HomeMy WebLinkAbout11131973CITY
COUNCIL
MINUTES
November 13, 1973
CAW
or
ptiLC)
The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date at 7:35 p.m.
in anadjourned meeting of November 12, 1973, with Mayor Comstock pre-
siding.
Present: Reahrs, Clay, Comstock, Henderson, Norton, Pearson, Rosen-
baum, Sher
Absent: i;erwald
Tentative Condemi.ntim, Subdivision, Map,
Application of Thomas Corbin, -2102e2136
Bowdoiti Street
Mayor Comstock noted that the Planning Commission, by a vote of 5--0,
recommended to Council denial of the application of Thomas Corbin for
a tentative condominium :subdivision map. He also noted that Council
has received the report of the Plarming Department and the Planning
Commission Minutes. In addition, he said there have been requests
from several members of the audience to speak to this item. He said
first they would hear from me.mbers of Council.
Vice Mayor Pearson stated she knew the houses and the area, but she feic
there was some way to work this out, and asked if the Commission had
talked about a way to solve this.
Planning Director Knox replied that discussion of that sort did not
take place with the Commission but did with the staff, and there are
several ways in which this property could be subdivided. One would
allow unit No. 1 to remain as is, with the second parcel that would
include houses ? and 3, and the third parcel would include houses 4
and 5 with easements to provide driveways to the rear of their lots.
He said there ere a number of other possibilities. He felt it would
not be appropr>tate to make these small, substandard lots when there
vas s possibility for lodger lots, each with its own parking. He said
.staff did think there was gray to divide this without having the com-
mon green approach and without requiring a condominium.
Councilman Beahrs-questioned why the whole pot could not be conveyed
in tenancy -.in -coon to the five -purchasers of the property. He suggests
that the tenancy -in -common would have to make all sales simultaneously
and convey the entire parcel without division to all those who bought
individual houses on some agreed basis and they would have a common
interest in the total land area.
City. Attorney booth ceplied that that might be a possible way to do it,
but the Attorney's Office generally t.akea the position in the kind of
situation where buildings straddle lot lines, then the lots are illegal,
and that would be an illegal subdivision. They would prevail upon the
purchaser to recombine those lots into one parcel. He said in the ab-
sence of that, the Attorne'y's Office files a notice of illegal subdivi-
sion so the properties cannot obtain a building permit without cleaning
up the subdivision problems. Alec', with this many parties involved,
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he said the tenancy -in -common creates considerable problens'when a
person dies or moves away.
In response to questions from Councilman Rosenbaum as to how this ail
came about in the first place, Mr. Booth replied that neither he nor
staff had the answer to that. He explained that in these old subdivisions,
properties were divided many years ago and this problem was quite com-
mon. He said there a number of areas in town where subdivisions in
the early 1900's were twenty --five foot lots and these were sold in
chunks of two so they ended up with fifty foot lots
Skip Crir=t, attorney for the developer, explained that this is the old
College Terrace area and an outgrowth of the old twenty-five foot lots.
He pointed to Exhibit R on the wall, noting the lots and what is pro-
posed. He said basically it is proposed a common area would be owned
by all five and the condominium vehicle was used where all five had to
maintain a common green, with the use of it for everybody but with each
lot having its own garage. The lots will be owned by individuals but
the common area will be under a maintenance association. He said they
just felt this was a better way to do it. However, he ;paid, they are
willing to go back to the drawing board if there was a better way of
doing it.
Thomas Corbin, owner of the property, felt the basic advantage they
were looking for, is preservation of the site as is and reservation of
the right to rebuild these units if they were destroyed in the shape
and size they are.
Councilman Norton said if the Council is agreeable in principle to
drawing the lot line, he did not see much wrong with the present pro-
posal. He said if the result of sending it back to the Planning Com-
mission or the staff would be to create new driveways between lots 2
and 3, and possibly 4 and 5. He thought that would be undesirable.
He said he could -see the obvious advantage of using two driveways to
serve the five separate parcels and said that if they want to under-
take the disadvantages, if any, of joining up in a condominium to main-
tain the back area and possibly the garages, he felt that was up to
them. The real question he said is whether the Council objects to the
philosophy of converting renters to ownership units, because otherwise,
he said they would be just approving an existing situation.
Harrison Otis, 909 W. California Avenue, said he thinks it is up to the
developer to solve the city's housing needs and up to the Planning Com-
mission and the Council to work with these people. He spoke in favor
of the developer.
Vice Mayor Pearson pointed out to Mr. Crist that the proposal could be..
denied oetright or he could withdraw it and come up with some other
solution the Planning Commission could approve of. She asked if he
would be willing to do that.
Mr. Crist replied that they would be willing to do that as opposed to
denial. However, he said it seemed to him that they really have the
best plans.
Mr. Knox pointed out three items in the file which would be of interest
to the Council. One is a memo of 10,-30-73 which is essentially the
engineering bulletin; another is the articles of association; and the
third is the CC and It's. He said if Council is going to approve the
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11/13/73
subdivision, then he would suggest it should be looked at by the Attor-
ney's Office, and the reason is that this is such a small condominium
and the staff has some concern about the viability of an association
of only five owners.
MOTION: Councilman Beahrs moved, seconded by Norton, to approve the
application of Thomas Corbin for a tentative condominium subdivision
map (6 lots) located at 2102-2136 Bowdoiri Street subject to the condi-
tions in the engineering bulletin and approval by the City Attorney
of the CC and R's.
Councilman Sher said it would be helpful to him to know why staff recom-
mended denial in the first place.
Mr. Knox responded that the staff recommendation was based directly on
the proposition that this area could be subdivided into five lots, that
it would not need condominium or a homeowners' association, that excep-
tions could be granted to allow easements for existing driveways, and
at the most one additional driveway, or at the least no additional
driveways would be needed to provide access to'the rear yards and garages.
He said the planning Commission felt two aspects of this conversion
were not desirable. One was that existing low/moderate rental units
would be taken out of the rental stock and would become ownership units
at presumably higher cost to the occupant. The second aspect was that
the lots would be substandard, and if one building burned, it would
allow repl.act,raent. They felt if rrp1acemert were to occur it would be
better to begin to aggregate the parcels so that the lets would be wider
and more like the standard Palo Alto lot, fifty feet instead of twenty-
five feet.
