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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-03-16 City Council Summary MinutesCITY COUNCIL MINUT€s CITY OF HALO ALTO Regular Meeting, Monday, March lE, 1981 ITEM Special Orders of the Day Confirmation of Appointment of Gloria Young as Assistant City Clerk Confirmation of Appointment of Kenneth Schreiber as Director of Planning and Community Environment PAGE 7 1 5 7 1 5 Confirmation of Appointment of Robert Wall as Fire Chief 7 1 6 Consent Calendar - Referral Items Report On Condominium Conversions Referral To Policy and Procedures Committee 7 1 7 Consent Calendar - Action Items Change In Contribution Formula For Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement For the Northern County Solid Waste Management Program 7 1 7 Integrated Pest Control - Item Continued 7 1 7 Speed Limit On Alma Between Kingsley and San Antonio - Referral to Policy and Procedures Committee 7 1 7 Public Hearing Re Amending the Comprehensive Plan 7 1 8 Policy and Procedures Committee Recommends Adopting A -Policy Statement Concerning Child Care In the City 7 2 0 Policy and Procedures Committee Recommendation Re Stop Sign at Harriet and :harming Recommendation of Finance and Public Works Committee Re Proposed -Ordinance Relating To the Use of Clotheslines Resolution of Council Suppo2ti.ng Assembly Bill 284 Which Authorizes an Appropriation To Pay Claims of Local Entities Incurred In Eradicating the Mediterranean Fruit Fly Ordinance of thQ Council of the,,City of Palo Alto Preventing and Regulating the Aerial Spraying of Pesticides. Within the City Limits of the City,of. Palo Alto - Urgency 7 2 2 7 2 4 7 2 7 ,.'7 2` 8 Feasibility of a Volleyball Court, 420 Hawthorne 7 2 9 Non -Resident Swimming Fees 7 2 9 Southgate: Ninety bay Trial Closure of Castilleja at Park Boulevard ; 7 3 0 7 1 4 3/16/81 ITEM European Health Spa -- Parking Report On AB -19 (Surcharge On Fines to Finance Jails and Courtroom Construction) Lee Quarry - Gift Deed PAGE 7 3 4 7 3 8 7 3 9 Regular Meeting Monday, March 16, 1981 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, at 6:30 p.m. for a Special Study Session regarding air rights or•er Parking lot Q, and at 7:30 p.m. for the regular meeting of March 16, 1981. PRESENT: Bechtel, Eyerly, Fazzino, Fletcher, Henderson, Klein, Levy, Renzel, Witherspoon ABSENT: None Mayor Henderson extended Larry Klein his welcome to the City Council. Miyor Henderson welcomed the Palo Alto Camp Fire Girls who under the direction of Ann Bushnell presented a Flag Ceremony in honor of Camp Fire Birthday March 17. The groups included students from Fairmeadoi, Sequoia, 0hlone'and Sunreach Elementary Schools -and from Wilbur, Gunn and Palo Alto High Schools. Mayor Henderson also thanked the Camp Fire girls for the cupcakes they gave to the Councilmembers and staff. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None CONFIRMATION OF APPOINTMENT OF GLORIA YOU1{G X5 ASSISTAKT CITY CLERK i Mayor Henderson noted the memorandum from Ann Tanner. MOTION: Councilmembfr Fazzino moved, seconded by Councilmember Renzel , approval of the appointment of Gloria Young as Assistant City Clerk. MOTION PASSED: The motion passed unanimously. Mayor Henderson welcomed Gloria, Young -and indicated thatt the Council looked forward to working with her. CONFIRMATION OF APPOINTMENT RECTOR F PLANNING AND C€1MM MOTION: Councilmember Fazzino moved, seconded by Councilmember Levy,,approval of the appointment of Kerumneth Schreiber as Director: of Planning: and Community Environment. Naphtali Knox, 10.25 Forest Avenue, said in jest, that on page _8 of the Peninsula'T9mes Tribune next to -the picture of Robert Redford, he noticed an article which said =."New Planning. Director to be named. Ken Schreiber, Palo Alto's Assistant Planning Director is expected to be appointed Planning Director. tonight at the City Cour;ci l meeting. "Schreiber would replace Naphtali Knox who has' served as the City's Planting Director since -1972. Knox will leave his post at the end of the week for a job with -a local housing Development firm." He was chagrined at seeing it in the paper.•- He had not received notice of a public hearing, no environmental assessment had 7 1 5 3/16/81 been done, and he suggested that the Council continue the item for two weeks to allow the neighborhood to organize its opposition. He stated that as a nine year resident of Palo Alto, he would feel very comfortable, knowing that Mr. Schreiber, if appointed, would be a very good Planning Director. Ken :'.as been with the city for 6-1/2 years, since August, 1974 and has been a very loyal, strong, a^tive and important member of the Planning staff. He hoped that all of the members of the'Council and other, members of the staff. realize that the job of the Planning Director is something that one person cannot do alone. It is something that is done only with the cooperation of the citizenry and with the cooperation of other staff._ Naphtali said he could not have done his job without the help of Ken Schreiber ant. wished him the best of luck. MOTION PASSED: The motion passed unanimously. Mayor Henderson said that several of the Councilmembers were quoted in the press expressing their pleasure at Mr. :ichreiber's selection and he knew that all of the Council - members eagerly supported Ken's appointment. Kenneth Schreiber, Director of Planning and Community Environment, thanked the Councilmembers for their comments and indicated that he was looking forward to the job. He commented on the tremendous opportunity it had been for a little over 6-1/2 years to work for Palo Alto and specifically to work for Naphtali. Naphtali has been a fantastic teacher, Ken had learned a great deal from Naphtali, and felt that he would be sorely missed by all. He'thanked Naphtali for his support and for allowing him th.e opportunities to learn and t;: ?nd the skills that he will bring to the job. CONFIRMATION OF APPOINTMENT OF ROBERT WALL AS FIRE CHIEF MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher moved, seconded by Councilmember Renzel, approval of the appointment of Robert Wall as Fire Chief. MOTION PASSED: The motion passed unanimously. Mayor Henderson said that Mr. Wall had been through a rigorous competition for the Fire Chief position and had come out on top. He congratulated Mr. Wall and indicated that the Council looked forward to working with him. Councilmember Fazzino commented that he was gratified when they .could make three -outstanding appointments like this from within the organization. it spoke to the success --of the City's management when you have three people who have been so well tra'ned. and are capable of moving into .three very important positions in the organization. He hoped promotions like these would occur more often in the:future. CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Henderson askee that the item regarding the request for an award of Contract to Integrated Pest Control be removed for the purposes of continuance. Councilmembers Levy .and Eyerly asked that the item regarding`, speed limit on Alma between Kingsley and, SanAntonio Road be remojed and referred to the Polity and Procedures Committee. -? 1 6 3/16/81 Referral Items. REPORT ON CONDOMINIUM inrurrseryff7-7—urrrm 70 POLICY AND PROCEDURES TURTITTT Action Items CHANGE IN CONTRIBUTION CISE AGREEMENT FOR THE R H R MANAGEMENT P tOGRAM Staff recommends that the City Couecil approve the JPA Governing Board request that Section 8 of the Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement be amended. MOTION: Councilmember Witherspoon moved, seconded by Councilmember- Levy, approval of the Consent Calendar as corrected. MOTION PASSED: The motion passed unanimously. MOTION: Mayor Henderson moved, seconded by Councilmember Fazzino that the item regarding award of contract to Integrated Pest Control be continued as requested by staff. MOTION PASSED: The motion passed unanimously. INTEGRATED PEST CONTROL -- 1 (LM eUN(JNUEU Mayor Henderson requested that the item regarding speed limit on Alma between Kingsley and San Antonio Road be moved forward for the purpose of discussion. SPEED,LIMIT ON ALMA BETWEEN N" LE .17777-10-75-7177770777cEouREs CaiMITTET Councilmember Levy said that this was an item of importance. There is a 25 mile peer hour speed limit in residential areas and in general, there is a concern about the speed of traffic in Palo Alto. He was not convinced that raising the official speed limit to 40 miles per hour should be done so that they. could trace what would be higher speeds with radar. He felt that the appropriate forum for discussion was the Policy and Procedures Committee and that was the reason for his specific req::cst for referral. MOTION: Councilmember Levy moved, seconded by Councilmember Eyerly, that the item regarding speed limit on Alma between Kingsley and San Antonio Road be referred ti. the Policy ,and Procedures Committee. Councilmember Eyerly similarly felt that he would find it difficult to support an increase in the speed limit as proposed this evening. He felt that the Policy and Procedures Committee was the appropriate place to Fond the item so -that they could all understand about speed limits and what the police department was up. against. Councilmember Renzel said she was comfortable with the item going to the Policy and Procedures Committee although from several of the ,Counci lmembers she had spoken"with and the ones that hare spoken this evening, she wondered if there'was any,; support at all for raising the speed limit and whether it was worth the exercise of sending it to Committee. The ideal_ of raising the speed limit in -order to, control speed with radar meant that, a year from now, there i'4ould be cars traveling at 45 mph and the 85 percentile of that would be higher than the existing speed limit. Theoretically,' it could go on ad infinitum. She felt that at some point, reasonable limits needed to be established. Although Alma Street in Mountain 7 1 7 3/16/81 View has a higher speed limit, it does not have driveway accesses onto Central Expressway (Alma Street) whereas Alma Street in Palo Alto does and it would be terribly hazardous to increase the speed limit there. She prepared to wither discuss it tonight or forward to Policy and Procedures Committee. Mayor. Henderson supported. the speed limit change. fl.ma Street was one street that was very effectively patrolled by the police and, if the police weren't able to use radar, there would be a definite dropoff in their' ab-ility.to issue - citations. So if the only basis to work on the item was send- ing it to the Policy and Procedures Committee, then he would support the motion to refer the item. MOTION PASSED: The motion passed on the following vote: AYES: Bechtel, Eyerly, Fazzino, Fletcher, Klein, Levy, Henderson, Renzel NOES: ' Witherspoon ABSENT: None PUBLIC HEARING RE ARENDINGr THE COMPRE Planning Commission recommends approval of changes in designations of land along Page Mill Road near the El Camino Real intersection from the Proposed Interchange right-of-way and also recommends approval of amendments to the Employment Section of the .