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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1113195641 City Hall, Palo Alto, California November 13, 1956 The Council of the City of Palo Alto met in regular ses- sion on this date at 7:30 P.M., with Mayor Porter presiding. Roll call as follows: proved. Abandonment of St. Francis Terrace Park This was the time for hearing of objections to the pro- posed abandonment of the park site in Tract No. 282 St. Francis Terrace, pursuant to Resolution of Intention No. 2780.: A notice of this hearing was published as req fired by law. The City Clerk re- ported that no written protests have been received. The hearing was declared open. There be±ng no one pres- ent who wished to speak on the matter, the hearing was closed. Resolution'No. 2791, ordering the abandonment of park site in St. Francis Terrace and authorizing the City Manager to sell said land at a public sale, was introduced, and on motion of Rodgers and Simpson, was adopted by unanimous vote on roll. call. (Councilmen Cummings and Marshall came at this time, 7:35 P.M.) Project ,52-1l SAcquisition of Properties in Block 11), This was the time for a hearing on Resolution No. 2783 of Intention to modify Project 52-14 to provide for the acquisition of certain properties in Block 11, on Ramona Street between Hamilton and Forest Avenues". It was explained by the City Manager that the objective of the acquisition is to insure a large.parcel of land - fen, future development for off -street -parking, and to: make it pos- sible to construct multiple -level parking if the Council should so desire in "the. future. Present: Byxbee, Corcoran, Cresap, Davis, Drysdale, Mitchell, Porter, Rodgers, Ruppenthal, Simpson. Absent: Bishop, Cummings,, Giffin, Marshall, Navis. The minutes of the meeting of. October 22, 1956, were ap- A notice of this hearing had been published as required by law. The City Clerk r°ported that no written protests have been received. The hearing was declared open. There being no one pres- ent who wished to speak on=the matter, the hearing was closed.. Resolution'No. 2792, determining convenience and necessi- ty, and ordering changes and modifications, by acquiring certain properties in Block 11, project 52-14, was introduced,;and on mo- tion of Drysdale and Mitchell, was adopted by unanimous vote -on roll call. . Councilman Cummings referred to an article in the newspa-! per concerning the library located in this block, and advised that j a statement:in the article was misleading; that there is no inten- tion at this time to do away with the downtown library facildtiea; that the building itself might possibly be replaced but library fa -I cilities would be continued in the downtown area-. (Councilman Navis came at 7:45 P.M. and was present for the rest of the nesting.) Drilling of Well and Test Pumping A letter was received from twenty residents on Duncan Place, Mumford Place and Creekside Drive, concerning the annoyance r 42 caused by the recent drilling°of a well -adjoining 3888 Duncan;Place,: and'asking consideration of suggestions they make regarding the test' pumping, as follows: That the test pumping schedule not fall be- tween December 15 and January lst; that the pumping be limited to the hours from 8 A.M. to 6..P.M.; that the diesel motor driving the pump be equipped tith extra rufflers.to.eliminate-noise and gases, and that it be housed in a temporary shack to cut down noise; that the motor be located on the back of the property, and that no test pumping be done during weekends. H. L. May, Chief Engineer of the Water -Gas -Sewer Division, reported that the driller is responsible and that the City can not actually specify his methods of operation; that he has discussed the complaint and the suggestions with the contractor and that he is: willing to comply with most of the suggestions contained in the let- ter. Mr. Ivan-Szekely, 3888' Duncan Place, addressed the Council. as spokesman for the group of residents, stating that„ they feel that they could have been notified of=the time of the drilling opera- tions, and would like to be informed of what to expect in regard to the test pumping. Mr. Kirkland of the Roscoe Moss Company, the well drilling contractor, was, present and told the Council that,the conditions the. petitioners have asked the company to comply with are not unreason- able; that the motor cannot be housed entirely to cut down the noise as one side must be kept open; that they would like to work on Saturday and would like to work 12 hours a day so that the test pumping which will take 96 