Councilman Norton said he did not think those are very good reasons
if the Council is not bothered by conversion by rental to ownership.
He commented that the lots were always twenty-five fort, were built on
originally as twenty-five foot lots. He said the owner now ?s taking
a situation which exists and is trying to do the best he can with it
by making five lots from six. He said he just could not see any im-
provement that was likely with the garages and houses placed the way
they are, and said he certainly would not favor putting another drive-
way inbetwcen lots 2 and 3 and certainly not between lots 4 and 5.
Councilman Rosenbaum pointed out that it was late when the Planning
Commission cousidered this item and said perhaps there was not time to
give it consideration it needed. He said he would be in favor of sending
the smatter back to the Planning Commission to take another look at it.
Vice Mayor Pearson raised the questieaa of replacing a structure if one
burned down and asked if there are any restrictirns which could be put
upon the deed whereby they eonld only build an equivalent percentage
of lot coverage equivalent to what was there before.
Mr. Booth replied that that could be put in as a condition of approval
of a subdivision.
Mr. Corbin said that that suggestion was one of the primary reasons for
going forward with it the way Mr. Nidi.ffer had supposed --condition that
they could rebuild as they were.
AMENDMENT: Vice Mayor Pearson moved, seconded by Norton, to amend the
motion by adding a condition that any new building, in case of demoli-
tion or destruction of one of those buildings, shall be substantially
the same lot coverage.
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Councilman Beahrs said assuming there should be a general conflagra-
tion and all of these houses go, at that point there would have to be
a decision whether they wanted to aggregate the land, do a better job
or what. He asked if the first limitation would make it impossible to
consider aggregating the properties.
Mr. Knox replied that he had not had a chance to review the CC and R's.
He said normally there is a provision which provides for the home-
owners' association and the mortgage company to rebuild substantially
the same project, and probably requires that building. He thought
they ocight to take an opportunity to look at that.
Mr. Booth stated that they agreed to build along those lines that the
Council approved because those would be lawful, building, sites as they
could do now if there was a general conflagration.
Mayor Comstock said the question is that if Council approves the sub-
division and something wiped out all the structures on that property,
would that foreclose them from cooing back with another subdivision,
say in three lots or something like that.
Mr. Booth replied that they would not be foreclosed at all. He said
it could be reopened at any time, and they could have the conditions
removed or leave it the way it is.
The amendment carried on a unanimous vote.
Councilman Henderson said that it was '..s feeling, in the face of staff
and P1arning Commission denial recom sndaticns, that further discussion
was needed and he would support sending it back to the Planning Com-
mission,
MOTION: Councilman Henderson coved, seconded by Rosenbaum, that the
application be referred back to the s'_anz15 ng Commission.
The referral motion failed an the following vote:
AYES: Henderson, Pearson Rosenbaum, Sher
NOES: Beahrs, Clay, Comstock, Norton
The main motion as amended paseed on the following vote:
AYES: Eeahrs, Clay, Comstock, Norton, Pearson, Sher
NOES: Henderson, Rosenbaum
Tentative Condominium Subdivision Map,
John N. Pappas, 177 and 181 Bryant Street
Appeal of CEP Deve l.opment Company from
Decision of Architectural Review Board
--Denial of 24 Unit Condominium at 177
and 181 Bryant Street
Mayor Comstock noted that the Planning Commission, by a vote of 5-0,
recommended denial of the application of John N. Pappas for a tenta-
tive condominium subdivision map (24 units) located at 177 and 181
Bryant Street. He noted also that the next agenda item is an appeal
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11/13/73
J'
of CEP Development Company from the decision of the Architectural Re-
view Board to deny for a second time a proposed 24 -unit condominium
at 177 and 181 Bryant Street. He said that while these are separate
specific actions, they obviously relate to the same development and
if there is no objection from Council he would propose they consider
both items as being be'ore them at this time for discussion. There -
were no objections, and Mayor Comstock noted that Council had received
a staff report on this matter aed letters from Mr. George Eshoo, attor-
ney for the applicant, dated October 25 and 26, relating to the second
item. He said they would hear from staff at this time.
Mr. Knox stated that regarding the recommendation of the Architectural
Review Board, he had been in discussion with Charles Kinney, chairman
of the Architectural Review Boards, and Mr. Eshoo, representative for
the applicant. Mr. Eshoo wanted a continuance for two weeks to see if
they could work out something with the Architectural Review Board.
He said Mr. Kinney says the ARB would be willing to call a special
meeting during this two weeks, and he said it would Le his recommen-
dation to continue the matter for two weeks.
Mr. Eshoo, representing the applicant stated that they do have two
issues on the agenda, but they do not want to appear on item No. 9,
since it is their position that item No. 9 must be passed, according
to state law. He said however they do not want to get into litigation
and would like to work something out which is agreeable to the Council,
the ARB, and beneficial to the community. He said they would be
willing to have the matter continued for two weeks with the stipula-
tion that they were not giving up any rights in regard to item No. 9.
Mayor Comstock said he was trying to clarify regarding the recommen-
dation on item No. 10 if there is any interest in returning it to the
Architectural Review Board.
Mr. Eshoo replied that they had no objections an were definitely
willing to go back to the ARB and work out the project. The city
considers it a proper project. However, he said, they do not want
to give up their legal position and do not want a continuance to be
such that they will give up their legal position on the tentative
map. He said he is asking that if they do agree to go over for two
weeks that all of the decisions would be resolved as if the decision
were made today.
MOTION: Councilman Norton moved that the matter be continued for two
weeks and returned to the Architectural Review Board without prejudice
to any legal rights the applicant may have as of today, items No. 9
and 10.
City Attorney Booth said he thought it would be better to refer: item
No. 10 back to the Architectural Review Board with item No. 9 continued
without prejudice to the rights or positions of either party as they
exist as of tonight's meeting.
Mr. Eshoo said he would prefer to have both items 9 and 10 go back
without any prejudice.
W. Booth stated he had no objection to that.
Mayor Comstock stated they would now hear from members of the audience
who wished to speak.