-,omprehensiv Plan to include references encouraging provision Of child care facilities on industrial sites. Mayor Henderson said that since there were two recommendations, he would call for separate votes on those items. MOTION: Councilmember Fletcher moved, seconded by Council - member Klein, approval of changes in designations of land along Page Mill Road near the El CaminnReal intersection from the Proposed Interchange right-of-way. Fred Nichols, Chairman, Planning Commission, said that the Planning Commission in its recommendation to the Council supported a major commitment to multiple family housing along Oregon Expressway corridor between the underpass and El Camino. Mucn of the land is vacant and the .land along Sheridan is already inn-multipie family zoning. The only existing building is the warehouse which is nonconforming in R-1 zoning. The Commission felt that this recommendation did take a major step in providing well -needed housing. The Commission also sup- ported the neighborhood commercial on the Shell Gas Station site because it ;would provide a use compatible with the multiple family that would go on that site. Councilmember Witherspoon was disappointed that Council had approved the designation of the interchange. Although she realized that there was nd way that anyone would put a full interchange in there she still felt that the intersection was a major problem and caused many traffic problems particularly `in the College Terrace neighborhood. She reiterated that she was disappointed when they changed the land use designation and Correction would vote against the motion for the',same reason. See Pg834 5/18/81 Councilmember Fletcher commented that there was an ElR done on the item a few years' agb in connection with double left-hand lanes. There was a discussion of the underpass. The impact of 7 1 8 3/16/81 building a grade separation at Page Mill and El Camino would only cause an increase in traffic. There would also be a shift of the problem to the intersections on either side and a need to increase the capacity of the Oregon Avenue Underpass. and then grade separation at Middlefield and so on. Finally, there is abso tely no funding for that type of construction anymore. It made good sense to delete it from the plans. Councilmember Eyerly said that it would be wise to save that ground because he didn't think that the new left-hand turn lane and other improvements on Page Mill -and El Camino would solve the traffic problem. If the property was rezoned and development placed there, it would be difficult in the future to improve the traffic flow . He would vote against the motion. Councilmember Bechtel said that staff recommended that the parcel near the Shell Station be service commercial and the Planning Commission recommended neighborhood commercial. She asked if there would be a problem for the existing station. If it became nonconforming would it be allowed to continue. Kenneth Schreiber, Planning Director, responded that if the existing Shell Station was rezoned to neighborhood commercial, then they could apply for a use permit. Staff acknowledged that the Planning Commission recommendation was better than staff's because of the better controls over alternative land uses in the area. Councilmember Bechtel asked about the County property which is a county parking lot. She understood that it was discussed at the Planning Commission and that the Commission had recommended to change the Comprehensive Plan to multiple family residential but the zoning would remain P -F. Mr. Schreiber responded that she was correct. The back section of the property _that fronts on Sheridan is in that situation right now. The Comprehensive Plan designation is multiple family residential for that half of the parking lot -and the zoning is P -F. The Planning Commission recommendation would simply make the property uniform in having the same land use designation. The P -F zoning is consistent with the Comprehen- sive Plan since public facility zones are allowed within all -of the various zones. MOTION PASSED: The -motion passed on the following vote: AYES: Bechtel, Fletcher, Henderson, Klein, Levy, Renzel NOES: Eyerly, Fazzino, Witherspoon ABSENT: None Mayor Henderson said that the second item dealt with amendments to the ,Employment Section of the Comprehensive Plan to include references encouraging provision of child care facilities On industrial sites.- He noted that it was a public hearing. Councilmember Renzel asked staff what would happen if a property was granted a variance to construct for a day care center and the use ceased. Mr. Schreiber responded that die square footage that would be added would be limited to the chid care facilities use and would not he eligible for a use and occupancy permit for an alternate use for the area. Councilmember Renzel confirmed that it would then sit idle. 7 1 9s' ,1,,q6/81 She supposed that a company below its present limit of occupancy that added space for a child care center -within its existing zoning would not require a variar,ce. She asked how that would be handled in the future. Mr. Schreiber responded that it would not change. If they had additional square footage they coulu build on the site and if they allocate that space to .a child care facility they would: come in for a building permit, go through architectural review etc. same as they would now. Councilmember Renzei stated that her point was, if a company wished to utilize their full zoning envelope for office or commerc-al use, would they need to request a variance for the space they had already used as a day care center. Since no variance was provided for commercial uses, how would the law provide for that. Mr. Schreiber said if they presently had a day care facility and wanted to use the space up to the maximum allowable by the Zoning Ordinance, they could. If they wanted to retain the day care center but go beyond the Zoning Ordinance requirements then they would need to apply for a variance for the day care center but not for the industrial or commercial use. MOTION: Councilmember Bechtel introduced the following resolution, and seconded by Fazzino, moved its adoption. RESOL'"TION 5888 entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO, AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN BY ADD- ING AN EMPLOYMENT POLICY AND AMENDING THE LAND USE MAP" MOTION PASSED: The motion passed unanimously. POLICY AND PROCEDURES O ISM I ADOPTING A POLICY STATE- RUTTURUMWT-0-77177KRE IN THE CITY " Chairman Fletcher said that the Policy and Procedures --,Committee discussed the matter of industry participation in the funding for child care services and recommended adoption of a policy statement the following: a) :.City support of child 'care services is strong, based upon a demonstrated need, the judgment that it is a high priority among human services, and the availability of funds. City support has been ongoing for many years, and assuming the continuation of the above factors, is expected to continue; b) Industry support of the PACC,C program is encouraged by the City; c) Industry support will not be used as the -basis for reducing the -City's commi�`.ment to` child care services; and d) -Any industry funding will be distinct from City funding and will enable more people to benefit from PACCC services, She explained that, it was.poi-nted out in Committee that the intent of item (c) was not necessarily that the monetary..participation of the City had to remain `constant but that it could be -in -kind services,-I.e. provision of facilities. MOTIONS Chairman Fletcher moved that the Policy and.: Procedures Committee recommendations be adopted., Councilmember Klein was concerned about the -wording of --id). Specifically, the language- said "....and will enable more people _to benefit from PACCC: services." He questioned whether they could promise that, especially with the various 'day-to-day budget constraints. He asked for cleaner language which says: that - they certainly want_ industrial funds and avant to continue the program, but whether they -could commit to using the --funding only to -allow more people to be served was questionable. 7 2 0 3/16/81 Mayor Henderson said the industry people were merely concerned that if they- put in $10,000, that the City doesn't reduce its commitment by $10,000. Christine Doan said that in addition to child care services, industry wants the City's continued support. None of the industries PACCC has talked to have indicated that their only purpose was to provide additional services. Their main concern seems to be showing their employees they are in favor of child care and helping PACCC expand its services to include some of their employees, but not restricted to additional services. Mayor Henderson suggested that Councilmember Klein strike (d) since (c) states industry's concern about reducing the City's commitment. MOTION: Councilmemher Klein moved to strike part (d), Vice - Mayor Fletcher seconded the motion. -Councilmember Renzel mentioned that the Council was also looking at -in -kind services such as staff support, facilities, etc. It wasn't just a strictly monetary commitment. Hal Anjo, Department of Social and Community Services, said the intention of (d). was to articulate the current lev31 of funding, the additional monies coming from industry would benefit more people, all things being equal. Councilmember Fazzino opposed the motion, feeling that (d) is. separ?,tc from (c) and speaks to the fact that industry • Correction doesn't want to run child care centers, but is looking for the -See Pg. expertise, central administration and programs which benefit 834 their employees. Item (d) by virtue -of industry support will 5/1.8/81 • enable more people working for these industries to benefit from PACCC services'. Vice -Mayor Fletcher said there is no intent for industry to run the child care services, only contribute funding for same. She said this wording grew from a statement by Mr. Koch that commitments from_ private employers would be dependent _on the City and County maintaining current levels of funding, although that language was modified to allow for in -kind services. She reminded the Council that the City lost real and potential revenue with the passage of Proposition 13 whereas industry benefitted from it, and Proposition 4 only allows the City to increase expenditures eased on population i ncrea'se, which is not happening in Palo Alto, while industry continues to expand. That proposition did nit -,tike into account industry's demand. for -services. However, she agreed,. that Item (d) is superfluous. Councilmember Bechtel also opposed the motion to strike (d) since the --purpose of the resolution is to put staff and the child care people in a good position to be seeking funding from industry. She saw,nothing wrong with a statement saying "enable more people" since more people could be as few. as 1 or c more and wouldn't mean a tremendous financial commitment. She urged oppositioff;to.the motion.