured` its sucoess." There was risk, and staff hoped they had donea good job and would come in pretty accurately. ' 1 1 Councilmemb'er Levy asked if it was possible that the commercial space would not be owned by. the City. Mr. Diaz said that would make the project much more difficult. It would be possible to lease it out under a master lease situation. He could see that more than actually conveying out the commer- cial/retail space. That would complicate the project signifi- cantly and might not be necessary. Counc i l member Cobb asked if the City had any measure from people in the grocery business about the kinds of floor rates they were talking about and that there was a viable downtown market. He thought everyone agreed that it was a good idea if it worked. Were the economics there to draw and keep a market. Mr. Diaz said that according to the data gathered by the commit- tee, it appeared so. From time to time, the committee had sought the services of an economic consultant for grocery store develop- ment. The figures seemed to be in line with what that consultant told the committee. He pointed out that should the Council decide to proceed, staff would assure themselves that grocery store eco- nomics made sense under the concept. Ned Gallagher, represented Downtown Palo Alto, Inc,. (DTPA) , and said that DTPA endorsed and supported the idea. It was viewed as a creative step toward solving a long standing problem, and one that was anticipated for at least two years. Further, it was regarded as a joining of hands of the public and private sector for the sol ution of a real problem in the downtown area. Proposi- tion 13 brought serious constraints on most municipalities that could possibly help a problem of this nature, and it was impos- sible for the City to do anything. DTPA congratulated Sue Cottle and her committee, who started with little more than a prayer, for their work. Through Ms. Cottle's persistence and courage, a solu- tion which was endorsed by DTPA, was on the horizon. Sue Cottle, Chairperson of the Downtown Market Committee, 971 Mears Court, introduced Diana Steeples, Steven Avis, Mary Bay, Sylvia Seman, Judy Peterson and Chuck Edelstein who were members of the Downtown Market Committee. The Committee was pleased that after two and one-half years they arrived at a stage where it seemed possible to solve the dilemma of disappearing food markets in the downtown. The committee felt that the creative concept of development on Lots S and L appeared to be the only realistic solution to the serious problem. Counc i l member Fa zzi no felt it would be, important to have the data staff proposed to obtain available for the Planning Commission as well as the Policy and Procedures Committee and Finance and Public Works (WC Committee as they began their di sc;ssi cans of the con- cept. He asked staff for their preference with respect to which ;\ c omsi•ttee the item should go to. He asked if the financial issues could be discussed by the F&PW Committee in conjunction with the physical planning issues being handled by the Planning Commission, or if the item = should first go to the. Council before being referred to the Planning Commission: Mr. Diaz thought that with a project of this nature, the kind of preliminary information cciuld be developed and pursued through the Planning . Commission, then to the Council's subcommittees, then back to the full Council {n order to .have,all the input. MOTION: Con eci1aeaber Fersiso moved* seconded by Cobb* that staff be directed to review the: financial ° and. other data Epos which the proposal is based, - .the project feasibility and a detailed work program and bap l eroatatios schedule if the project appeared feasible; and "refers the matter = to:- tae Planning Commission -for recommendations to Council :: for its subsequent referral to ; the Council's Striding Committee. 2 5.7 10/4/82 Councilmember Witherspoon asked if the project fit into the timing and financing of Lot J's parking structure. Mr. Diaz said staff tried to link the projects, but given the fact that Parking Lot J was ready to go, it would be hard for the pro posed project to catch up. Councilmember Wi thersp' on asked if it would affect the City's bonding capacity to have two large projects in the assessment dis- trict, and how the assessments would affect the rentals of commer- cial office space -downtown. Mr. Diaz responded that staff would study that kind of data if the motion passed. Councilmember Klein concurred with Councilmember Fazzino and said his motion was precisely what he had in mind. He was al so excited about the concept, but felt it was imprudent for the Council to accept the concept "as is" at this early stage. He would support the motion. Councilmember Renzel was concerned about. the physical planning of the facility. It would be massive and would have an impact on the area where it was built. She asked at what point the Planning Commission and Council would have an opportunity to review the physical planning. for the site. Mr. Diaz said the initial review would not go into a great deal of data in terms of a specific design. Staff would be primarily con- centrating on whether the project would work economically, and whether it could be done with some reasonable design constraints. The prel iminary sketches, which were done by the committee, seemed to indicate that even though the project would be 1 arge, it would not be intrusive and would not visually adversely affect the sur- rounding properties. The physical planning would occur later in the process when they were down to specific design approvals. Counc i l taember Renzel asked what the Planning Commission would review under th.e referral. Mr. Freel and said the suitability of the concept and its location. He expected that_ some access issues would be addressed, which would make a difference on the internal layout. One possibility was .to use the existing alley behind the big hole in the ground, and the other was off of Lytton Avenue. The Planning Commission would have to deal with the issue of how trucks woui d gain access to service . the grocery store, and how the debris and litter would be taken care of. Unless some of those issues were worked out . to a fair degree, there would not be enough information on the inter- nal workings to come very close on the parking calculations. A fair amount of planning would have to be done, but not to the point of having a picture of the facade or exact arrangements of the upper floor. Councilmember Renzel said ;that since all of the proposed uses could be doee i n a commer ;el ° zone, they were not apt to come before the Planning Comalssion and the Council in the normal course unless an environmental impact report was required. She asked how many stages were in the current process. Mr. Freeland understood that they were talking about a planned communi ty zone.. He di d some preliminary cal cul ati ons based on the CC zone, and whi 1 e the height and bulk did not appear to be a prob 1 em, ;there i ght >be a .problem • voi th - floor, ar-eec .