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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02061956363 The Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date at 7:30 P.M., pursuant to adjournment of January 23, 1956., with Mayor Porter presiding. Roll Call as follows: proved. Present: Byxbee, Corcoran, Cresap, Cummings,., Davis, Drysdale, Giffin, Marshall, Mitchell, Porter, Ruppenthai, Simpson. Absent: Bishop, Nav1s, Rodgers. The minutes of the meeting of January 23, 1956, were ap- City Hall, Palo Alto, California February 6, 1956. Ba shore Hi hwa Brid e A letter was received from B. W. Booker, Assistant. State Highway Engineer, advising.that the reconstruction of the Bayshore Highway bridge over.San-Franeisquito Creek will be among the first items of work 'undertaken by::the contractor in the construction of the:Bayshore Freeway extension which is scheduled for.the summer:.or 1956,, in order that the :reconstructed bridge will be in`operationbyj the time of next :winter' s rains. Flood Control Thee`City Manager reported that he had appeared before the California State Water Resources Board in Sacramento. on, February 2, ; 1956', in behalf of :the: City of Palo Alto, the City, of >Menlo Park,' Stanford iniversity, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County,: District 5 2f the Santa Clara County Flood Control and Water Conservation Dip trier, and the gatadero'Mos.quito Abatement District, urging. that they support the request tor -Federal funds for an engineering study of San Francis.quit.o Creek. The City Manager also advised that members'of'the staff Will attend: the;heartng to be held in San Jose tomorrow, February 7, 1956, by the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, on Guadalupe River and Adjacent Streams,, including San Francisquito Creek and othercreeks flowing through Palo Alto. League of Women Voters Observer A letter'was' received from Mrs. E. A. Heath, President of the League of Women Voters, announcing that Mrs. Alan Taft will serve as observer for the League of Women Voters at Council meetings for the year 1956. Teachers Recomnition Week A letter was°received from the Palo Alto Chamber of Com- merce requesting that the period from February 13-18, 1956,_ be des- ignated:'as "Teachers Recognition Week," and outlining a program planned to honor teachers during this week. The Mayor read a proclamation proclaiming the week of Feb- ruary 13-18, 1956,, as `Teachers Recognition Week in Palo Alto. Annexations to Mountain View The: Council received and placed on file a Notice from the County Boundary Coai:seion of Santa Clara County of proposals for the annexation:of.certain:areas, designated as Miramonte #12, Bor- anda #5 andAoffett #4; to, the City of Mountain View. Temporary Hospital Buildings Plane for the temporary building additions to the Palo Al- ; to Hospital were presented to -the Council and explained by the'ar- chitect, Pau1::Rus•ton.;:.:The:City Manager advised that bids on this work will be opened on February 9th. Substation ExtensionBids The' City. Managersiade::a reporton bids received on January" 19':,: 1956, on substation.extensions, supp.lementing'the report made at' the, last Council meeting In addition t.o the bid on Schedule A for,ex- ' tension to Substation "C".which was accepted by the Council, the Ci- ty .Manager .recommended that the bid of :Westinghouse Electric Corpor- ation on Schedule 'B for extension to .Substation "D" in the total: a- mount of $77,773.69, and:their bid on Schedule D for transformer and equipment, to, be, ordered- as and if needed, in the total amount of $39,201.80, be accepted. It was moved, seconded and, carried that these bids of Westing- house Electric Corporation be accepted, and that the Mayor be au- thorized to execute'the contract. Project 55-5, Parking Lotion Cambridge Avenue 'Upon'recommendation- of the City Manager, it was moved by Drysdale, seconded by Byxbee,.'and carried that the contractor, Free- man Paving Company, be :graflted an extension of k5 consecutive calen- dar days starting -February 6, 1956::to complete the contract for the improvement of the parking lot on Cambridge Avenue, in connection with Project 55-5, California Avenue Off -Street Parking Project. Sale of Park Site, St. Francis Terrace In connection with the sale of the abandoned park site in Francis Terrace,. the City Manager reported that he has consid- ered the possibility of using this land as home sites for residences which might have to be relocated because of some