- Counci lmember cyerly said. the Committee minutes indicated that clarification of the word "commitment" meant not only financial, but also'staff time, commitment to the program, Item (c) could be-, reworded to include 'Ci ty' s commitment and funding to child care services" so it is understood the'Citj .would continue to do both. Unless it is clarified, he did not support '.remaving. Item (d). Councilmember Klein said the issue is not support of child care progr.aras," but rather thai.,'-(d) as presently: worded works as a ,negative to 'child care programs since it would enable <Yndustry 7 2 1 3/16/81 to deny future contributions because they weren't enabling more people to -benefit. Rather than deleting (d) he suggested inserting, after the word -"will" ii the third line, "to the extent budgetary constraints permit". Mayor Henderson asked for opinions on that suggestion= Miss Doan asked that it be left in because she feh industry originally wanted spaces for child care which PACCC could provide through a variety of resources, helped by their additional funding. She felt that if industry felt there were not going to be more spaces, but they were expected to fund the programs anyway, PACCC would have a hard time attracting the initial operating funding hoped for. She felt the wording is general enough that it doesn't limit the City or industry in any way, and would serve to attract more contributions if left in. AMENDMENT TO MAIN MOTION: The amendment to the main motion failed on an 8-1 vote, Councilmember Klein voting "aye". Mayor Henderson expressed pleasure at the positive signs of industry support since it has been difficult to obtain. He commended Christine Doan, the PACCC board members and City staff for their efforts. MOTION PASSED: The motion passed unanimously. POLICY AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION Tr —THE STOP SIGN AT HARRIET AND CHAINING --- Vice-Mayor Fletcher said that over the staff's negative recommendation, the stop sign at Harriet and Channing was first approved by the Council upon the request of persons associated with the school at that location. After installation, considerable neighborhood opposition surfaced causing the Council to reconsider the item. MOTION: Chairman Fletcher, for the Policy.ano Procedures Committee, moved the stop sign at Harriet and Channing be removed based on the fact there is another stop sign just one block away, and also that parking be prohibited during the' appropriate morning and afternoon hours in the two spaces preceed ng the crosswalk to al l ow clear -visibility and safe crossing. Also that the City make sure the yellow crosswalk marking is well mainta Lied and that police cotinue'their surveillance and monitoring of the speed limit. Mayor Henderson asked for any new comments 'from the public. Sister Mary Howard Christensen, .Principal -of St-. Elizabeth Seton School adjacent to the corner- under discussion said that about 135 children attend, k -2 graders and 7-•8 graders. She -said that although the school has its own -crossing guards, before the sign -was erected there was a problem on -that corner and the school staff was grateful the Council recognized that problem 'by putting up a sign. She wanted to know if the Concil felt a problem.no longer -existed, and if the sign is removed, would ,some , aiternati ve be -provided for the - safety of -the school children. Ted Baer, 855 Lytton Ave. parent of 3 at St. Elizabeth's said the school needed all the help it could get, and although there i-s another stop sign ablock away in one direction, there is not in the other; and he Felt the stop si.gri should be left since there are children crossing there a good part of every weekday. Nancy -,Marty, 1041 Channing, said that while some neighbors are 7 2 2 3/16/81 opposed to the stop sign, a petition supporting the sign with 21 names was submitted to the.Policies and Procedures Committee These people feel it has helped slow the traffic which is of great concern to these neighbors. Gertrude Adler, 1060 Channing Avenue, asked if an hour's activity in the morning and again in the afternoon justified 3 stop signs on one corner. She felt that the children are well protected with their crossing guards. She said that if any of those people in support of the sign lived on the corner surrounded by 3 stop signs as she does, they would undoubtedly take another point of view if they had to live with all the fumes and exhaust. Marilyn Stoddard, 1055 Channing Avenue, added her voice to opposition to the stop sign, primarily because of the extra noise and pollution created throughout the day when the need by the school is such a shot period of time. She also felt the crossing guards could adequately take care of the safety of the children crossing the street. Pauline Hayward, 1040 Channing Avenue, f.el_t that if there is a need to slow traffic, Lincoln -should be -considered since it is a commute street and is near the school. Much of the trouble is a result of where the children who are delivered by automobile are dropped off. She suggested putting the crosswalk. on the east side because there would be no parking to obstruct visibility of children crossing. Mark Hull, 1102 Channing, said that if anyone spends time at that corner they will see it gives a false sense of security since so marry people do not actually stop. Councilmember Witherspoon said the Committee minutes indicated she was in attendance at that meeting but in fact she was not. She also wanted it known that she was originally in opposition to that stop sign going in and supports the Policies and Procedures Committee's motion. AMENDMENT TO MAIN MOTION: Councilmember Witherspoon moved to substitute the wording "That parking be prohibited within 25 ft. before the crosswalk to ensure better visibility" in the second part of Vice -Mayor Fletcher's motion. Councilmember Renzel opposed the amendment because she felt it would further complicate the neighborhood situation and that if the parking were prohibited for a specific time period the residents would not violate that prohibition. She also felt it would be worth looking at putting the crosswalk on the east side of Harriet street, as an alternate to the stop sign. She also feet the parents picking up their children in cars could adjust their traffic pattern to pick up their children on the school side of the street rather than across Channing. There are arrangements that can be made between the school and the children to avoid having their children cross the street, unnecessarily. Councilmember Eyerly asked Mr. Noguchi's opinion on whether moving the crosswalk across Harriet would have merit and what the standard for red curbs is. Mr. ,Noguchi said relocating the crosswalk made a lot of sense but it will .cost money. The width of Harriet would then provide the ne!essary eastbound clearance for students in the crosswalk, and the,: bike lane already' restricts the parking and provides the visibility in the westbound_direction. When painting a curb red, it depends on the location and the distance visibiliLy,re 'uired. 7 2 3 3/16/81 SUBSTITUTE AMENDMI:" T: Mayor Henderson- moved, seconded by Eyerly, to change Item 2 of Vice -Mayor Fletcher's motion tc move the crosswalk to theeast side of the intersection. Councilmember Bechtel felt the amendment as well as the main Correction motion were good because many children are dropped off on the SeePgg34 wrong side of the street. 5/18/81 Councilmember Levy felt the amendment was a bad idea because it is an idea being considered without detailed analysis, and before implementing it, it would be worth while for staff to walk the area again. If they still . feel it is a good idea, they don't need Council's resolution to implement it. However, it would be administratively cumbersome to renege on the resolution and therefore he would vote against the amendment but in favor of the main motion. Mayor Henderson suggested adding the words "pending conclusion by staff on the feasibility" to the end of the substitute motion. Councilmember Renzel wanted to be certain that if staff considered it inappropriate to move the crosswalk, would the parking ban come back to the committee for completion? Mr. Noguchi said a parking ban would come back to Council. SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT: The amendment to 2 to move the crosswalk to the east side of the intersection pending concurrence by staff on feasibility passed unanimously, MAIN MOTION PASSED: The motion as amended passed on a unanimous vote. RECOMMENDATION OF FINANCE Wran.T=M—M7rrn RE Councilmember Fazzino, Chairman of the Finance and Public Works Committee,said the proposed ordinance developed by the committee would restrict the use of covenants, codes and restrictions in any homeowners association's bylaws which prohibit the use of clotheslines. The intent of the ordinance is to guarantee that all residents of the city have the option of utilizing clotheslines within bounds and reason because of potential energy savings. At the same tiinre the committee expressed the need for aesthetic standards and hoped the ARB or other groups would get involved if that became an issue. Existing condominium associations have been able to work out potential aesthetic problems without difficulty. Re,garding,rew buildings, the option of this ordinance would give developers the policy direction to include clotheslines somewhere on the property in an aesthetic fashion. It would be.up to the existing homeowners' -associations to get together and determine what is reasonable. He said the City's conservation program intends to establish a positi_ye education program letting residents know exactly what kinds of savings are involved using a clothesline vs, a dryer. He encouraged the Council to support the p►'oposal for what he felt was a very innovative program. MOTION: Councilmember Fazzino for the Finance and Public Works Committee introduced the following ordinance for first reading: ORDINANCE entitled "ORDINANCE. OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO ADDING SECTION 18.88.080 TO THE PALO ALTO MUNICIPAL, CODE FORBIDDING CLOTHESLINE PROHIBITIONS" Coundi lm-tmber Witherspoon said