hours can be completed sooner. Mr. Kirk- land advised that before the test pumping can be started, it will be necessary for them to do some work on cleaning the well which would take about three or four days. Mr. Kirkland stated that the resi- dents could: be given five or six days' notice in advance of the work, and that the work would be completed before Christmas. Annexations to Mountain View Notices were received from the Boundary Commission of San- ta Clara County of the following proposed annexations to the City of Mountain View: Slater No. 1, Miramonte No. 15, and.Miramonte No. 16. These notices were filed. Cancellation of Taxes on School Propel:1y A request was received from the Palo Alto Unified School District for the cancellation of taxes on a small parcel of proper- ty, being a 5 -foot pathway near the Jordan Junior High School. It was moved by Simpson,. seconded and carried by unanimous vote on roll call that the cancellation of these taxes be authorized. The 5 -foot strip of land, referred to lies between Lots 4 and 5, Block 1, Tract No. 1634, Garland Manor. • Surplus Federal Property for Civil Defense Resolution Na. 2793, making the City of Palo Alto eligible to acquire donated surplus Federal property for Civil Defense pur- poses, and appointing the City Manager as representative of the City to -sign for and accept surplus Federal property, was introduced, and on motion of Mitchell and Marshall, was adopted by unanimous vote on roll call. Bids=on Weed Abatement' Disciag The City Manager reported that only one bid was submitted for weed abatement diseing at the time of opening bids on 0ctobar 26", 1956.• The bid was from C. J. Simms Company, the same contractor who has done the work for the past five years. The bid was on the basis of a five-year: contract and was $7.00 per 5000 sq.ft. units for unit lot'discing. The City Manager recommended that the bid be accepted on a five-year basis. • On motion of Simpson and- Navis , and by unanimous vote on 11 roll call, the bid was accepted and the Mayor was authorized to sig the contract. A reement with P.G.& E. -for Gas and Electric Systems n amino o:. an Camino loo . 2 The City Manager submitted the proposed agreement between the Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the City of Palo_Alto for the sale to the City of the gas and electric distributionfacili- ties in areas. annexed to the City knout. as "E1 Camino Real Annexa- tion No. 1" and "El Camino Real Annexation, No. 2," for the sum of $21,983.00'. It was explained that funds:for the acquisition of these facilities are set ups=1n the current -budget. On motion of.Mitchell and Simpson, a resolution approving the agreement and authorizing the Mayor to sign the agreement in be- half of the City was adopted by unanimous vote on rollcall. Veterans' Administration Sewer Agreement The City Manager presented=the proposed agreement between the City of Palo Alto and the United States of America, acting by and through the Veterans' Administration, for sewer service to the new Veterans' Administration Hospital to be constructed -on lands purchased by the Veterans' Administration from Stanford ` nivereity. The Assistant City Manager explained that the agreement provides for a connection charge of $71,186.62, for payment -by the Veterans' Administration of its share of trunk lines of approximate -4, ly $165,000.00, and for the normal monthly service. charge for sewer service based on sewage flow. It was pointed out that the Veterans' Administration is eligible=to the same rates charged.to commercial or industrial users, so if these rates change in the future, their rates would be -changed accordingly. On motion ofMitchell and Byxbee, a resolution approving the agreement and authorizing the Mayor to execute the agreement in behalf of the City was adopted by unanimous vote on roll call. Stanford Annexation No. 5 Ordinance No. 1722, approving the annexation to the City of Palo Alto of certain uninhabited territory designated as "Stan- ford University Annexation No. 5" was introduced, and on motion of Byxbeeand Navis, was adopted by unanimous vote on roll call. This territory includes the site of the Veterans' Administration Hospi- tal, two club sites, and certain other area. Zoning of "StanfordAnnexation No. 5" Ordinance No. 1723, establishing the zoning of the "Stan- ford Annexation -No. 5" area was given second reading, and on motion of 'Mitchell and Simpson, was adopted on roll call, with 12 Ayes, Byxbee'voting No. A proposed ordinance establishing Fire Zones for "Stanford Annexation No. 5"was accepted for first