improvement project, as suggested at the last Council meeting. He advised that it ap- peared that there would be no homes of suitable age or design avail- able for relocation in the St. Francis Terrace area, and suggested that the City proceed to take bids for the sale of the property. On motion of Byxbee and Cummings, the City Manager was di- rected to. proceed „iith the sale of the abandoned park site in accord- ance with t'he Council's previous action. Resolution for Retiring Employee. A resolution of appreciation to Frank W. Kleine on his re- tirement after thirty-two years of service with the City was read and adopted by unanimous vote on roll call. Zone Change App1ication (Carey) Traffic and Farking in Mid -town Area It was moved by Mrs. Corcoran, seconded and carried, that the matter of the zone change; application of O. E. Carey and the rec- ommendation of the Planning Commission for rezoning his property in Tract 1150 to R -3-P be taken from the table. This question had been tabled at the Council meeting of January 16, 1956, pending a report on the traffic circulation and parking problem in the Mid -town area. (Councilman Mavis came at this time, 7:55 P.M., and was present for the rest of the meeting.) The Planning Officer made an oral report regarding the traffic and parking problems in the Mid -town area and submitted a map showing the proposed limited parking on Middlefield Road and oth- er streets in the Area, the existing private off-street parking areas in connection with the varioue businesses, and a proposed alley and parking lot which have been under discussion. The Planning Officer advised that he has discussed the problem with property owners in the area and that consideration hae'been given to the formation of an as- sessment district for, the development of a parking lot; that mer- ..�yr,r+o- rrwvN`1a.Sr4 M m� r�n,,�� .154"r..�,Cr�jW.+%.��1f$N�;.i � \. *ir�P:,i","""� xr �• rMcyrr - 365 chants and property owners affected have expressed an interest in an assessment district for this purpose but have indicated a limit to the amount they would be willing to pay for the financing of a parking lot. The Planning Officer reported that it is the recommenda- tion of the Staff Traffic Committee that parking be prohibited on portions of Middlefield Road, Bryson Avenue, Moreno Avenue and Colo radd Avenue between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. to relieve the present congestion, particularly on Middlefield Road where the elimination of parking would provide four lanes of traffic and per- mit easier access to the off-street parking areas provided by the stores and businesses. It was pointed out that the removal of park ing from Middlefield Road would create the need for more off-stree parking in the area. In discussing the recommendation of the Planning Commis- sion for R -3-P zoning for the Carey property, the Planning Officer advised that the developer has indicated he would be willing to de- fer development of a portion of the property to give the people in the district an opportunity to complete an assessment district pro- cedure fora parking lot which would be acquired from the Carey property. (Councilman Bishop and Rodgers came at this time, 8:10 P.M., and were present for the rest of the meeting.) The proposed ordinance prohibiting parking on. portions of Middlefield Road,, -Bryson Avenue, Moreno Avenue and Colorado Avenue, between the hoursof 8.00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M., was introduced, and o motion of Cresap and Mrs. Corcoran, was accepted for first reading. (Bishop did not^vote on the motion.) After further discussion on the location of the proposed alley and the rezoning of the Carey property, it was moved'by Byx bee, seconded and `carried that action on the rezoning be -deferred to a later meeting,. and that the staff be requested to make`a further study and explore the.poeaaibility of an overall oft -street . parking program for the Mid -town area,`with cost estimates, and report, back to the Council within a month if possible. In this connection the City Manager` was authorized to send a questionnaire,to property own -c ers involved to ascertain"whether or not they are willing toparti- cipate in a parking program. Project 52-1 0ff Street Parkin{, University Avenue District A report was received from the Committee of the Whole rec ommending as follows: l: That'Project 52-13 be modified to provide for the acquisition of certain lots through the center of the blocks on either, aide of University Avenue from Alma Street to High Street, described as follows: Ali of Lots..3, #, 5, 6, 20, 21, 22 and 23 -and the'..southeasterly 12.5 feet of Lot 7, Block 4. All of Lots.:, 4, 5, 6, 7, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 or Block 5. 