she was concerned about clotheslines between buildings and wondered. //here they would be put for multifamily buildings. Jeanne Clinto;, Conservation Manager. Utilities Department, showed via slides how it could be done aesthetically where no space was originally allocated for such use. She showed 7 2 4 3/16/81 lattice fencing which, with the addition of a climhinc vine would not only hide a clothesline but add to the appearance of a building, and a retractible clothesline which is small, portable and can be put up anywhere. The ordinance does not require the use of clothesline, it simply encourages such use leaving it up to the =ndividual associations how to best handle that. Mayor Henderson wanted to know what happens if the only option is putting a clothesine in the parking lot or on porches,_ what action can the homeowners association take'f they don't want that? He wondered if they are required to permit clotheslines to_ be put somewhere in the complex. Attorrey Abrams said the ordinance would not permit a complex to prohibit a clothesline, and if there were no other place, it could then be on a balcony or similar place. He said in most cases they would presume there is some available space which Could not be prohibited from being utilized. Councilmember Eyerly wanted to know how many condominiums or subdivisions have restrictions in their CC&R's now wt.ich he assumed are on file with the City Attorney's office. Ms. Clinton said that at the F&PW meeting they had identified two and during the meeting three more were identified which do restrict clotheslines. Harrison Otis, 909 N. California Avenue, said he didn't want Palo Alto to turn into another tenement district as in New York Councilmember Eyerly said that in a high-rise building such as his there is no place to conceal a clothesline, even with vines and the like because the view is all around the building and people on the higher floors look down, on it. He felt it is wonderful advertising for the solar program but hoped the Council could come up with another method for that advertising., rather than putting an impact cn existing buildings which have not reserved. a place for clothes drying that would be aesthetic. He felt an ordinance which speaks to the construction of new developments was in order to prevent the CC&R's having such-a=section. Vice -Mayor Fletcher felt "where there is a will there is a way" - to find a place for clotheslines, such as in areas designated. for dumpsters which are larger than necessary, unused parking spaces, etc. She said it would be a shame for Palo Alto, with a nation-wide reputation as a leader in conservation,, to pass something virtually ineffective. She realized the ordinance, even if passed, has a relatively small effect., but taken cumulatively with all the other conservation efforts, has a significant effect, on the total energy demand in an ever-increasing manner. She pointed out that the amount of energy. consumed in clothes drying in terms of electricty is an average of ,744 kilowatt hours -,per month, -about 7 times what an -average household_uses in electric lighting per month. She said in most multifa"flhly units, the rates are commercial rates, which are significantly higher than the 6f per load which- some people have quoted as the cost of drying clothes. . She. bel ieves that rate is based on a lifeline rate. In addition, she said staff has_ told her. that one quarter of the clothesdryers in the City are gas dryers which would be a significantly higher cost to op..rate. She pointed out that there have been -no restrictions An the city all,these years, yet one does not see clothes -hanging in front yards and from windows. Using the example of correspondents l.odgin_g complaints -about swimming towels hanging On a front porch. i ndi cates skewed values i f ' people are so offended by such a thing._ TV antennas, solar panels and _even the curbs; lie recycling program have raised - obect'ions on the basis of unaesthetic effects. However, these things turn out to be tolerable when_the benefit is realized. The only other place - in the nation -which has this ordinance is Davis and they -have written into the ordinance that the 7 2 5 3/16/81 the desirability of permitting clotheslines far outweighs the aesthetic disadvantages. She mentioned that in the Greenhouse complex where she lives and where there is such concern about seeing peoples' towels hanging out, she sees a parking lot full of cars from her window, cars which make noise when they, start up and fumes which enter her living quarters as well as oil puddles which pollute the bay when it rains, and she finds this far more Offensive than seeing laundry on a line. She said it is of much more concern to her if we keep using energy at the same rate and have to send our sons to protect the oil in the Persian Gulf or go in for nuclear power and risk contaminating the earth. She said it is a small but significant step-in the right direction and urged adoption of the -ordinance.. Mayor Henderson said he 's a strong supporter of energy conservation, voting for and initiating , conservation measures and ,rate changes that induce a reduction in energy use. However, he said he had strong concerns:in the case of the clothesline ordinance because he finds it unacceptable to remove covenants, conditions and restrictions banning clotheslines in existing multifamily projects. He feels there are many condominium and apartment complexes with no appropriate location for clotheslines. He said hanging clothes from windows or on porches and balconies would have a tacky tenement effect. He said he was personally affected because he lives in Greenhouse II and agrees with Ann and Bob Mack who wrote that clothes hanging on a porch can be viewed by residents of many units in a number of buildings and oven one person using a porch for clothesdrying can have a big impact. He said it is one thing to hang clothes in a back yard or visually protected area, but another to hang them in full view of other residents. He suggested sending the proposed' ordinance back to staff to see if it could be revised to include clothesline bans in single family residences and require protected drying areas in new multifamily residences and hoped that serious consideration would be given to the impact on 101 Alma, Greenhouse, and a number of apartment buildings in town. Councilmember Levy said he thinks people should be allowed to use clotheslines if they want to and the reason he endorsed the concept before the council is because he doesn't think there should be an arbitrary ruling restricting clotheslines. On the other hand he recognizes that some multifamily dwellings were developed without appropriate places for clotheslines, meaning that clotheslines in those buildings would either have to be put up in an unaesthetic place or on the roof or in an out of the way place. He asked if there was anything 'in the ordinance to -prevent clotheslines being put up in places that are relatively unaccessible such as roofs or Parking areas because he doesn't want to see an ordinance which forces the putting up of clotheslines in unaesthetic fashion. Attorney Abrams said the ordinanceeis broad in allowin', for example, the homeowners associations, to decide where they wish to allocate areas --for clotheslines. The ordinance_ simply says you cannot prohibit the location of clothes lines -or unduly. restrict -them (that s, make them totally unaccessible), but gives the option - to -say that a balcony ls not appropriate. Councilmember Levy asked if there. is. anything_:in the ordinance which affects a condominiums` right. to control the hanging of clothes out bn balconies as they now do. Attorney; Abrams said there was not He said the ARB has some regulations for new construction or additions which would e impact the location of certain things being visible from the street. Councilmember Levy said he feels sure that Palo Alto is not going to become a''New York tjipe tenement district even 7 2 C 3/16/81 though wc give people who wait to the ups,ion to hang their clothes in the sun and air. He said he would vote in .favor of the ordinance. Counci lmeniber- Renzel commented that every place she has lived in- in Palo Alto has had a clothesline without creating an aesthetic problem. She said this ordinance gives some basic rights to a tenant who might wish to hang out wash, that either a facility is provided or they be allowed to use their own unit for the purpose,- She felt the spectre of tenements is much overblown since most of the facilities built without clotheslines- are providing a simpler way to dry clothes and only those who wish to dry their clothes in the open air will do so; she doubted the number of those would be very large and added it is -rather absurd to become so concerned with tidyness as to be appalled at the sight of clean laundry hanging out to dry. Councilmember Klein felt it not only important. to. pass such an ordinance but that it receive po-sitive.public acceptance and generate enthusiasm for the use of clotheslines. He agreed with Mayor Henderson that setting up more detailed guidelines for homeowners associations was desirable. He therefore supported revising the ordinance. Ed Aghjayan, Director of Utilities, said he couldn't think of any part of the conservation program on which they spent more time to save so little energy and while it is important, it is only the first of many steps that will be coming before the Council for policy decisions regarding planning concerns vs. energy concerns. He wanted the Council to either adopt the ordinance or kill it so that his staff time could be directed to more effective energy conservation measures. Councilmember Bechtel felt the ordinance is broad enough for the homeowners associations to develop their own guidelines and favored the adoption of it. Councilmember Eyerly said the Attorney's assistant told him restrictions on clotheslines had to be reas:1nable, but he felt it w'as unreasonable to require a resident of a 14 story building to go to the roof to hang clothes. He mentioned another suggestion that parking areas be used, but his building has a waiting list for the parking spa;es, leaving the guest parking area near the front door. He felt the people voting for the ordinance were exploiting a chance to advertise conservation and invited them to come to 101 Alma and decide where there was a reasonable place eto put a clothesline. Mayor Henderson agreed. - MOTION PASSED: The motion passed on the following vote: AYES: Bechtel, Fletcher F_azzino, Levy, Renzel NOES: Eyerly, Henderson, Klein ABSTENTION: Witherspoon RESOLUTION OF COUNCIL SUPPORTING ES A PPROMMOMT=Trirr ATING TfIE'•MEI3ITERRANEAN FRUIT FLY MOTION: Mayor Henderson moved, seconded by Fazzino, approval