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11/13/73
Charles Kinney, chairman of the Architectural Review Board, said they
were all in favor of looking at this again. He reviewed the history
of this project since Augt4st 16 when the ARB first met with the appli-
cant; September 24 when it went to Council and was referred back to
the ARB; ARB meetings on the matter 9-27, 10-4, 10-12, and 10-18 with
the applicant coming back with basically the same project, no new
sketches, and no new alternatives. He said he strongly wished to
recommend that for the ARB to fully review and give the changes con-
sideration they do have to have some concrete alternatives with drawings
and designs.
Mr. Eshoo replied that they will be willing to go back over some
design changes which hopefully can be worked out at the next meeting.
John Frederick, 177 Bryant Street, said he lives in one of the houses
directly affected by this project and the house he lives in will be torn
down if this project is approved. He pointed out that this is a heavy
residential area and these changes clearly affect the neighborhood
and the quality of life of the neighborhood. He said to consider
removing these houses in the first place is a step in squandering our
heritage. He pointed out that the house he lives in is big enough
that five or sic different families can live together as one family.
He concluded by asking Council to consider this carefully before
caking any changes that will put more people on the land and lead to
more problems.
Harrison Otis, 109 N. California Avenue, said he is more concerned
with litigation following the developers being denied units such as
this. He spoke of the job that Mr. Pappas has done in Palo Alto with
other units and spoke in favor of the project.
Dick Woodward said he did not agree with Mr. Otis's suggestion that
the developers are going to solve all t±ze problems. He said he would
like to paint out that the AR.B's difficulty with this building was
what they called the mass. He referred to the map on the mall and
noted the buildings on either side of the proposed project and said
there was no way in that area that this project is not going to be
massive. He said he agreed with Mr. Frederick that the city must con-
sider the problems of density.
Mx. Knox stated he thought members of the Council would like to know
the kinds of discussion it had with the ARB to ameliorate the mass.
He said they talked about not reducing the number of units on the
property but about breaking the building into two parts and separ-
ating it with some air spat^ in the middle; and secondly, pushing
the building back on the lot. He pointed to the sketch on the wall
showing what was meant. He said it may require variances and this
would be taken into consideration by the Zoning Administrator as a
recommendation of the ARB at the time of hearing. He said staff be-
lieves the process would require first of all a major redesign of
the .mass without reduction of the units; and secor,dly, a request for
variances. He said if there is any feeling on the part of the appli-
cantthat he does not want to do this, then a continuance is not
worth it.
Councilman Norton said he thought it would be appropriate for the
applicant to answer Hr. Knox's question. He said Mr. Knox had ex-
pressed two ideas as a minimum that would be expected and without
which there would be no point returning the item to the ARB.
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11/13/73
At the request of Mayor Comstock, Mr. Knox restated the sugges-
tions. The Architectural Review Board could be presented with at
least two alternative plans: one which would separate -the building
in the middle, and a second alternative plan which would move the
building back on the site. Or, he said, there should be some other
suitable alternative that would significantly modify the present
massive building.
Mr. Eshoo said they have discussed the possibility of moving the
building back and that can be done. With :respect to splitting the
building up, he referred to the drawing on the wall showing how
this could be done. He pointed out the house the first gentleman
had spoken of and said he was right when he said five or six
families were living there, adding they were living there in
violation of the city's own code, He spoke of the proposed park-
ing and said the parking conditions would be better than those
presently existing. He said they would be willing to submit the
two proposals suggested by Mr. Knox.
Councilman Norton asked the City Attorney whether by giving this
continuance and re -referral, the city would prejudice its rights
in any way. Mr. Booth responded that it would not at all.
Councilman Norton said that before restating his motion, he wished
to make it clear that he favored what he had read in the minutes
regarding shat the Architectural Review Board is doing in this
matter and if this project comes back anywhere near the shape it
is now, he would probably go along with the ARB recommendation.
He said in reviewing the ARB minutes, he noted that the developer
has repeatedly promised to comply with the Board's wishes but
nothing happens. He said he hoped that tonight would not be just
:another round in that procedure.
MOTION RESTATED: Councilman Norton moved, seconded by Rosenbaum,
that the entire matter be continued and returned to the Archi-
tectural Review Board without prejudice to any legal rights the
applicant may have as of tonight on either items 9 (Application
for e Tentative Condominium Subdivision Map) and 10 (Decision of
the Architectural Review Board on a proposed 24 -unit condominium).
Mayor Comstock noted that the effect of the action is to continue
the Planning Commission recommendation and to return the design
to the ARB and that the continuance would run until the Council
receives the report from the ARB.
Vice Mayor Pearson commented that the Planning Commission has al-
ready denied the site plan as bedag too massive for the site and
now the Architectural Review Board has turned it down because of
being massive. She said if they are going to talk about an en-
tirely new concept, it would have to go all the way back to the
Planning Commission.
!fr. Knox replied that if the design is changed substantially so
as to require revision to the condominium drawings, -then it would
have to go back to the Planning Commission. He said the City
Attorney advises that if that happens, the matter would be re-
turned to the Planning Commission routinely and administratively.
Vice Mayor Pearson said she was in favor of denying the project
outright and letting the developer go back and start over. She
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1.3/13/73
said if the matter is continued, she felt the developer should con-
sider the bulk on the plot of land which she said she would never
approve; also she said she did not like the so-called promise of
low/moderate income housing on another site and would prefer to
have the 20-40% right in the project itself; and further, into
this building should be built the relocation costs for any person
displaced by demolition of presently existing housing.
Councilman Sher said he felt the motion had failed to include
"without prejudice to the rights of the city or the applicant."
He said also maybe the formula suggested earlier about any action
that is ultimately taken should be dated as of this date. Mr.
Booth replied that he did not think that would be needed; "without
prejudice" would preserve the applicant's legal position as to the
continuance on the various time limits. They are 50 days for the
Planning Commission from date of filing and 10 days from the Plan-
ning Commission's report for the Council to act. He noted that
those time limits can always be extended by agreement of the appli-
cant.
Councilman Sher referred to the letter dated September 20, 1973,
from the Architectural Review Board and read the last paragraph
on page 1 setting forth specific objections to the project. He
noted that one regarding the corridors had been somewhat a,eli-
orated. He said it seemed to him that the objections set fort
in thit paragraph are the major objection, and added if there are
no prospects for dealing with those, then there is no point in
sending the matter back. However, is there are prospects for sol-
ving those, he said then he would be willing to go along with con-
tinuance.