2,, That •Project 5213 be further modified to provide for the acquisition of the property on the southerly corner of HamiltonAvenue and Emerson Street owned by the Associa.t.- ed.011 C.smpany and the unimproved lot contiguous thereto on Hamilton Avenue, being portions of Lots 52 to 57 inelusive, Biock-6. It-:lias ,eanplained .that if Lots 7 and 17, Block 5 (the southeasterly 25 feet of,the, proposed parking lot in that -block) aref acquired, it would divide a building in half; that either this 25-. 366 foot strip ahouldbe deletid:or the adjacent 25 feet toward Hamilton" Avenue should also be -acquired.. It was reported -by the staff that preliminary estimates in- dicate that the three parking lots,as recommended by the Committee of the Whole wouldeoet;approximately 4$25,000.00 and would provide about 20k parking_-spaCes;; that if the additional 25 feet in Block 5 are acquired, about 40 spaces would be added, and the total cost would be approximately $500,00,0,00. A motion was made by Mitchell, seconded by Mrs. Corcoran, that the recommendations of the Committee of the Whole be adopted, the additional 25 feet to be added to the lot in Block 5. A statement was made by Councilman Simpson regarding the proposed parking lots on High Street. He pointed out that the acqui- sition of the designated :lots -would eliminate several automobile businesses, and presented figures on the number of employees in these businesses, and the'payroll. He also pointed out that these busi nesses attract'cus.tomers'who shop in other stores in the area, and; advised that the Council in its efforts to help the merchants by es tablishing'parking lots might actually.,be doing them a disservice if' these particular businesses are eliminated. Mr. Simpson stated that he would not vote on the issue because of his personal interest, but asked council members to give serious consideration to the matter be- fore voting to acquire these properties on High Street and Alma Street. Mr. D. P. McKelvey addressed the Council, stating that in his opinion it would be better to have parking lots face on High Street only and not extend through to Alma Street because of the traffic circulation problem. He also suggested that consideration be given to acquiring lots on the northeasterly side of Emerson Street between University and Hamilton Avenues, and that the acquisi- tion of the property on the southerly corner of Emerson and Hamilton be postponed to some future time since the owners are willing to guarantee the use of part of the property for private parking. (A recess was taken at this time, 9:00 P.M., and the Council reconvened at 9:10 P.M.) Mr. H. 0. McCormick, representative of the Associated 011 Company, owners of the property on the southerly corner of Hamilton Avenue and Emerson Street, urged that this property be not acquired and stated that they are willing to place a limit on the parking time at the service station there if the Council wishes. Mr. Marvin Handler, attorney, 465 California Street, San Francisco, representing owners of the property occupied icy Frank Walt Motors, asked the Council to give serious consideration before it takes action which would eliminate this and other automobile busi- nesses. He pointed out that these businesses do not create a parking problem and furnish parking in their buildings for their customers. At the suggestion of Mrs. Corcoran, the motion to adopt the recommendations .of the Committee of the Whole to start proceed- ings for the acquisition of parking lots in Blocks 4, 5 and 6, was amended to include parcels on the northeasterly side of High Street in Block ,5 from Hamilton Avenue northwesterly approximately 260 feet, previously under consideration for a parking lot. At the suggestion of Cummings, the motion was further amended to include parcels on the northeasterly side of Emerson Street between University Avenue and Hamilton Avenue, having a frontage of approximately 250 feet, in Block 12. A vote on roll call on the motion as amended and setting a hearing for February 27, 1956, was as follows: Ayes: Bishop, Corcoran, Cummings, Davis, Drysdale, Mit- chell, Porter Noes Cresap,.Giffin, Marshall, Ruppenthal. Not Voting: Nevis 1 3.6 ' Absent during roll call.: Byxbee, Rodgers Simpson The