o.f resolution. ,RESOLUTION entitled "RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO SUPPORTING ASSEMBLY BILL 284 WHICH AUTHORIZES AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY CLAIM OF LOCAL ENTITIES INCURRED IN ERADICATING THE MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT. FLY" 7 2 7 3/16/81 Mr. Zaner said that since the agenda was printed Assembly Bill 284 has gone dormant, Assembly Bill 624 taking its place, The language is similar and provides $14.4 ui ll i iri cur reimbursement to local governments fur fruitfly eftorts. It has gone to the Senate with Assemblyman Sher's support. His recommendation is that the Council authorize the Mayor to indicate the City. Council's support for the legislation. MOTION PASSED: The motion passed unanimously. SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Councilmember Fazzino moved, seconded by Levy, to indicate Council support for AB 624., ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL Of THE CITT -ZF PALO RITO PREVENTING AO REGULATING THE AERIAL SPRAYIF G`UJF PESTICIDES W7 4. PALO ALTO - URGENCY Mayor Henderson said it was well known that the feelings of the council members are unanimous in opposing, the spraying program. Harrison Otis, 909 N. California Avenue, said he is definitely opposed to any more spraying, which has killed one of . his trees and made him sick repeatedly. He said he has seen the damage personally and doesn't want to see it go any further. Deborah DeMaria, 431 Kipling St. representing an organization called F.L.Y. played a tape-recorded song composes to show the organization's opposition to the spraying and said that they were going to use red ribbons, much as the yellow ribbons in the Iranian hostage affair, representing the univer-,al message of stop. MOTION: Councilmember Levy introduced the following ordinance and moved, approval seconded by Councilmember Fletcher, as an urgency, measure. ORDINANCE NO. 3270 entitled "ORDINANCE OF". THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO PREVENTING AND REGULATING THE AERIAL SPRAY- ING OF PESTICIDES WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF YHE CITY OF PALO ALTO" - URGENCY Mr. Abrams added an additional section (4) that would read: "This project is exempt of the categorical aid exemption." He said that it was an attempt to cover all bases with respect to the application of the California Environmental Quality Act and to be uniform among all the cities. Councilmember Witherspoon asked if that meant the City Attorney would be exempt from having to make a finding there is no adverse environmental impact. Mr. Abramssaid they were trying to make alternative findings so that ,if a challenge were to occur there would he several bases for trying to uphold the ordinance, the first,: being the, negative declaration, the second alternative suggesting that it. is an emergency project, and the third that it is categorically exempt from the provisions of CEQA which has 10-15 categorical exemptions, one of which may apply to this ordinance. Councilmember Witherspoon then asked if it would not be prudent to say in section 7.050 that we require the applicant to notify the public of _the hearing act his expense. Mr. Abrams said he didn't think it was necessary since it is..a standard condition being imposed, which is,:always at the applicant's expense. Counci-lmember Eyerly said he supported theordinance and was glad to see the protection of fruit growers afforded by section 5.25.040. 7-2 8 3/16/81 1 :Vice -Mayor Fletcher asked about the liability section saying she didn't want the City hela liable on any account from any of the effects of the spraying. Mr. Abrams said they were attempting ,to say that if a court allows spraying, or if a court says a Council may hold a hearing but may not prohibit the spraying, the City does not wish to be liable for any of the impacts. Councilmember Levy said that while the Council agreed spraying was a last resort, authorities often feel when in doubt, spray rather than trying other, more specifically oriented remedies first. He said this ordinance protected us against that kind of capricious action and completely endorses it. Councilmember Fazzino reiterated the Council`s reasons for unanimously disapproving of the aerial spraying earlier, that is because of the myriad potential health hazards associated with the aerial spraying as well as the unconvincing evidence presented by both state and federal agriculture officials that there would be any benefits from the spraying. Councilmember Klein said sincP he w..s not a member of the Council at the time, he wanted to go on record now as strongly supporting the ordinance. Councilmember Renzel mentioned the continuing high degree of of public concern about the aer,i al spraying, and reminded the Council that the Department of Agriculture officials indicated that if Palo Alto went 60 days without a find, they would consider the city safe from an infestation. She said the last fertile fly found was on January 21 which meant there was only another week before the 60 days were up, hoping the officials would keep true to their word. Councilmember Bechtel applauded the city attornies of Palo Alto and surrounding cities for their preparation for any legal action which may be necessary, adding she hoped none would he. Mayor Henderson strongly supported the ordinance. MOTION PASSED: The ordinance was adopted as an urgency measure -on a unanimous vote, FEASIBILITY OF A VOLLEYBALL COURT, Scott`Catlett, Recreation Director said he stood by the staff report that the lot at 420 Hawthorne was not suitable for a volleyball court. MOTION: Councilmember Ey'erly moved, seconded by Fazzino, the.. staff recommendation that the Council declare the vacant lot at 420 Hawthorne not suitable for use as a volleyball court and direct staff to proceed with previous Council action regarding limited volleyball play at Downtown Park North. Councilmember Witherspoon asked if 420 Hawthorne would revert to a community garden. Mr. Catlett said he believed Larry White -.would be coming before Council to make that recommendation. MOTION PASSED: The motion to accept the staff recommendation passed unanimously. NON-RESIDENT SWIMMING FEES Mayor Henderson said there was a staff recommendation to make some fee schedule changes at the Wilbur and Rinconada pools as stated in the staff report. Kathleen Mavourneen, 561 Center Drive, said she and her daughter came before the Council last August to protest the "price gouging" Palo Alto was participating in by. charging 7 2 9 3/16/81 non-residents outrageous prices. She said she assumed from a lack'of communication from Mr. Catlett over a 7 month period that she had nothing to contribute to the study, but was going to respond to the study with suggestions. They were that she was infuriated that "weekend racism, sexism and classism may continue" if the resident and non-resident fees are 'only equalized during the'week. She continued with various denouncements of Palo Alto's "elitist" discrimination, and ,suggested, if overcrowding is really the problem, which she doubted, to limit the number in the pool on a first come, first served basis. She also suggested giving the $3,000 "gouge money" collected since 1979 to the.next_1000 non-resident swimmers with an apology. Robert Moss, 4010 Orme, said he knows there has been a lot of overuse of parks, particularly Rinconada and Mitchell, by nonresidents because he circulates petitions on weekends and finds 70-80% of -the people there are from elsewhere. He feels that discouraging non-resident use of the pools on weekends through higher fees is justifiable. He was concerned that if a differential fee is not charged at the other pools that the overflow of non-residents will soon -present the same crowding problem at those -Other pools. With the caveat that a higher non-resident fee be instituted at Terman and Jordan at an administrative level without having to go back through the hearing process, he supported dropping the non-resident fees -at those pools on weekends'and weekdays, but -hoped the situation would be reviewed periodically to make sure his neighborhood was not getting overflow from Rinconada. Vice -Mayor Fletcher said she originated the proposal for differential fees to respond to the very real concerns of the people living in the pool neighborhoods, especially Rinconada Park, which was being inundated with busloads of people, not just single families, which came to the park because their own community did not have one, often their own community being very far away, not one of th.2 surrounding communities. She said she was pleased to see the staff recommendation to eliminate the fee differential during the week and recommended that Council adopt the fee schedule as proposed, to become effective June 1, 1981. She also wanted to add -the amendment proposed by Mr. Moss that staff be authorized to reinstitute a differential system if it .becomes apparent that a problem is developing at Terman or Jordan. Councilmember Renzel was concerned about the differential rate for children under 12 since she felt most would be accompanied by an adult and it seemed unfair. - She said it looked like the non-resident usage had dropped 50% in the year since the -sees went up. MOTION: Councilmember Renzel moved that the differential for children under 12 be $1 rather than $ 2 on weekends. The motion failed for lack of a second. Councilmember Levy commended staff for a thorough. report on - which he based his support of the fee schedule and willingness to place any change needed in-staff's.hands. MOTION: ViceMayorFletcher moved, seconded by Fazzino, to adopt the recommended staff fee schedule and add -authorization for staff to alter the fees at Jordan and Terman if .it proves necessary and with the new fee schedule to become -effective 6/1/81. AMENDMENT: Vice Mayor Fletcher, moved, seconded by Fa2z i no, to authorize staff to reinstitute a differential rate system if it proves them is a developing= -problem. MOTION and AMENDMENT PASSED: The motion and amendment passed unanimously. SOUTHGATE:- NINETY i;AY TRIAL CLOSURE OF CASTILL.EJAAT PARK BOULEVARD MOTION: Councilmember Levy moved, seconded by Witherspoon, to limit public input to 3 mi n ute:Ts each due to the number of t( ). 