Councilman Beahrs said he has all the concerns that have been ex-
pressed but his main concern is in the fire hazard and public
safety. He said he would like to know what the fire `creaks are.
Mr. Knox replied that that would be covered by the engineering
bulletin.
Councilman Henderson referred to the negative position of the
Planning Commission and the ARE and the seeming lack of coopera-
tion on the part of the developer. He said he could see no way
to redesign the project which would substantially alter the bulk;
the low/moderate income housing proposal does not meet the Coun-
cil's desires since there is an insufficient number of units, it
is in a different location and ao prices are indicated. He said
because of thie he could find no good reason to refer the matter
back.
Mayor Comstock noted that the motion to continue is before the
Council and the motion returns the :atter to the Architectural
Review Board for review with the understanding that if there are
any significant changes in the units, the City Attorney has ad-
vised that this will trigger a review of the proposed subdivision
by the Planning Commission as well. He dented that this matter
had been before the Council before and has been returned without
any serious responses to the issues raised last time. He said in
his opinion the applicant hau been provided the opportunity through
the Council, the ARB and the Planning Commission for responses and
change, but this has not occurred.
!lr. Knox advised that the engineering bulletin has no requirement
for fire breaks; however, he read a memo from the Fire Department
dated August 9 which states that it should be known to CEP Develop-
ment Co. that the new building will require complete automatic
fire sprinkler system. He said this was an oversight in the en-
gineering bulletin and he assure? Council that it will be included.
Mr. Eshoo said be would like to state for the record that they did
have a court date set for tomorrow but had it continued to
December. 6 and this was done in a.spirit of trying to cooperate
with the city. Regarding the question on the mass of the building,
he said he wishes to point out that the area is zoned for that mass
and if it is going to be changed, he would like to ask that the
change be for the whole section rather than one specific piece of
property. Also, he said, if the Council is going to deny them,
he would just as soon they would do it today; however, if there
was a chance of having it approved, he said they would be willing
to come back and try to cooperate. Pe seid he would like to re-
quest, however, that the utter be continued to November 26, prior
to their court date on December 6.
Mayor Comstock pointed out that the motion does not stipulate a
date and he questioned Mr. Eshoo if he was saying that they were
only willing if the continuance is for two weeks.
Eshoo replied that he understands that the notion does not
stipulate a date and said they are willing to spend every day be-
tween tow aid November 26 to work this out if it is continued for
twc weeks.
The motion to continue and return the matter to the ABB failed on
the following vote:
AYES: Clay, Norton
NOES: Beahrs, Comstock, Henderson, Pearson, Rosenbaum,
Sher
MOTION: Vice Mayor Pearson moved, seconded by Henderson, to up-
hold the recommendation of the Planning Commission and deny the
application of John N. Pappas for a Tentative Condominium Sub-
division Map (24 units) located at 177 and 181 Bryant Street.
The motion passed on a unanimous vote.
MOTION: Vice Mayor Pearson moved, seconded by Henderson, to deny
the appeal of the CEP Development Co. from the decision of the
Architectural Review Board to deny for a second time a proposed
unit condominium at 17.7 and 18]. Bryant Street.
The motion passed on a unanimous vote.
Conversion of Apartment
Buildings to Condominiums
MOTION: Mayor Comstock introduced the following ordinance and
moved, seconded by Henderson, its adoption:
ORDINANCE NO. 2751 ENTITLED "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF PALO ALTO SUSPENDING CONVERSION OF APARTMENT BUILDINGS
TO CONDOMINIUMS DURING THE PENDENCY OF STUDIES, ANY) PROVIDING
AN EXCEPTION PROCEDURE" (First reading 10/29/73)
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11/13/73
The ordinance was adopted on the following vote:
AYES: Comstock, Henderson, Pearson, Rosenbaum, Sher
NOES: Beahrs, Clay, Norton
Door -to -Door Solicitation, and
Business'Licenses and Regulations
MOTION: Vice Mayor Pearson introduced the following ordinance
and moved, seconded by Comstock, it adoption:
ORDINANCE NO. 2752 ENTITLED "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF PAtO ALTO ADDING CHAPTER 4.32 TO TbE PALO ALTO
MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO SOLICITING INFORMATION FOR
C0M4ERCTAL PURPOSES" (First reading 10/29/73)
The ordinance was adopted on a unanimous vote.
MOTION: Vice Mayor Pearson introduced the following ordinance
td moved, seconded by Comstock, its adoption:
ORDINANCE NO. 2753 ENTITLED "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING CHAPTER 4.30 OF THE PALO ALTO
MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO SOLICITING FUNDS"
(First reading 10/29/73)
The ordinance was adopted on a unanimous vote.
MOTION: Vice Mayor Pearson introduced the following ordinance
and moved, seconded by Comstock, its adoption:
ORDINANCE NO. 2754 ENTITLED "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING CHAPTER 4.10 OF THE PALO ALTO
MUNICIPAL CODE CONCERNING PEDDLERS AND SOLICITORS"
(First reading 10/29/73)
The ordinance was adopted on a unanimous vote.
MOTION: Vice Mayor Pearson introduced the following ordinance
and moved, seconded by Norton, its adoption:
ORDINANCE NO. 2755 ENTITLED "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING CHAPTER 4.04 OF THE PALO ALTO
MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO GENERAL PROVISIONS (BUSINESS
LICENSES AND REGULATIONS) (First reading 10/29/73)
The ordinance was adopted on a unanimous vote.
Embarcadero Underpass Pump Station --
Stage 1: Report on Bids (GKR:954:3)
MOTION: Mayor Comstock moved,
Council authorize the Mayor to
with Challenge Contracting Co.
finds this project will have no adverse environmental impact.
seconded by Sher, that the City
execute a construction contract
for $10,100, and that the Cou icil
Councilman Mehra questioned why they were doing this type of project
in the middle of the rainy season when it seemed more appropriate
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11/13/73
c ! ..
to do something like this in the summer time. Mr. Deverel replied
that there has been considerable investigations and design work to
do since approval of the budget in July. He also noted that they
did not have the appropriation for this project until July 1 of
this year.