reading. South Palo Alto Grade Separation A report was received from Committee No. 1 advising that it has considered the proposals of De Leuw"Cather & Company for en- gineering services in connection -with further -study of the. west ter- minus of the 'Oregon Avenue -Page Mill Road grade separation project (as outlined in their letter of October 19, 1956Y. The committee recommended that the first proposal for an origin and destination survey be rejected, but that the second proposal for the design -of possible alternate solutions and cost estimates, for a fee of $2,_ 400.00,'be accepted, with the understanding that if De, Leuw,-Cather & Company should' be selected as the engineering firm -to designatee f 44 i underpass., the City would be reimbursed this amount from their engi- neering fee for the project. A letter was received from Ernest H. Norback, President of the Central Palo Alto Residents'. Association recommending that the Council not adopt the recommendation of Committee No. 1, but concur- ring in the proposal for a traffic study in cooperation with the County and other cities. Councilman Byxbee commented on the report and recommenda- tion -of Committee No. 1, and moved that De Leuw, Cather & Company be employed to make the further study for a fee of k2,400.00 in accord- ance with the committee's recommendation. The motion was seconded. The City Manager reported that he was directed by Commit- tee No. 1 to contact the firm and find out what would be done for the 42,400.00 fee. He advised that: he had discussed the matter with Mr. Jamart who had informed" him that his firm would do the following; work: (1) Make operational: and functional designs for the western section of the proposed underpass as requested by the committee, (2) Show location of ramps' radii and grade, and (3) Make cost estimates of structure and modified estimate of total cost of the project. The study would not provide for plans for the addition to the struc- ture itself as was furnished in the first study. The'City would be asked to provide cost estimates of the property. The City Manager pointed out that most of the information on property values has al- ready been given to De Leuw, Cather & Company. Mrs. Corcoran commented on the matter, stating that she thinks an origin and destination study would be very valuable and would show that a large portion of the traffic originates in the Stanford Industrial Park. She referred to a•proposal whichshe made some time ago that the Council investigate the possibility of acquir- ing a right of way along Matadero Canal for a cross-town traffic route, pointing out that Matadero Canal forms a natural barrier, and, that she believed it would be less expensive to construct an under- pass at this location. She stated that she could see no reason why heavy traffic should be routedthrough first class residential dis- tricts, and that she feelsbefore the Council goes any further it should study the feasibility of an alternative route. Councilman Navis stated that he felt further consideration of an «u derpase should be postponed until an overall traffic study is completed. After discussion, the motion to adopt the recommendation of Committee No. 1 was carried by the following vote on roll call: Ayes: Byxbee, Cresap, Cummings, Davis, Drysdale, Mitch- ell, Porter, Rodgers, Simpson. Noes; Corcoran, Marshall, Navis, Ruppenthal. Trrase of New Hospital Site A report was received from Committee No. 4 recommending the approval and execution of the revised leace between the City and Stanford. University covering the site of 22.292 acres for the new Hospital. A motion was made by Mitchell, seconded by Simpson, that the Mayor be authorized to execute the lease. Councilman Rodgers reported that he and Vice Mayor Mar- shall had conferred with representatives of Stanford University re- garding revisions in the lease as previously presented; that they had studied it at length and in detail, and agree that it is to the Ci- ty'a advantage to enter into the lease as now proposed. Councilman Davis asked for a report on the negotiations with Stanford University regarding possible purchase of the land on which the hospital is to be located. Councilman Mitchell replied : that this question had been discussed with University officials but 45 they were not willing to sell any of the land within the academic reserve. Councilman Davis opposed the lease, stating he feels the construction of the hospital could proceed more rapidly if the City purchased the land, and'=that in his opinion the lease abrogates the City's right to institute