7 3 0 3/16/81 of people wanting to speak on the subject at such a late hour. MCTHON PASSED: The motion passed on the following vote: AYES: Fazzine, Fletcher, Henderson, Klein, Levy, Renzel, Witherspoon NOES: Bechtel, Eyerly Marjorie York, 1560 Castelleja Avenue, supported the staff report, and had 10 signatures of neighbors who also supported the closure as the only reasonable solution since it has solved the problem of through traffic. John Monroe, 1570 Madrono, came forward with a statement with 13 signatures from the 1500 block of Madrono. It supported the closure of Castilleja at Peers Park as a solution -1,o the problem of excessive through traffic in Southgate. Hal Marchick, 1511 Madrono, brought a letter from a neighbor, Oliver Berg, 75, stating he would much prefer to drive on Churchill if it allows the rest of the neighborhood to be free of traffic. Mr. Marehick also favors the closure. Lois Johnson, 230 Sequoia Avenue, said she is opposed to barricades in Southgate or anywhere ease in Palo Alto. Sid Wilkins, 345 Manzanita Avenue, came forward with letters from 4 residents who favor the closure of Southgate. Brent Herhold, 92 Churchill Avenue, favors the staff report and urged Council to approve recommendation. Linda Vlasic, 1540 Mariposa expressed approval along with the approval of 3 neighbors who now feel comfortable about backing out of their driveways. Saskia Boissevain, Manager of California Avenue Area Development As7ociation, 410 Cambridge, voiced the CAADA opposition of the Southgate closure. She said many Southgate residents who are elderly, have concerns about access to the Catifornia Avenue shopping area, especially those who with major health proolems who are unable to climb through the various barriers and closures. She wanted to refer the Southgate mattee to, the Policy and Procedures Committee and to allow CAADA and the.Southgate and Evergreen Associations to discuss the matter in detail amongst themselves. Mike.Golick, 366 California Avenue; objected to the closure on the basis of the previous closures of access to California, specifically California at Alma and Oregon at Alma. He said merchants paid for the access at Birch and Oregon, and didn't feel California Avenue could survive many -more- such closures. Stepen Avis, 164 So. California Avenue, representing Co -Op said they were concerned that if the street closure pattern continues, even. Co -Op members may be forced to shop in a•moee convenient location. He said nobody wants to live next to a dying shopping district because it reflects on their neighborhood and hoped solutions other than closures would be found. Megan Skel di ng, Ash Copy Center, is Opesed to the closure. Steven Holloway, Farmers Market, said he would not be affected by the closure, relying on bike and foot traffic patronization, but -is sympathetic, to, his neighbors who rely on auto traffic to patronize their shops. He said CAALII considers the businesses neighborhood businesses and asked t or a continuation of the question. Alan Weller, 366 California Avenue feels the closure would be economically detrimental to the California: Avenue business 7 3 1 .3/16/81 district and as such would have an. -adverse effect on the - quality of life in the long run in., the Southgate andEvergreen areas.-- He said history shows how closuresAffect hat area: but that it is not dealt with in -the staff report. He said- unlike.many shopping centers, the California Avenue business district is an integral part of the neighborhood and the- - diverse and varied forms of retail shopping and services are .good for•the community. He suggested that.a vote to permanently install :t -he. barricade is untimely and there has been -inadequate consideration of the financial impact and -of the quality of 1 i fe. He asked that -a vote to -permanently close the str ..4t .-not be _made. Herman Postler, 1535 Portola Avenue, a.former California Avenue businessman, presented a petition of 50 residents of -his area who are opposed to the closure. Muriel Bell, 355 Miramonte, said she was not directly affected by any of the traffic solutions, and while a moderate not necessarily in favor of the closure, feels it is the best solution to a bad problem which she feels will only get worse with the addition of new housing on Park Boulevard and on Stanford property, and the opening of the new Dumbarton Bridge access. Joseph Oliger, 1610 Escobita Avenue, supports the barrier, feeling that despite the slight inconvenience getting to California Avenue, it is better than the danger of much traffic past the neighborhood park, and will continue to be an active shopper on California Avenue. Gail Woolley, 1685 Mariposa, brought forward a letter from people in support of the barrier as it existed as of that time, adding her support, and urging that the barrier be made permanent so residents would not have to come down yet again, She suggested, for those who felt permanent action woula prejudice the study to follow of the Evergreen Park area, it might.be possible to accommodate both groups by distinguishing betweeli the legal and physical actions concerning the word permanent. She hoped the t;,ouncil would make the barrier le9ally,permanent, unless in future it is deemed unnecessary by changes',:in the traffic pattern. -Staff recommends spending $1500 to redesign the barrier similar to those in the College Terrace area and she suggested deferring that expenditure until •tne results of the first action are known through the Evergreen Park Study. Beverly Wood -Smith, 202 Sequoia Avenue, is against.the closure because her gasoline consumptin has tripled. Juanita Taylor, 304 Oxford, is against the barricade and spoke. for 3 other people. Joseph Ziony, 1640 Escobita Avenue, expressed support for the closure as the most effective and equitable means of handling a continually growing problem of commute traffic cutting through the Evergreen and Southgate neighborhoods. The benefits gained at small cost are increased safety on streets that were not designed for commute traffic. Jill Coelho, 1824 Park Blvd. supports Gail Woolley's position and wondered why the CAADA outcry about loss of business when high density housing and businesses- are being approved right on California Avenue, calling attention to the impact that will have on Park Boulevard as a commuter street. Erica Prince, 302 College Ave, read ..a letter from Corinne Powell requesting that the Council take no action regarding permanence of ,this barricade until staff has studied Evergreen Park, maintaining that the two neighborhoods share the through traffic abuse. She agreed that traffic has dropped on Birch Street as a result of the barricade, but increased on COIleg-e and Stanford Avenues. She wainted to avoid a situation where one street benefits and another street or perhaps neighborhood, suffers disproportionately. She maintained that the n ighborhood could agree on -d solution to alter traffic flow through the neighborhood so as to discourage through traffic 7-3 2 while allowing the residents to enter and exit both neighborhoods with access to California Avenue and points south. Jim Coccara, 1545 Castilleja, said he did not know when he bought into the neighborhood, that the barrier might not be perT.:..r;;rit and the traffic might increase. He volunteered to had a group of people to deliver prescriptions to the elderly who might find it difficult to get their own as a result of the barricade. He said he would continue to support the local merchants out of loyalty to community merchants. He mentioned that he -wants to see t$.e barrier remain because his street is only 28 ft. wide and with cars parked on the side of the street it is virtually impossible to have two lanes of traffic. He feels El _Camino is the main artery and the sign .California Avenue has attracts people to the district. Ellis Jacobs, 445 Cambridge, felt that to determine the true impact of street closures, a study of traffic on streets and revenue losses to the City of Palo Alto should first be done. Fred Nold, 1621 Portola Pvenue, finds the staff study more an exposition of a position rather than unbiased presentation of ideas, because of an inappropriate comparison drawn between the pol; done when the partial closure was undertaken, and an anecdotal poll where the split was 50/50 . David Schrom, SO2 College Avenue, asked Council to take time to look at the process. Michael Rudin, 214 Sequoia Avenue, a recent resident of Southgate, asked that the barrier be permanent for the peace and safety of the area and said a comprehensive solution for the whole area is demanded. Roy Grimley, 1693 Mariposa Avenue, spoke in favor of the closure. He said he would continue to shop on California Avenue. P. Rasmussen, 300 Sequoia, has lived there for 40 years, and expressed opposition to staff's recommendation to retain the barrier. Maria Boer, 251 Miramonte traffic now uses Miramonte as a shortcut off El Camino. She is against the closing and would like to see Park Blvd. left open one way in the direction of Co -Op. Michael Sullivan, 1515 Castilleja, reiterated the fact that Castilleja is not meant to be an artery as -;t was when it was carrying over 1,000 cars per day, and expressed condolences to the California merchants if they can't make it without Castilleja being reopened. Bea Kasper,- 1535 Castilleja supports the barrier end read quotes from mrchants and employees of Co -Op from the Palo Alto Weekly:stating they saw no difference in business since the i ns' tallati on of the barrier. Chris Sliney, 260 Miramonte, reiterated the previous protestations that those streets were not meant for commute traffic. Mayor Henderson reminded the Council that Southgate can't be left open to through traffic without serious adverse impacts and, unless the Council wants to be conti nu'al l yhounded for one way streets and closures, he felt it would be logical to have the permanent closure be the temporary until the Evergreen Park study is finished. MOTION: Mayor Henderson moved, seconded by Renzel, the resolution closing Castilleja at Park Boulevard, except for emergency vehicles, adding the stipulation that the permanent° barriers not ae put in until .,the Evergreen Park study is completed. 