Councilman Henderson noted that the estimated total project cost
on July 2 was $58,000 and now it is up to about $70,000. He said
he couldn't locate the figure from the 1972-73 CIP and asked how
much over the city is getting on this.
Mr. Deverel replied that the item was included in a general cate-
gory entitled "Miscellaneous Storm Drain Improvements" for which
there was $150,000 appropriation.
Councilman Henderson commented it appears there will be something
in the order of $12,000 to $15,000 over the budget. He asked if
staff will give in some other areas.
Mr. Deverel replied that they just wouldn't be able to do some of
the work contemplated. He pointed out there is an outside pos-
sibility that Stage I1 would nut be required. In response to a fur-
ther question from Councilman Henderson, Mr. Deve%el said that
staff does not anticipate coring back to Council for an increase
in the budget on this s:nee the Capital improvement item was Mis-
cellaneous category.
The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
! illview Avenue Sanitary Sewer Replacement::
Report on aids ( :9►57:3)
MOTION: Mayor Comstock moved, seconded by Rosenbaum, that the
Mayor be authorized to execute a contract with Challenge Contract-
ing Co. for the amount of $39,564 for construction of the Rlllview
Avenue Sanitary- Sewer Replacement.
Councilman Sher said he was interested in the statement in the re-
port about additional capacity due to increasing flow in the indus-
trial park. Re asked if any of this cost is passed on to the
users.
Mx. Deverel replied that the large commercial and industrial users
of the sewer system pay on the basis of the water they consume.
Their rates are hawed on volumes and they do pay for the increased
capacity.
The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
Integrated Demand -Responsive Express
Bus System Report (CM:969:3)
Councilman Rosenbaum reviewed what the city presently has. He
noted that East Palo Alto wa11 remain virtually the same. He
pointed out the changes on the Middlefield route, and noted a new
route on El. Camino. He referred to the map on the wall which shows
comparison of the present routes with the new routes. He said, in
addition there was another change that was made, the route into
the industrial park, not from Palo Alto but from the south part of
the county which goes into the industrial park and ti'en goes to the
California Avenue Southern Pacific station. What Palo Alto is
losing is a direct connection from downtown over to the California
Avenue and Stanford Industrial Park area. However, with a little
walk it will be possible to transfer onto a bus into the industrial
park. He said it is the intent of the personal transit system to
supplement the fixed -route system.
Councilman Rosenbaum explained the dial -a --ride system and noted
there are 85 buses for the county and 19 zones with five buses to
a zone. He noted this will serve 600 people whereas the present
fixed -route system is serving 1500 to 2000 people a day. He com-
mented that dial--a-ride is a very nice service but he expects it
will be saturated instantaneously and this is why he asked that
the San Jose editorial be placed in the packet. He noted that the
editorial refers to the AC Transit System and the area it covers.
He noted also that the AC Transit System is supported by consider-
able property tax, and in Santa Clara County the people have not
been willing to do that, He said it has beet' proposed bu: Palo
Alto might be interested in supplementing the dial -a -•ride service.
This could be feasible but he said Coueci.l should recognize the
great cost. He noted they were talking about revenue of approxi-
mately $2.00 an hour with operation costs of about $15.00 an hour.
It is not like the fixed -route bus where more people can crowd
onto a bus but as more people want to use the dial--a--ride, more
buses have to be put on, so the city is faced with an expensive
service and must think very carefully if they want tc, use it. In
addition to these problems, he explained that the District is be-
ing beset by all sorts of things. It received only one response
to the request for bids which was due to a number of reasons.
One, the District's buses are smaller than what the bus companies
seem to be making; two, propane was specified whereas everyone
wants to sell the District diesel, and there are also serious
time constraints. He pointed out that there is not much propane
around -and not much diesel either. He said what is being sug-
gested in the report is that the city essentially agree with what
the District is proposing except that Palo Alto request that the
personal transit area be expanded to include the Pine Hill develop-
ment on the Stanford campus. He said for some reason that area
was left out.
MOTION: Councilman Rosenbaum moved, seconded by Norton, that the
City Manager be directed to convey the comment to the Sante Clara
County Transit District that the Palo Alto demand -responsive ser-
vice area be expanded to include the Pine Hill development on the
Stanford University campus.
Vice Mayor Pearson referred to the report and said when Palo Alto
service areas are being listed she wondered why the Stanford
industrial Park and the Midtown area were not listed, and said
she thought they ought to be.
Councilman Rosenbaum responded that those areas are included in
the service area although they are not listed.
Mr. Sipel explained that the list in the staff report was taken
from the LEX report. and said he did not know why they were left
out, but certainly they are major service areas.
Vice Mayor Pearson asked if that could be added to the comment re-
garding Pine Hill.
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11/13/73
4e e 1
Mayor Comstock referred to Exhibit B and noted the service -area
boundary lines which include the midtown section and the Stanford
Industrial Park.
Vice Mayor Pearson said that her point is she would like to see
them listed so it will not be forgotten that Palo Alto has that
heavy employment area and another one where there are a lot of
stores and shops.
Councilman Rosenbaum responded that it was just an oversight on
the part of the person who wrote the report. The boundary lines
do include those areas, but they did not include the Pine Hill
area, and he felt it would only confuse things if Palo Alto made
a point of it.
Councilman Clay said he would like to see the service extended to -
the Pia: Hill, but was curious with the inefficiency of the system
now about expanding it to one more area and perhaps making it just
that much worse.
Councilman Rosenbaum replied his point was well taken, but he felt
the city has an obligation to request that that area be included.
The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
College Terrace Library: Report
on Bids (ChR:949:3)
MOTION: Mayor Comstock moved, seconded by Sher, that the Mayor
be authorized to execute the following contract for the College
Terrace Library project:
Roofing: Shelton Roofing Company, $7,536
Termite eradication: Consolidated Termite Company, $7,445
The motion carried unanimously.
Sales and Use Tax Ordinance:
A.n Agreement for State Administration
Mayor Comstock noted that Council was in receipt of the staff re-
port from the City Controller, the proposed ordinance, and agree-
ment.