motion was declared lost. Councilman Marshall moved that a committee be appointed by� the. mayor to study the whole area and provide the Council with more information on all phases of the problem. Councilman Ruppenthal agreed that a.detailed study should be made before the Council takes action, and proposed that•Committee No. 2 make a study of the area, reviewing personally the properties and premises involved with a member of the" Engineering . staff, a member of the Planning staff, an a member of the Chamber of Commerce committee. A motion was made by Cresap, seconded by Drysdale, that a resolution be adopted >giving notice of intention to acquire the three parking lots as recommended by the Committee of the Whole, setting February 27th as time for hearing. This motion was carried by the following` vote on roll call: Ayes: Bishop, Cresap, Cummings, Davis, Drysdale, Giffin, Marshall, Mitchell, Porter, Rodgers. Noes: Corcoran,, Ruppenthal. Not Voting: Navis Absent during the roll call: Byxbee, Simpson It was moved by Cummings, and seconded, that parcels on the northeasterly side of High Street, being all of Lots 47,, 48, 49., 50, 51, 52,53, 54 and 55 and portions of Lots 45, 46 and 56, Block 5, be included in the notice of intention and hearing to be held on February 27th. This motion was passed by the following vote on roll call: Ayes: Bishop, Corcoran, Cummings, Davis, Giffin, Mit- chell, Porter, Rodgers, Ruppenthal Noes:' Cresap, Drysdale, Marshall Absent during the roll call: Byxbee, Navis, Simpson It was then moved by Cummings and seconded that lots on the northeasterly side of Emerson Street from the rear of the Amer- ican Trust: Company property to Hamilton Avenue be included. The vote on roll call was as follows: Ayes: Bishop, Corcoran, Cummings, Mitchell, Porter, Ruppenthal Noes: Cresap, Davis, Drysdale, Giffin, Marshall Absent during the roll call: Byxbee, Navis, Rodgers, Simpson The motion was declared lost. it was moved by Mrs. Corcoran and seconded that a. 25 -foot strip,. being part of Lots 8, 13, 14, 15 and 16, Block 5, be added to the proposed parking lot extending from Alma to High Streets in Block5. This motion was carried by the following vote on roll call: Ayes': Bishop,Corcoran, Cresap, Cummings, Davis, Drys- dale", Giffin, Mitchell, Porter, Ruppenthal Noes; Marshall, Rodgers Absent during the roll call: Byxbee, Navis, Simpson 0n motion'of Drysdale and Cresap, and by unanimous vote ofi all"c"ouncil iembera present, the actions approved by.the Council re- garding Project ;5Z-13 were" consolidated into Resolution N,o.: 2706 of° prellminary determination and of intention to make changes and modi--' f cat'lona,,=.Proje"ct 52.13, and setting February 27, 1956, as time Po , hearing. here were l2 'Ayes on roll call (Byxbee, Nevi's and Simpson being abeent) ae 368 The Mayor requested Committee No. 2, with. Vice Mayor Mar- shall as acting Chairman, and any other council members who desire to participate, to make a detailed study of the area involved in Project 52-13, with the assistance of staff members, and report back to the Council by February 27,. 1956, the date set for the hearing. Amendments to Plumbing Code Mr. Jack O'Brien, Chairman of the special plumbing code committee, reported that the committee had held a meeting with mem- bers of the Plumbers' Union of Santa Clara County and others for fur- ther discussion of proposed amendments to the Plumbing Code. He ad- vised that the committee made no change in its previous recommenda- tions with one exception;. that after further consideration of Sec- tion 1103 regarding House Sewer Materials, they recommended that no change be made in this section andthat the use of transite pipe be continued, as well as cast iron pipe. It was pointed out that the Uniform Plumbing Code was a- dopted by the Council on December 12, 1955, and that on January 16, 1956, first reading was given to certain amendments recommended by the special committee. At that time the Council voted to make no change in Section 1103, which provides that house sewers shall be of such materials as may be approved by the administrative authority of the City. The Council was informed that the approved materials ac- cording to present practice are cast iron pipe and transite pipe; that vitrified clay pipe is not an approved material at present. A letter was received from the Contractors and Hoanebuild ers Association of Santa Clara County requesting that action on the, plumbing ;code amendments be deferred for two weeks. An attorney