condemnation proceedings in the future, Councilman Rodgers replied that the lease would not take away the_ City's right to condemn. property by eminent domain, atd theCity Ati torney agreed with this statement Councilman Drysdale stated that he thinks it would be un- wise to enter into a long term lease without knowing how the cost. of the core facilities is going to be allocated between the City and the University. Councilman Cummings advised that he would voteagainstthe lease as now written; he thought it should be much shorter,:. and ob- jected to certain provisions and rais"kd'questions regarding Para- graphs 5, 6 (2), 7, 13 and 27. After discussion, a resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute the lease as submitted in its revised form was adopted by the following vote on roll call: Ayes: Byxbee, Cresap, Marshall, Mitchell, Nevis, Porter, Rodgers, Simpson. Noes: Corcoran, Cummings, Davis, Drysdale, Ruppenthal. Manager of Construction, Hospital A report was received from Committees No. 3 and No. k rec-+ ommending that the Hospitalbe built on a segregated bid basis unde a Manager of Construction acting as agent for the City, and further recommending that the firm'of Wagner and Martinez be employed as they agent for the City to serve as Manager of Construction. The City Manager explained that the Manager of Construc- tion would advise the City on the calling of bids and, would super- vise the whole construction program. He stated that it was felt by the committees and the staff that the City would realize great sav- ings through this type of program. The cost of the services of the Manager of Construction would be prorated between ;Ile City and the University on the entire construction project, based on a monthly fee over an estimated period of two years. On motion of Mitchell and Drysdale, the City Manager was directed to continue negotiations with Wagner and Martinez along the lines recommended and submit a contract with this firm for the Council's approval. The City Manager advised that refined figuros on the cost of these services would be presented to the Council at the time the contract is submitted. YMCA Use Permit A report was received from the Planning Commission recom- mending that the conditions imposed by the Zoning Administrator in connection with the use permit for the YMCA be upheld with the fol- lowing modifications: 1.7, Condition No. 4: A paved parking area for the provi- sion of at least 30 cars should be providYd.at the completion of the building, and there shall_ be a re- view two years thereafter by the Zoning Administrator to determine if additional parking space is required. 2. Condition No.. 6: There shall be no organized outdoor athletic activities conducted on the property in con- nection with the YMCA program until the adjacent propl erties are protected by a 20 -foot planting strip. A further explanation of the matter was made by the Acting Zoning Administrator.' 46 On motion of Mitchell and Marshall, the recommendation of the PlanningCommission was adopted. Zone Change Application (Mellon and Golobic) A report was received from the Planning Commission recom- mending that the &pplication' of, Mellon and Qolobic for the rezoning of property on Middlefield Road:between,St. Claire Drive and Dry Creek, being portion of Lots 43 and 44, Clarke Ranch, and Lot 2, Block 4, Tract No. 986, St. Claire Gardens, Unit No. 1,, from R-1 to R -3-G be denied. The Commission stated that it took this action in order to be'consiatent with the General Plan adopted in principle by the Planning Commission and the Council; that it was the feeling of the`Commission that apartment zoning would be detrimental to the sur- rounding single family residencesk that traffic would be increased by the use of multiple family units; that Middlefield Road could be developed for single family residences, and that the General Plan should be upheld as far: as R=1 zoning on Middlefield Road is Con= cerned. On motion of Marshall and Navis, the recommendation of the Planning Commission for denial of the application was upheld. Zone Change Application (Kennedy) A report was received from the Planning Commission recom- mending denial of the application of Florence Kennedy et al. for a change of district from R--1 to, R-2 at 110-120 Waverley Street and 354-364 Poe Street. It was the sense of the Commission that a resi- dential area's being old is not sufficient reason for granting mul- tiple family zoning. On motion of Navis and Drysdale, the recommendation of the Planning Commission for denial of the application -was upheld. Mitchell voted No on the motion. (Councilman Cummings left at this time, 8:45 P.M., and was absent for the rest of the meeting.) Final Map of Tract- No. 1826 A report was received from the Planning Commission recom- mending approval of the final map, of Tract No. 1$26, located on Greer Road at California Avenue. Resolution No. 2794, approving the final map of Tract No. 1826, was introduced, and on motion of Navis and Ruppenthal, was adopted by unanimous vote on roll call. Lct Divisions A report was ;received from the Planning Commission recom- mending approval of the lot division application of Kertz Realty to divide a portion of Lot 23, Seale Subdivision No. 5, located on Ama- rillo Avenue, subject to the rear lot being extended to a depth of 72 feet, to the granting or public utilities easement, the payment or segregation of bond assessments, and to furnishing evidence of payment of 1955-56 county taxes. The. Planning Commission also recommended approval of the lot division application of R. W. Crews to divide a portion of Lot 1, Block 3, Seale Subdivision No. 5, located at 2221 Louis Road, subject to a 10 -foot triangle being cut off the back of the north- east corner of the front lot in order to provide better ingress and egress, to granting of public utilities easement, to payment or seg- regation of bond assessments, and to furnishing evidence of payment of 1955-56 county taxes. On motion of Mitchell and Drysdale, these lot divisions were approved according to the recommendations of the Planning Com- mission. 47 Cancellation of Ta:,es on City Property Resolution No. 2795, cancelling taxes on certain property acquired by the City for public use, was introduced, and on motion - of Rodgers and Mitchell, was adopted::on roll call, with 11 Ayes, Marshall. voting -No. Deeds to- Taylor (Portion of Seale Wooster Canall Resolutions authorizing the Mayor to execute a quitclaim deed and a grant deed from`the City of Palo Alto:to Robert H. Tay- lor and Charlene G. Taylor, pursuant to an agreement between -the City and Slatt and Turkel, covering a portion°o£ the Seale -Wooster Canal, portion Lot 67, Wooster Subdivision, were introduced and adopted by unanimous vote on roll call. Zone Change on Stanford Lands Ordinance No. 1724, rezoning a certain area of Stanford lands it the vicinity of Willow and Arboretum Roads to R-4 and`C-3, was given second reading, and on motion of Mitchell and Simpson, was adopted by unanimous vote on roll call. Fire zones for Stanford Annexation No. 6 A proposed ordinance establishing Fire Zones for Stanford Annexation No. 6 and adjacent area was introduced and accepted for first reading. Cancellation of Parking Zone Ordinances A proposed ordinance cancelling certain ordinances estab- lishing parking zones was accepted for ,first reading. Cancellation of Duplicate Assessment A report was received from the City Assessor requesting: cancellation of the personal property assessment of $10.,100.00 on Tax Bill No. 154. He explained that this was a duplicate assess- ment of personal property transferred to the unsecured roll, and that the tax on the property has already been collected from the view owner. It was moved by Rodgers, seconded and carried by unani- mous vote on roll call that the Assessor be authorized to cancel this assessment on Tax Bill No. 154. Claim for Damages (Owings) A report was received from the City Attorney on claim filed by Harry H. Owings in the sum of $24.00 for damage to wind- shield of his car by a foul ball during a ball game at El Camino Park. The City Attorney advised that he had investigated the matter and it was his opinion that there is no liability on the part of the City, and that any spectator assumes any risk involved in parking near a baseball park.; :It was moved, seconded and carried that the City Attor- ney's report be accepted and that the claim be denied. Monthly Reports The monthly report of the Controller for October, 1956, was received and filed. The monthly report of the Planning Officer on action tak- en on applications in October for redivision of lots, and the month ly report of the Zoning Administrator on actions taken in October on applications for variances and use permits, were received and placed on file. • � I n 48 There being no further business to come before the Coun- cil, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 P.M. ATTEST: APPROVED: * * * * * -Mayor City Hall, Palo Alto, California' November 26, 1956 This being the time for the regular meeting of the City Council and no members being present, the meeting was adjourned for lack of quorum.