7 3 3 3/16/81 about that. He also said he couldn't support the declaration of permanency without the larger' study and it would be folly to remove the temporary barrier given its effect at reducing the major traffic problem on these streets. He was .sure none of the Council would vote to restore the high traffic count ever again in that neighborhood. He believes the Council is looking at far too limited an area fur a comprehensive solution to.: the problem and he wants the staff to get on with the Evergreen study, coming back with results of same as quickly as possible. Mr. Fazzino said he would be interested in hearing the financial data regarding the impact on the California Avenue business district. He supported continuation of the temporary barrier. Councilmember.Levy supported the motion to make the closure permanent but leave the temporary barr?er until the Evergreen study is complete. He believes that residents should have priority over the flow of traffic throughout Palo Alto, and. believes a substantial majority of Southgate residents want the barrier and the corresponding reduction of traffic. -He brought up one gentleman's comment that you can't stop progress, but said he does not consider speeding cars on narrow streets progress, nor a system endangering highschool kids on bicycles. He believes neighborhoods should be protected from inappropriate traffic flows through the use of stop signs, traffic l'ghts, and barriers which are all appropriate to accomplish the basic objective of having a better community for the.residents. He supported the motion. MOTION PASSED: The motion with the understanding that permanent barriers are to be put in only when Evergreen Park Study has been completed, passed unanimously. EUROPEAN HEALTH SPA - PARKING Mayor Henderson said the staff recommendation is to defer any recommendation.of parking restriction plan at this time, directing the staff_to install parking T's on the west side of El Camino in cooperation with the Spa in its efforts to reduce parking overflow on residential streets, and report back to Council on May 11 with an informational report on any changes in the Spa's parking problem. Clark Smithson, Western Division Vice -President, _European Health Spas, 4340 Stevens Creek Blvd., San Jose, said they have tried to be as cooperative as possible,and staff has the letter with the steps EHS has taken far beyond the legal requiremer.ts and suggestions made by staff, with the exception of hiring an additional employee to guard the Spa parking lot. He said he recognized the -typical inconvenience caused to. neighbors who _live _next_,to a commercial area, recognizing as well that they are not producing any sales tax for the City. However, he believes the Spa offers a valuable service. .He said they were open to further suggestions but felt they were doing everything suggested so far. He is in favor of putting parking T's on El Camino, and would like to see implementing the moving back of the bus stop'if the cooperation of. the Transit Authority could be, obtained'. He said that of the survey taken approximately 55% of the people didn't care enough to send back the. questionnair_. He was willing to go along with: parking. restrictions in the area if the Council deemed it necessary because: even though it Might be be bad for business, they want to cooperate wi_th}. the City. He said they already were strongly %urging the, spa employees to park across the street ,on El Camino although not requiring it. He felt--on`ce the parking T's are installed it will make it easier. He said the garage parking `spaces are always _full and they have put in 'a" new bike rack. 7 3 4 3/16/81 Kathleen Himmelberger, 1763 Park Boulevard, said that she received a query postcard, but it was not returned, because she received it the Monday after the Friday deadline. She commented that if the Council voted in favor of permit parking it would probably be the most -popular- decision in view of the fact that rarely is there 75% of the public in favor of an option. She said that at 6:45 that evening there were 28 cars parked on Park Boulevard, none of which belonged to her or residents,near her. She cited a statement on page 5 of the Staff Report that the loudest complaint was from those impacted the most, the others being impacted infrequently (every weekday evening from 5 p.m. to 8 p‘m.). She added that 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. is when they need their parking space in front of the house for their own cars and the cars of company. She also said that she wanted to know -what -the magic number was that defined a comparatively small number of residences to be , benefitted as stated on page 6 of the Staff Report in reference to the "substantial cost incurred by the general taxpayers", so as to avoid wasting time at Council meetings when there are only that many or fewer people involved. Further, she referred to the statement that such a plan would set a precedent, saying she hoped most of the decisions the Council made did set precedents, since there was no need to have a Council if only to go over previously -made decisions. She suggested it would be much less expensive to have homeowners police t? ei r own curbsides and urged the Council to address the building codes which do not require additional parking in situations of this type. Olga Jewell, 1715 Park Boulevard, said she has had her driveway blocked on a number of occasions by people using the spa. She said she has a sick husband and needs her driveway open. Audrey Poulter, 1731 Park Boulevard, said the spa had created parking problems for over 6 years,, does not provide enough parking to accommodate its patrons and cooperation between spa management and patrons has not been realized. The problems-=., she cited were blocked driveways, cars parked in red zones, in front of fire hydrants, and parking illegally at the spa entrance, making exiting dangerous. Residents have been further frustrated by the lack of response from the spa and police, the spa management saying where their patrons park is not their responsibility. She expressed concern that the problem would .be exacerbated by the completion of some of the facilities at the spa. Steve Anderson, 1722 Park Boulevard, said he always has a difficult time parking in front of his residence when he arrives home at 7 p.m., and is worried because he sees soliciting for increased membership of the spa on TV, which, tf successful, would mean an increased parking problem. Marian Slattery, 1737 Park Boulevard, said she has the impression the Council has the mandate to answer the concerns of Palo Alto residents about the quality of life, and is aware of parts of Palo Alto where the —quality has been preserved through City Council action. She mentioned that the Comprehensive Plan clearly states that traffic generated by commercial properties not encroach Om residential neighborhoods. Keeping the ramifications of the health spa in mind she urged the Council and staff to be closely aware of the auto impact on the Evergreen Park, neighborhood ;by.commercial -expansion of the California Avenue business district, and to 7 3 5 3/16/81. prevent it turning into Evergreen Park1ng Lot. Erica Prince, 302 College Avenue, speaking for Corinne Powell, said she disagreed with staff's recommendation to defer a parking restriction plan, believing the spa will no nothing more than offered in their letter of March 5, 1981 since their legal responsibilities are minimal. She felt Council,- by ignoring the overwhelming 'resident response favoring a permit system, was dismissing a mandate from the constituency which elected the Council to represent them,. She said staff's concerns were 1) the cost incurred by the general taxpayers in order to benefit a comparatively few residents, and 2) that this plan would set a precedent for other neighborhoods with similar problems, the effect of which could be serious and far-reaching. She suggested the'permit system need not be expensive by limiting the permit system to the areas designated on Staff exhibit 1, effective from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends; deputizing volunteers from the neighborhood auxilliary police officers (such as those who help control heavy traffic) with authority to issue citations only to vehicles parked in restricted areas without permits; setting violation bail at $25 (as charged for illegal parking in handicapped zones since the burden and inconvenience to a resident unable to park within several hundred feet of their home is a handicap). The donated volunteer time would eliminate the "substantial cost to the taxpayers", and revenues collected from violation bail will more than offset the expense of printing permits, installing permit zone signs, and clerical time required to issue permits. he said the residents who want.,the protection of the permit system will gladly travel to City Hall to pick up their permits. She added that contrary to -staff inference that such a permit system would set a negative precedent, such a system would he a positive model, the majority of the work being performed by the people who would benefit most. She urged the Council to adopt the parking permit system with the addition of deputized volunteers and violation bail of $25. David Schrom, 302 .College Avenue, brought up.issues which he felt make it . imperative that such a system be instituted immediately. They are: residents cars having been vandalized after requests to move spa patron cars blocking driveways; some residents being threatened with physical violence. Councilmember Fazzino said it was extremely important to remember this is one of the most difficult transition areas in town with continuing problems. He felt that even if the spa accomplished what they wish to see,, he didn't foresee a significant enough reduction in the problems to affect.the lives of the nearby residents. He also doubted parking T's would solve the._dilemma, but felt that. the real solution is a parking restriction plan wh,ich-should.be.implemented on a trial. basis to determine its e.'fectiveness, especially since it has received the support o€ neighbors and can be implemented Without much :1€robl em. :.He "felt all other solutions were attempts' -to avoidi the hassle and so-called precedent of the parking restriction .plan. He said this unique area calls for a unique solution. MOTION: C,oun,ci #member Fazzino moved, seconded by Renzel, that staff establish a parking restriction plan and bring the details back to Council April 6. Mayor Hendersonwondered if. the City would also need to provide the T's on El Camino since a parking restriction plan would force people to park in a less than.. safe area, which he has a problem with even with T's. He suggested tacking the addition of parking T's on to the motion. 7 3 6 3/16/81 Councilmember Eyerly still felt it would be an expensive precedent and if there- is a need for a parking district, it should be supported by the residents of t',.e impacted area. He thought the staff recommendations are good and the parking plan should be looked at in some other context later after the staff has had a chance to install the T.'s and determine the;effect they have. Mayor Henderson asked why Councilmember Fazzino directed coming back in 3 weeks when it appeared he was moving the proposal already before the Council. Mr. Zaner said he assumed that if the motion passed that would mean staff was to implement the plan presented to the Council earlier. Mayor Henderson sai-d Mr. Fazzino agreed it could indeed be implemented now if the Council voted that way,. Councilmember Witherspoon asked what the cost for the parking plan would be. Carl Stoffel of the Transportation division said the 30 day. trial would cost $4,000, which would include enforcement and installation of signs. Councilmember Witherspoon said she preferred that the community members benefitting should support that plan. She also commented that implementing bail is something the court must do, not the City, and that reserve officers who direct traffic are paid, they are not volunteers. She couldn't .support the present motion. Councilmember Bechtel said. that while still very sympathetic to the residents, she was torn between supporting the motion because she biked through the area and noticed one spa patron choosing to park en the street rather than in the empty stall in the garage, and that no cars were'parked on El Camino, and not supporting the motion because the staff report estimated that it would require $16,000 annually for enforcement, which; she felt was too much Money for a couple of blocks. She. said she would have to oppose the motion, but support the staff recommendation to implement the T's after the 30 day trial and evaluation by May 11. Councilmember Levy agreed with Ms. Bechtel. It i , a complicated problem which hopefully can be resolved through the good offices of the participants, who are on notice that the Council is set to move on something substantially more drastic in its implications for them. He wanted to proceed as staff had suggested, installing T's across El Camino, working with the spa, deferring parking restrictions until May 11 at which time, if there is not substantial improvement, the Council would take action on a more effective solution. He said that if in fact the problem is primarily .a 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. problem, any solution the Council might arrive at should be: addressed to those : hours. Councilmember Klein said he was not prepared to support the motion for reasons given bi other members of the Council. He commended the letter sent to the spa by Carl Stoffel dated 2/19, saying while hard-hitting, it was justified in the. situation. He hoped that an alternative could be found so that the resident;. coma live there in peace. Councilmember Fletcher also wanted to give the spa a chance to work things out before adopting the motion to implement a parking restriction plan. She, said when she biked there the bike raci - was so obscurely placed, she"<ould never have known it was there if she hadn't read'about" it. She also said 7 3 7 3/16/81 there were three bikes panted at the spa but they were not in the rack because it is so out of the way. Mayor Henderson concurred, saying that he felt the parking restriction plan may soon be necessary but he wanted to give the T's a chance, although he felt it was dangerous getting out of a car on El Camino, and opposed the motion for the time. MOTION FAILED:, The motion to implement a parking restriction plan failed on a 7-2 vote, FazziAo and Renzel voting aye. MOTION PASSED: Councilmember Klein moved seconded by Fletcher that Council adopt the staff recommendation to: 1) Defer adoption of any parking restriction plan at this time; and 2) Direct staff to (a) install pa1'king "T's" on the west side of El Ce:ino Real between Stanford and Churchill Avenues, (b) cooperate with the Spa in its efforts to reduce its parking overflow on residential streets, 'and (c) report back to Council on or about May 11 with an informational report on any changes in the Spa's parking problem. The motion passed on the following vote: AYES: Bechtel, Eyerly, Fletcher, Henderson, Klein. Levy, Renzel, Witherspoon NOES: Fazzino REPORT ON AB -185 SURCHARGE ON FINES TO FINANCE Mayor Henderson said staff has recommended that Council endorse the concept of the proposed legislation as a means by which revenue may be generated for ►:c. jail ac i I i ti es but doesn't recommend endorsing the specific piece of legislation being considered at the moment. Rather they recommend Council direct staff to monitor the current legislation and when appropriate, draft a letter with the Mayor's signature urging support of legislation. Councilmember Levy said in their last packet included 705 pages of material, 130 pages of which related to this item which he fai led to get through hecausc he feels it is a State and county issue, important, but not Palo Alto's, and not what the Council was elected to pass on. He also felt the Counc i l does not have the continuing background, or the proper staff and public input. He said some things are better left to those qualified for the particular responsibility and while the Councilmembers were affected as individuals, as Councilmembers it was' -better to leave it.to those studying it more closely. He suggested taking no action on the item. Councilmember Klein said he was confused by the staff not recommending any of the specific pieces of legislation being :considered. Mr. Zaner, responding to Mr. Levy's comment, said that since the county is responsible for- the establ i shement of jails it has a great deal of effect on its cities. The County must, in some way, provide additional jail service, and will reduce services county -wide, which will affect Palo Alto, to the degree the County uses its own capital funds to, provide the additional jail services. The county is searching for a way to finance one of its obligations, jails, and is asking : whether: city councils within the county will endorse this policy. Assembly bill 189 has now been modified several times, but the essential principle has remained the same, that is, are city councils in agreement with putting a surcharge on fines and forfeitures for the purpose of building a jail. If tiie' Counci l is in agreement with that principle of using that mechanism for 7 3 8 3/16/61 financing jails, then once the people's legislation is written with all the correct legal language which does no damage to cities, ,then he said staff recommended adopting it. Councilmember Bechtel said the Council should endorse the concept;of the legislation because some community members do commi-t er' imes and must go to jail , ' and that the City's 50 person jail is used for the more difficult inmates that need to be in a more separate facility than the main jail allows. Jerry Nadler, Attorney, Justice Division, County of Santa Clara, said from the beginning they have been trying to draft a bill that would take into consideration all the concerns of the cities. As drafted, $1.50 surcharge would be added to parking tickets, traffic violations and other fines and forfeitures, which would go into a fund for new jail construction and would raise about $20 million over a 20 year period. Councilmember Eyerly didn't feel placing a surcharge on a fine was equitable, and on the proposal, wanted to know what proportion would come from the parking tickets, and what would come from the other sources. Mr. Nadler said this bill would raise over $1,350,000 per year, and parking tickets alone would probably come to $300,000. Councilmember Witherspoon asked how they expected to generate $65 million over the long term if they built a jail now.. Mr. Nadler said they would use the $25 million. expected over the next 20 years to establish some revenue bonds which wouild raise $20 million worth of construction. The rest would be paid for With state money, sale -of county property, and there is talk, he said, of putting a proposition on the ballot to raise real property taxes specifically for the construction of new jail facilities. There are other options, but he said they were looking for funding sources now because the overcrowding of jails is severe for every city. MOTION: Councilmmber Bechtel moved to support AB -189 as ,presently drafted. Councilmember Renzel agreed Palo Alto is affected by whether or not adequate jail facilities are available in the county ana it is the Council's business to let our legislators know what is needed in the Palo Alto community as well as the greater community of the county. She felt the only way to get this legislation passed was if the county had the support of the communities, so it was appropriate for the Council to act on the bill and therefore she supported the motion. �. MOTION PASSEO: The motion passed 5-1-2, Witherspoon voting no, Eyerly and Levy abstaining. LEE QUARRY GIFT DEED MOTION Mayor Henderson moved, seconded by Councilmember Witherspoon, the gift deed and the agreement as presenti4 b„ staff. RESOLUTION 5887 entitled "RESOLUTION THE- COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO -- ACCEPTING A GIFT, CONVEYANCE, BY THE RUSSEL V. LEE TRUST TO THE CITY OF PALO ALTO OF. APPROXIMATELY ACRES ADJOINING FOOTHILLS- PARK" '7 3 9 3/16/81 GIFT DEED AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND THE RUSSEL V. LEE TRUST PROVIDING WATER TO THE CITY OF PALO ALTO FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES FROM THOSE LAKES LOCATED AT THE LEE QUARRY SITE Councilmember Fazzino said that since he has not participated in any of the discussions on the subject he would abstain. Mr. Abrams, City Attorney, said the Council should be aware that the family will carry the burden of paying the taxes on the property during the 15 years it remains in their possession, and if any encumbrances exist on the property now, which they do not, or are later imposed, they will remove - them. He further stated the buildings which are exempted from the City's ownership will be moved on or before March 16, 1996 by the Lee family. If there is any need for a parcel map in order to.implement the transfer the, City will prepare it. He said there were two minor corrections in the resolution accepting the property, -in the third whereas clause "have exercised" should read "haye expressed", and in the last line instead of "gift" it should read "conservation contribution", lie added that with respect to the water agreement, the Attorney's office was requesting that the Council approve that agreement in concept for now, but that Mr. Carlstrom, legal representative of the Lee family and he (Mr. Abrams) agreed there should be additional provisions in that agreement since it was intended for recordation. Mr. Abrams said he would return to the Council with a more expanded, clarified agreement which wasn't possible in the time alloted. AMENDED MOTION: Mayor Henderson amended his motion to in1.lude the changes in the agreement listed by Mr. Abrams, and to' approve the agreement in concept. Mayor Henderson commendedMr. Abrams for his extensive and successful efforts to conclude the agreement and expressed his gratitude to the Lee family for their open and friendly approach in discussions, and on behalf of the citizens of Palo Alto, for the Lee family's generosity in preserving open space for all Palo Alto residents. MOTION PASSED: The motion passed 8-1, Mr. Fazzino not participating. ADJOURNMENT The Council meeting adjourned at 12:41,. a.m. ATTEST: _APPROVE: 7 4 0 3/16/81