for the Associated Plumbing Contractors also asked that action be post- poned, pending final action by the Santa Clara County Board of Super- visors on proposed amendments. After further discussion, Ordinance No. 1666 amending cer- tain sections of the Plumbing Code of the City of Palo Alto was giv- en second reading, end on motion of Marshall and Mitchell, was adopt- ed by the following vote on roll call: Ayes: Bishop, Corcoran, Cresap, Cummings, Drysdale, Marshall, Mitchell, Porter, Ruppenthal, Simpson Noes: Byxbee, Davis, Giffin, Nevis, Rodgers. It was moved by Mavis, seconded and carried that a pro- posed ordinance amending Section 1103 to permit the use of either cast iron or transite'pipe, deleting the reference to materials ap- proved by the administrative authority, was accepted for first read- ing. A motion, by Byxbee, seconded by Rodgers, to include the use of vitrified clay pipe as an amendment to Section 1103 was lost by a voice vote. Lot Division A report was received:from the Planning Commission recom- mending approval of the,application of F. L. Berry for division of a portion of Rancho Rincon de SanFrancisquito on El Camino Way near James Avenue, subject to furnishing evidence of payment of 1955-56 county taxes. It was moved, seconded and carried that this lot divi- sion be approved in accordance with the recommendation. Record of Survey A report was received from the Planning Commission recom- mending approval of the applieation,of Robert H. Taylor for Record of Survey for the division of'Lot`2, Tract 123k, Lowrie Industrial Tract,, in the vicinity 'of C;har1emton and San Antonio Roads, subject to furnishing,evidence:.or payment"of 1955-56 city and county taxes-. It was moved., seconded and carried that this Record of Survey be ap- proved as recommended ter with ion that claim be port was 369 Project 55-5, California Avenue District, Off -Street Parking Resolution No. 2707 of Intention to make changes and modi fications in Project 55-5 and setting February 27, 1956, as time for hearing on. the_ modifications, was introduced, and on motion of Cummings and Mitchell,'was adopted by unanimous vote on roil call. The proposed modification Changes the estimated total cost of the project from $217,000.00 to $245,000.00. Resolution No. 2708 providing for issuance of bonds., Pro ect 55-5, was introduced,.and on motion of Mitchell and Drysdale, was adopted by unanimous vote on roll call. Resolution No. 2709 calling for bids for the sale of the bonds to be issued under,. Project 55-5, in the amount of $2215,000.00 was introduced and on motion of Mitchell and Drysdale, was adopted by unanimous vote on roll call. Refuse'Disposal Area Rates Ordinance:N'o. 1667, amending Section 31.19 of Codified Ort dinance No. 5, regulating rates at the city dump, was given second reading, and adopted by unanimous vote on roll call. Repeal of Section 2521 of Administrative Code (Disaster Council) Ordinance No. 1668, repealing Sections 2521, 251.1, 2521.2, and 2521.3 of the Administrative Code, was given second reading and adopted by unanimous vote on roll call. Prohibiting Parking at Ohlones School Ordinance No, in front of the Ohlones P.M. on school days'was mous vote on roll call. 1669 prohibiting parking on Charleston Road Elementary School between 8:00 A.M. and 5:01 given second reading and adopted by unani- Claim for Damages (Neil) A report was received from the City Attorney in regard, to claim filed by Mr. J. P. Neil in the sum of :213.95 for damage to clothing sustained on December 27, 1955. The claim stated that on that date Mrs. Neil ,placed clothing of that value in her washing ma -I chine, and when the washing was completed there was an oily sub- stance on all of the clothes. The City Attorney advised that he had investigated the mat - the. assistance of the Water Department, and was of the opin' there is no liability upon the City. He recommended the denied. On motion of Byxbee and Cummings, the City Attorney's re - accepted and the claim denied. General Plat 0n motion of Mrs. Corcoran and Byxbee, the Council decided to hold a study meeting with the Planning Commission to review the Interim General Plan, Urban Renewal Program It was moved by Drysdale, seconded and carried that the staff make a' study, for the benefit of the Council, on the advantag- es and disadvantages of making use of the Urban Renewal Program, such study to be completed by April 1, 1956. There being no further business to come before the Council the meeting was adjourned at 10:10 P.M.