MOTION: Mayor Comstock intrc-duced the following ordinance, and
moved, seconded by Beahss, its adoption:
ORDINANCE NO. 2756 ENTITLED "ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OP PALO ALTO REVISING CHAPTER 2.32 OF THE PALO ALTO MUNI-
CIPAL CODE AND APPROVING ACREP LENT FOR STATE ADMINISTRATION
OF SALES AND USE TAX"
Vice Mayor Pearson commented that she thought the report from the
City Attorney was inadequate because she did not understand it.
She questioned whether anything was changed since it looked iden-
tical to her.
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1
Mayor Comstock said it was his understanding it is essentially a case of
catching up with miscellaneous changes in the state legislation and es-
sentially a housekeeping thing.
Mr. Booth agreed that it ie mainly a cleanup measure. He said they did..
the whole thing in the form in which the Board of Equal i action wa.nt.a l it,
because the legislation becomes effective January 1. He said .if it was
not done by the first of January, the city could stand to -lose its share
of sales tax revenue, He added it is more a matter of trying to_satisfy
the Board of Equalization than anything else. In eesponse to Vice Mayer.
Pearson, he said the rate as far as Palo Alto is concerned is the same.
So are the procedures.
Councilman Henderson commented that it would be helpful in the future
if staff would put in a sentence to the effect that there are no signi-
ficant changes.
The ordinance was adopted on a unanimous vote.
Be. Delta Resources Recovery Demonstration
Agency
Vice Mayor Pearson noted that Council vas in receipt of a report from the
City Attorney with the attached joint exercise of powers agreement. She
commented that she and Mr. Booth had gone over the agreement: and added
some sentences to tighten it up, and said it is essentially the same as
presented prev.ously.
MOTION: Vice Mayer Pearson moved, seconded by Henderson, that the City
Council approve the joint powers agreement creating the Bay Delta Resources
Recovery Demonstration Agency.
Councilman Sher said he understands that these are proposed changes in
the agreement and asked regarding signing of the agreement by the various
agencies.
Vice Mayor Pearson explained that all of the agencies are supposed to
sign this same agreement. She said she and Mr. Booth felt these changes
should be added and felt confident the other agencies will agree since
they do not cht:nge anything, but tighten up these particular areas.
Councilman Bestirs asked for clarification regarding the financial impli-
cations and to what extent the city would be committed. Vice Mayor
Pearson replied that the city will not be committed to anything, since
it has already paid $3,000. She noted it states somewhere in the agree-
ment that no more money will be asked for on this particular deal.
The motien carried on a unanimous vote.
Procedure of Council and Committee Meetinga
Proposed Change of Council and Committee.
Meeting_ Days
MOTION: Mayor Comstock moved, seconded by Pearson, that agenda item
No. 22 (Proposed change of Council and committee meeting days) be con-
sidered at the same time as item No. 20 (Procedure of Council and o a-
mittee meetings).
The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
3 7 1
. 11/13/73
Councilman Sher commented this is an appropriate time for this matter
to come before the Council in view of the fact that.this•.is a continuance
after a long Monday night meeting and makes clear the problems the
Council faces. He said there is a potential to do better.to_expedite
the meetings without in any ca_) infringing on a fair hearing for people
who want to be heard on items or for Council discussion. He referred
to his memo dated November 5, 1973, and the five specific possibilities
suggested for change that he said he would like to see discussed.in
the Policy and Procedures Committee. He briefly reviewed the five
items and noted, in addition, Mr. Sipel had sent to Coa'ni'll a memoran-
dum about effective use of Council time including a list .of possible
actions that might expedite meetings. He noted that Council has been
given a formal report from Mr. Sipel with the notation that at least
one of the suggestions, No. 7, in his survey of Council members does
not seem to command tremendous, if any, support. However, he felt
the whole list should be referred to the Policy and Procedures Com-
mittee.
MOTION: Councilman Sher moved, seconded by Pearson, to refer to .the
Policy and Procedures Committee for review and recommendation the sub-
ject of procedures at Council and Committee meetings including, but
not limited to, suggestions detailed in his memorandum of November 5,
1973, and also including the procedures in Vice Mayor Pearson's memo-
randum of November 8, 1973, concernin; Council and committee meeting
days.
Vice Mayor Pearson spoke to her
change -of Council and committee
by the fact Council meetings go
at 2:00 a.m. was too much. She
suggestion for changing Council
committee meetings from Tuesday
automatically at 11:30 p.m. If
will automatically be adjourned
She commented that there may be another way to do it, but she would
like the committee to discuss this. Regarding Councilman Sher's sug-
gestion on strict adherence to a five-minute speaking limit, she said
she would hope that would be enforced on the Council as well as on
the public.
agen:.a item regarding the proposed
meeting days, and said she was spurred
from 12:30 to 1:00 a.m. and the latest
reviewed her November 8 memo a:i the
meetings from Monday to Tuesday and
to Wednesday; meetings adjourning
the agenda is not finiehed, the meeting
to the following Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Councilman Henderson said he supported referral of these items to the
committee, but thought they were going to have to go beyond suggestion.
made. One of the big things is the fact that Council is going to have to
discipline itself. He noted that if each Council member speaks ten
minutes on a Council agenda item, that consumes one and half hours
time. Another problem area relates to committee meetings. He said
in his opinion the whole purpose of the committee system is to provide
the opportunity for full discussion by the public, staff and committee
members and the minutes of these meetings shculd be as complete as
possible. When the committee item reaches the Council, the committee
chairperson should give the summary of the arguments presented in
committee and the statement of the committee's conclusions and the basis
for it. The council should have read the committee minutes and there
should be no need for further public discussion unless theme is new
inr.:ormation. He said he thought all Council metiers should submit
their comments on Mr. Sipel's memorandum to the committee.
Councilman Aeahrs said he agreed that the Council creates most of its
own problems and it will have to discipline itself. He agreed that
1
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11/13/73
reorganization of the agenda occasionally could be very helpful.
Regarding meeting dates, he said any night is as bad as another
and he personally would be willing to start meetings at 7:00 a.m.
on Saturdays.
Councilman Rosenbaum commented that he thought if there -was a.smal1*r..
Council they would probably cut down on their talk,. but a1i_-inestlL .
he thought they had been doing better and had bad fewer meetings.
He referred to Vice Mayor Pearson's point regarding the amount -
of time Council has to digest the agenda material and said clearly .
some material could come to the Council earlier. He noted that Mr.
Sipel has attempted to send the Council material earlier when they
have certain large issues to consider. He said he did not see any
particular virtue to going to Tuesday night meetings.
Caunciima.-t Norton said he favored referral of all of Councilman
Sher's points to the committee, but did not favor going to a Tuesday
meeting and aaid he would like to see the matter separated for pur-
poses of voting on it without prejudice to any of the other items
in Councilwoman Parson's memo of November &.
Mayor Comstock ruled that the question would be separated with the
issue of whether or not the Council would change from Monday night
meetings to be dealt with as a second motion. He noted that before
Council is the total referral except for the issue of whether Coun-
cil will change from Monday to Tuesday night meetings.
The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
?Mayor Comstock noted that the second part of the action is specific
direction to the committee to review the changing of Council tweeting
nights from Monday to Tuesday,
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Councilman Norton moved, duly sezonded, that
all of Vice Mayor Pearson's recommendation referred to in her re-
port of November 8, 1973, be referred to the Policy and Procedures
Committee for review with the exception of changing the Council
meeting night from Monday to Tuesday.
Vice Mayor Pearson objected to the motion, stating she thought the
Council should vote to allow the committee to discuss the matter
completely as to whether the Council should meet any other day of
the week than Monday.
The motion failed on the following vote:
AYES: Beahrs, Norton, Rosenbaum
NOES: Clay, Comstock, Henderson, Pearson, Sher
MOTION: Vice Mayor Pearson moved, seconded by Henderson, that the
total proposal, including Councilman Sher's and Vice Mayor Pearson's
suggestions, be referred to the Policy and Procedures Committee.
The action passed on the following vote:
AYES: Clay, Comstock, Henderson, Pearson, Rosenbaum, Sher
NOES: Beahrs, Norton
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11/13/73
Northern California Power Agencys
Emergency Plan for Conservation.of
Energy
Councilman Sher referred to the present energy crisis and rioted that
everyone reads in the news media accounts o'f actions being taken at.
the federal, state and many local levels in regard to ways to conserve
energy. '.Wherefore, he said he thinks it is time the Council took -same...
formal action to show its determination to conserve energy and.tn do
what it can to alleviate the energy crisis in Palo Alto. He said ha. _
chose the NCPA emergency plan for conservation as the vehicle to take_.
action because the city is a member of the NCPA and NCR& has. pxapaxed.
this plan and recommended that member cities do enact as many points
of the plan as is feasible `or their own circumstances. He noted the
plan has three parts: actions to be taken by cities, actions to be
taken by individual consumers, and acticns to be taken by commercial
and industrial consumers. He noted some of the actions have been par-
tially taken by the city as detailed in Mr. Deverel's report of
October 19. He said there are other actions the city can adopt as
policy this evening: some requtre further staff study and some directly
affect city employees.
MOTION: Councilman Sher moved, seconded by Pearson, that the Council
formally adopt as city policy items a through d, items i, j, 1, and m
in the NCPA reco endations for actions to be taken by cities and
that the remaining proposed actions to be taken by the city, namely
items e through h, and item k, .be referred to the staff for study and
finally that items g and k which affect city employees be referred to
the City Employees Facility Committee and the Fire Fighters Association..
for their comments and recommendations, and that these groups as well
as city employees in general should be invited and encouraged to make
other suggestions for the conservation of energy by the city.
Councilman Clay said hecould support most of it but had trouble with
some, particularly item c "cut down parking lighting and reduce to
minimum security levels when not in use." He said he did not know
what minimum security level would be if not what it already is. The_
other item is d "cut Christmas lighting" and said they might have
trouble with that.
Mayor Comstock replied that item d refers to the city street lighting
decoration along University Avenue, etc., to have them up without
lights on them.
Mr. Deverel advised that he had met with a number of merchants' assoc-
iations and got their voluntary agreement to either curtail or eliminate
Christmas lighting.
Councilman 1aahrs questioned if there are any estimates of what per-
centage the load will go down with a program of this character. He
said if there is as such as fifteen or twerity percent, this will have
an impact on the city's budget which should be considered.
Hr. Deverel replied that in staff's initial survey in an attempt to
get shame early savings identified, they have not tried to keep track
of how much current the city is actually saving, but they do not ex-
pect it will be a large figure. He said in their review of city faci-
lities he would guess about three percent. As far as the overall
community and the impact on the revenue of utilities, he said as they
3 7 4
11/13/73
move into the budget process they were going to have take a gcv d, hard
look at what this is going to do to revenues. In response to further
questions from Councilman Beaters regarding an accurate measure within
two or three months, Mr. Deverel replied he did not think they would
be able to and mostly because of the growth pattern, sinc$..i.t would
be difficult to say how much growth would have taken place if the pro-
gram had not been in effect.
the motion carried or. the following vote:
AYES: Beahrs, Comstock, Henderson, Norton, Pearson, Rosenbaum,
Sher
NOES: Clay
MOTION: Councilman Sher moved, seconded by Pearson, that the staff
embark upon a publicity campaign to publicize %n,.et the city is doing
to conserve energy and to urge individual citizens to participate in
the effort by taking the actions listed for individual consumers in
the NCPA emergency plan.
He said he would like to point out that the city in the news notes that
go out with the utility bills has listed items a through j of actions
for consumers and subsequently k through v. Staff contemplates a more
active campaign of letting people know what the city is doing and
encouraging individuals to likewise participate.
Councilman Rosenbaum referred to item b in this category "check ther-
mostat on your freezer and refrigerators; they can be raised to use
less power in colder months." He said that one did not make sense to
hi,zz, and before =w•ide)y publicizing it, he thought perhaps they should
speak to a consultant.
Mrr. Deverel replied he presumed he was referring to the heat loss from
a given level from holding. He said frankly he did not know.
The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
MOTION: Councilman Sher moved, seconded by Beahrs, that staff in its
ongoing discussions of energy conservation with commercial and indus-
trial users bring to the attention of such users the actions by com-
mercial and industrial consumers reco ended in the NCPA plan.
The motion passed on the following vote:
AYES: Beahrs, Comstock, Headerscn, Norton, Pearson, Rosenbaum,
Sher
NOES: Clay
Mr. Deverel announced that the city is planning to hold a contest in
conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce and any other agency that
might like to get involved in it, a competition for an award of the
beat unlighted Christmaa decoration in the residential area. Re said
they were going to call it a "Humbug Competition" or something and
each of the Council will be invited to participate if: they wish.
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11/13/73
Speed Controls on City Streets
Councilman Henderson commented that Council is continually hearing..
from the public about traffic speed problem eonel'alo:lltao strsete.
and said that inspite of all types of attempts .to alleviate- these.
problems, the city has not seemed to succeed to any significant.
effect. He briefly reviewed his. memo of November. 7, 1973, regarding..___
two devices_ which might be'. helpful. One was foY the installation of
small bumps in the street which can _be designed .at. different. alzes,.
and another is the use of clusters of traffic lane markers. in - the -
middle of the street. He noted that Council was also in receipt
of a letter from James Culpepper on this same matter. He commented
that he thought either of these alternatives could be tested on one
of the city's busy streets.
MOTION: Councilman Henderson moved, seconded by Comstock, to direct
staff to study the feasibility of installing bumper strips, traffic
markers or other materials on city streets to control traffic speeds.
Councilman Seahrs said he had no serious quarrel with this and would
like to see it started on i. barcaderoe He said, however, he was
somewhat concerned with the legal implications because he could see
hazards created by this also. He asked the City Attorney what in-
volvement the city has, particularly if people are strangers in town
and not alert to the fact that the city has this trap.
Mr. Booth replied that certainly the installation of any kinds of
devices in the streets carries with it implications of liability
which his office would want to look into thoroughly as well as any
problems that might exist with the effect on the vehicle code in
the prima facie speed limits of streets. He said if this assignment
is made, his office will look into it thoroughly and report.
Councilman Norton pointed cut that several of the neighboring case
munities have handled this in a slightly different way and be sug-
gested that Palo Alto could follow their lead and achieve :.ba same
effect at less expense if it simply lets its streets depreciate in a
systematic way.
Councils Rosenbaum suggested that staff, as part of its reaearch,
might want to refer to a Council meeting that occurred in February,
1970, at which time there was lengthy discussion about bumps on
Amaranto Avenue. He said at that time there were a number of objec-
tions raised.
The motion passed on the following vote:
AYES: Beaters, Clay, Comstock, Henderson, Pearson, Rosenbaum,
Sher
NOES: Norton
Urban Lane and Holi y Ian Parking Lot
Vice Mayor Pearson referred to Urban Lane which is in back of Holi-
day Tin and said she believed that when Council was talking about
signs, they referred the subject of urban Lane to staff for a report
on that. She commented that she drove over there to see what had
3 7 6
11/13/73
happened and was dismayed to find that Holiday Inn has included
Urban Lane in their parking lot and that they are obviously not in-
tending to have Urban Lane these. She said she recalled that.it was
in the Capital Improvement Program that the city wasagoing._ta-build
a road there. There were also supposed to be certain setbacks and
she said she wanted to know where the report is and how it is that
Holiday Inn can do that.
Mr. Sipel replied that Holiday Inn is in compliance with the .Pgrea-
ment as currently written. With respect to the proposed street,
he said the city is considering that as part of the Capital Improve-
ment Program which will be submitted to the Council within the next
thirty days or so.
Vice Mayor Pearson asked if Mr. Sipel was saying that the street
that was originally there should not have been the right street.
Mr. Sipel replied no, -what he was saying is that Holiday Inn is in
conformance with the current agreement that the city has with them.
Fe said they do have same obligations, however, with respect to the
replacement of that street.
Vice Mayor Pearson said that if she remembered the agreement correctly,
holiday inn was supposed to stop at the road, then the road was
supposed to go in, and then Holiday Inn was to negotiate with Southern
Pacific for additional parking on their lend, but the road was sup-
posed to go inbetween. She said there was also supposed to be a
setback from the -railroad tracks which would allow their parking
to be used for any transit district that comes through. She said
she thought that she and Mr. Sipel should go out there and she said
she would show him where the road originally went and also show him
the maps that the Council had from Holiday Inn. She said Holiday
Inn is not conforming with what the Council voted upon.
Mr. Sipel replied that it is in conformance with the agreement that
was adopted by the Council and added that he would be happy to go
out there with Vice Mayor Pearson and take a look at it.
Mr. Booth advised that the lease does reserve the thirty-six feet
closest to the track for the city's ownership out there for future
street purposes, and obligation of the developer includes either
providing the city an alternant and removing all of its facilities
at its own expense or otherwise making the contribution to that
project. He said there is a substantial piece of property from the
edge of where Mr. Chen's parkir.3 is to the railroad tracks. He
added that he would be happy to furnish further details on the lease
to anyone who ranted them.
Commendatfan to KZSU
Councilman Henderson said he would like to commend Radio Station
KZSU for continuing to curry the City Council meetings and in fact
expanding their coverage. He noted they had picked up this evening's
extra meeting and said they are going to cover the Planning Commission
meeting tomorrow night. He pointed out that they covered the Stan-
ford presentation and the two drug evaluation special meetings. He
said to is hearing more and more from the public what a real valu-
able service this is for Palo Alto.
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11/13/73
Oral Communications
1. Harrison Otis, 109 North California Avenue, spoke of the many
hours he has put in this year at the Veteran`.8 Hospital and
the disabled veterans, the paralyzed, -the blind, the -psychiatric,
the drugged, and the amputees; and he said these people are
forgotten. re said he thought it would be appropriate to
ask Council to write some kind of letter that he could poet
up there in appreciation to these young men for what they have
done for our country. He said be thought it would be parti-
cularly appropriate during this holiday season.
Mayor Comstock replied that he would be happy to do that on
behalf of the Council and he thanked Mx. Otis for the idea.
Executive Session
The Council adjourned to executive session for the purpose of con-
sidering appointments at 10:00 p.el.
Adjournment
Council reconvened and adjourned at 10:40 p,m.
ATTEST:
X78
11/13/73
APPROVE:
Mayor