�ra_tl o to : accoa-` *iodate .`the mmnt=:of pw i de, bell proposed s h`jr +t < downtown cou-= ai ttee. = Further ":the' :dertlA of, the- project= wo l.d fie= so -: sensitf We that, it made: sense to 'go through zprocess where !;the' full ; design went= irefore ;theoArc hi.tectura3,-i Review Board•, (ARR) ,-4l`eae4t9-+€�4au1#=- siont and .city. -Cou it. z•€ven= though; :the ptot esa tVel:;cumbersome , there would be more flexibility for thedesign; and <everyonef would feel more comfortable in the long run. Councilmember Renzel said she would support the motion based on the fact that Council would have an opportunity to do further intensive review of the physical facilities and presumably the uses as well. Councilmember Levy said he would support the review of the concept --it was imaginative :and he hoped it could be successful. He had the following concerns: 1. It would be a 50 foot structure, and by its nature would have to be square and would fill up the whole space. He was con- cerned that it would dampen the aesthetic environment of the whole area rather than having the opposite effect. 2. Regarding the parking estimates. He hoped that the formulas being used were realistic and were checked out --particularly regarding the amount of parking to be required for the patrons and employees of the market and other stores. 3. He was concerned about the substantial risk and other kinds of social problems involved with the City Council renting out commercial space in downtown Palo Alto. In the abstract, it was fine, but when it got down to the concrete, the Council would be competing with the commercial merchants in the down- town area to one degree or another. He suggested that as part of the City's review, proposals for the lease of the food market be solicited from private operators. He did not want the City to get involved in the food market business, and urged that, before going ahead, the Council be 'satisfied that private operators were interested in leasing .a- .medium Size food market in the downtown area. Councilmember Witherspoon said the City owned the property < under Lots L and S through the assessment district, and she asked wheth- er the costs of acquiring that property were being allocated to this project. Mr. Diaz said no. Councilmember Witherspoon asked whether the committee was contem- plating_including the purchase of Lots S. and L. Mr. Diaz said yes, but it could be approached either by some kind of an exchange or through outright purchase, and the; economics of the alternatives might be different. Councilmember Witherspoon clarified that they were talking about the entire block. Mr. Diaz said no --the map attached to the staff report showed everything, but the corner was included. Councilmember Witherspoon asked why access could not be through Bryant Street. Mr. Freeland said access could come .from the alley, Lytton or Bryant. He opined that there were problems with access off of Bryant because it would break up whatever retail facade was there unless it came off of the alley. . Staff wanted to minimize .curb cuts In the middle. of any -pedestrian oriented retail. Councilmember Fletcher was excited about the prospect of having a downtown retail market come alive, but asked whether any similar venture had occurred. Mr. Diaz responded that there were a number of cases of commer- .cially oriented activities being_'part of a larger public structure or public' complex, Concession: stands at -Candlestick Park were leased out .and=; operated by : the private sector, but benefitted the public park. The fact that they were dealing with the issue of the public objectives was important; namely, the expanded pub- lic parking and providing space that could be subsidized for the grocery store. The commercial components were ancillary to. those main purposes --they were not the main focus of the project, but made it work. From that perspective, it was not •uncommon for com- mercially oriented activities to be ancillary to public projects. Councilmember Fletcher said she would be 'in.terested in seeing the results of the financial analysis, and would be . very proud if it worked. Palo Alto would again set a precedent for other cities to follow. Councilmember Cobb said a market was needed downtown because there. were so many elderly citizens there. Whatever thought was given to the questions of design, he urged that the special provisions necessary for access by elderly people be considered. Vice Mayor Bechtel said everyone appeared to be excited about the possibility, and commended the Downtown Community Market Commit- tee, DTPA and the members of the development community who were involved with the concept. She had a sense of caution with the $8.7 million potential, and the questions being asked by Council - members were important ones that staff would be looking into. MOTION PASSED unanimously, Eyerly absent. ITEM #11, CANCELLATION OF COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 18, 1982 rr pe� a MOTION: Coaatncilseaa er Levy moved, seconded by Cobb, to cancel the meeting ng of October 18, 1982. MOTION PASSED by a vote of 7-1, Fazzi no voting "no,' Eyerly absent. ITEM #12, COUNCILMEMBER WITHERSPOON RE HETCH HETCHY TOUR Councilmember Witherspoon said she spent two days touring the Hetch Hetchy system on behalf of the Council, which was tremen- dous. There would be other tours in the future, and she urged the Councilmembers to attend. She reported that the Hetch Hetchy reservoir held almost 400,000 acre ' feet, and at the height of the drought, it was down to 20,000 acre feet. At the beginning of the season, the reservoir was almost full and there would be no water problems 'FOr quite a while. In her opinion, the water systemwas oneof the great engineering marvels of the century--it went all the way by gravity --no pumping was required at all. It was inter- esting that electricity and revenue for the City ' of San Francisco was generated by the two power plants. San Francisco was contem- plating various schemes for adding capacity electricity, and Palo Alto might be interested in buying that .surplus power. ADJOURNMENT Council adjourned at 9:15 p. APPROVED: