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Home My WebLink About0822195527 City Hall, Palo Alto, California, August 22, 1955. The Council of the City of Palo Alto rnet in regular session on this date at 7:30 P.M., with Mayor Porter presiding. no11 call' as follows O Presents: ;Byxbee;,Cummings, Drysdale, Giffin, Marshall, Mitchell, Nevis, Porter, Rodgers, Ruppenthal, Simpson. Absent: Bishop',,Corcoran, Cresap, Davis. The; minutes of the meeting of August 8, 1955, were ap- proved. Abandonment Portion of First Street This; was the time for a hearing on the proposed aban- donment of a portion of First Street between Maclane Street and - Dry Creek. It was reported that the Clerk has filed an affi davit of the publication of the notice of this hearing The City Engineer preserited his report, advising that the property owners affected had requested the abandonment in order to con- trol public,use of the land : and tolandscape the area, and that. the closing procedure provides that the City shall retain an easement over the entire parcel. A letter was received from George L. Smith, Jr. and Virginia C. Srith,:property owners at 3915 Maclane Street, sub- mitting their reasons for desiring to have this portion of First Street closed. They hearing was declared open. There being no one present who'.wished to address the Council on the matter, the. hearing was closed. --Resolution No. 2648, ordering the abandonment of por- tion of First Street' between Maclane Street; and Dry. Creek, was: introduc'ed_, and on motion of Cummings, duly seconded, the reso:- lution 'was adopted by unanimous vote on roll. call. Letter from Airs: 'Kertz (Smog Problem` A letter was received from Mrs. H. L. Kertz 88' Hamilton Avenue, objecting to smog from the Redwood City .dump and asking the.C.ouncil to -send a protest to Redwood City; also'' ob jesting to` the burning of rubbish in Palo Alto. At the. suggestion oi' the Mayor,. the letter was to the Inter -City Council Committee on Smog Control. It was pointed out that the City of Palo Alto does not burn any rubbish ate --the Pai.o Alto dump. (Mrs'. Corcoran carte at this time, 7:40 P.I .,: ar:d was present`. for: the rest of the meeting. )- referred • Richmond 50th Anniversary Celebration A :letter was received from Mayor Sheridan of the City of Richmond, -California, inviting the City of Palo Alto to par- tici.pate:intheir 50th anniversary celebration by entering a band or=fleat'in the Cavalcade Parade to be held on Saturday eveni,ng,'October 8th, in Richmond. This was referred to the CityManager,and Committee No. 3. Letter from Palo Alto Blind Club A letter was received from the Palo Alto Blind Club 1•':y ur,•�i'k5a}4. 7 10.: ,. t: i ` ..e�'•. r '.::;; 1 .. �.,: F .� ,:f ..... ° w v' Frt� ,�� I+A'� 'J�„ . asking the Council to take appropriate steps to prevent begging by the blind bn the straets; :of Palo Alto. This matter was referred to the City Attorney and Committees No 3 Exoneration of Surety, Shoppers'` World A recommendation was:made..by the City Manager for exoneration -of the surelty for Shoppers' World, inasmuch as the street improvements have been satisfactorily completed. On motion of Rodgers and Cummings, the: recommendation was adopted. - Wilbur ,Swimming Pa'oI Rates The City Manager presented a letter from Dr. Henry Gunn, Superintendent of Schools,. concerning the problem of non-resident ra,.es at the Wilbur Swimming Pool. Upon. reeom,sendation.`of the City Manager, the matter was referred to Committee: No 3;: It was pointed out by the City Manager that any change' in ;policy, regarding the operation of the pool_;would be effective for the 1956. season, as the present season will be over in two weeks. Traffic'Ordinances (Stop Sims) The City Manager presented for first reading the fol- lowing ordinances which have been recommended by the Traffic Com- mittee: 1. Ordinance establishing arterial stop signs on Amherst Street at its intersection with College Avenue. 2. Ordinance establishing arterial stop signs on Barbara Drive at its intersection with North California Avenue. 3. Ordinance establishing arterial stop signs on Addison Avenue at its intersection with Channing Avenue After some di3cussibn,:it was moved by Nevis, seconded by Simpson, and carried that these ordinances be accepted for first reading and = referred to Committee No. 2. Tt was suggested by Councilman Mitchell that the com- mittee give consideration to the..new "yield" signs which will becetae legal on September 7, 1955• Bids on Mitchell Park Work., Project 55-3 A reportwaesubmittedriby the City Manager on bids re- ceived:on August" 19, 1955, on' construction of a wading pool, Tiny Tot area, service` buildings and other items in Mitchell Park. He reported-thatthe-staff:-was'disappointed in the small number of bids received and that the. ,.bids` on. the major portion of the work were -about $25,000 higher. than the City Engineer's estimate. The City Manager recommended.that.'all bids be rejected, and that bids be taken again at a laterAate to be determined by the City En gineer On motionn<of:Simpson and'Drysdale, the recommendation of the City Manager -was:/ -adopted and the bids received on August 19th were'rejected. Parking -on Lytton Avenue between Cowper and Webster Councilman �Simpson,brought-up the parking situation on Lytton Avenue between Cowper;,::and Webster Streets, and called wIB 279 attention to .a proposed ordinance considered several months ago which would prohibit parking on these two blocks of Lytton Ave- nue between the hours -of 8:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. except for Sun- days and holidays.' Mr. Simpson stated that the parking of cars on this portion of Lytton Avenue, where parking is not restricted, makes a two-lane street; that Lytton Avenue is the only truck route in the -northern part -.of the city and the parking situation in the area between Cowper and Webster has created -a problem. As no action had been taken on the previous ordinance, it was moved by Simpson that"the ordinance prohibiting parking on both sides of Lytton Avenue between Cowper and Webster be given second reading at this time: and adopted. The motion was seconded by Mitchell. Opposition was expressed by Councilman Rodgers, for the reasons that in his opinion it would create a speedway on Lytton Avenue; that it wound increase the difficulty of crossing Lytton from the side streets, that it would cause inconvenience to people who .now use.:the street°for-parking, and that having a "bottleneck" on this'portiono ;Lytton Avenue helps to slow down the trucks and reduce the speed of vehicles. Mr. Michael aabriele, owner of a beauty shop at 573 Lytton Avenue, who was the only person on the street who pre- viously objected to the ."no parking" proposal, was present and spoke in opposition to the adoption of the ordinance. Councilman ;Simpson stated that in his opinion the Coun- cil should decade what is best for the greatest number of people. Councilman Navis:suggested that the question be reviewed further by Committee'No.. 2 arid the Traffic Committee. Mr. Simpson stated this would be; satisfactory, and the matter was referred to Com- mittee' No".. 2 and the Traffic Committee for further study and con- sideration It was suggested that during the study traffic oounts be made by the Traffic Committee. Further suggestions were made as follows; That -some consideration be given to''restricting parking on side streets '.near the intersectionor ytton Avenue (by Mrs. Corcoran); that con- sideration be given to widening Lytton Avenue in this area (by Councilman Mitchell); and that the use of one-way streets be considered`:(by Councilman Byxbee). Naming -Streets in Stanford Shopping Center 0rdinance No. 1641, naming.streets on Stanford lands in the vicinity of the Stanford Shopping Center, to be known as "Stanford Plaza", "Arboretum Road", Willow Road", and "Quarry Road", was given second,reading, and on motion of Simpson and Marshall,, was adoptedby unanimous vote on roll call. _ Claim for Damages (Watkins) A report was received from the City Attorney regarding claim tor damages :filed .by' Mrs . June Watkins as result of a fall onAl broken sidewalk -at 903: Ramona Street. The City Attorney ad- vised that in his opinion there is liability on the part of the City and::recommended that the claim in the sum of $619.40 for medical expenaes and.loss of salary be paid in settlement of the Case. 0nhmotion .of Mitchell and Drysdale, the recommendation was adopted and, the,; payment of this sum was authorized by unani- mous vote. on roll call. pwaissaimagromemiraer Hospital Budget .Further-`cons:ideration was given tc the budget of the halo Alto .,Hospital: 'for 1-955-56 eop es of which had been distri- "outed-to council -members since the last meeting. It wat'moved:by.Mitchell, seconded and carried that:the Hospital budget,`:be approved. Appointments to Board on C;omuercial Amusements The 'Mayror nom1nated - Mrs . Frank Richey and Mrs. F. L. Drew for re -appointment asi members of the Board on Commercial Amusements,' each -;for athree-year term. On motion of Cummings and ,Simpson, these` °appointments were- approved . Hospital Bonds Councilsnan CUMmings asked for information as to the ap- proximate tie for the sae 'of - the Hospital bonds. The City Manager replied that it was thought the bonds need not be sold until the plans are completed,; about a year from the time the architect>was employed;"that the architect's fees are being paid from available funds and from Hospital earnings, and these funds will be reimbursed at the time the bonds are sold. It wassuggested by Mr.. Cummings that Committee No. 3 make a check among-municipal:bond firms in San Francisco and see if they. will give an opinion as: to whether it -would be to the City's advantage' to sell the Hospital bonds or a portion of them in the near future. • 8:30 P.M. On motion of Simpson, the meeting was adjourned, at