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2/21/66
City Hall
Palo Alto, California
February 21, 1966
The Council of the City of Palo Alto me`/ on this date in a meeting
adjourned from February 14, 1966. Mayor Arnold convened the
meeting at 7:30 p. m.
Present: Arnold, Beahrs, Debs, Dias, Flint, Pearson,
Rohrs, Sher, Wcrthington.
Absent: Comstock (arrived at 7:50 p.m.), Cooley, Rus,
Woodward.
Mayor Arnold advised that information received from the County
Executive indicates that it will not be possible for the Board of Super-
visors to meet jointly with the Council on March 8 as previously indi-
cated. He suggested several alternate dates and asked that a satis-
factory one be chosen before the close of tonight's meeting.
Variance A eai (65-V-20)
First Iviethodist urc r
(Councilman Rohrs did not participate in the disc►ission or
voting on this item, stating that he is a member of the
Church.)
A report was received from the Planning Commission recommending
by a vote of 4 to 1 that on the appeal of Ruth J. Frapweil and Helen
Brodsgar from the decision of the Zoning Administrator to condition-
ally approve a variance application of the First Methodist Church, the
Zoning A aninistrator's decision be amended and the application ap-
proved with the following conditions:
(1)
Forty six (46) off-street parking spaces shall be pro-
vided on property owned by the Church on the same
property, or immediately abutting the property, upon
which the Church plant is located, on or before June 30,
1968. -
(2) That until June 30, 1968, the forty-six (46) spaces can
include property other than church -owned property as
long as there is written evirience filed with the City of
the Church's right to »Ae it and that the forty-six (46)
spaces be on property adjacent to the Church.
(3) That an additional 40 parking spaces shall be provided
on property owned by the Church immediately adjacent
to the property upon which the Church plant is located
and/or immediately across,the street therefrom and/or
immediately abutting the previously provided Church -
owned parking area on or before June 30, 1970.
(4) That detailed plans of parking be filed with the Zoning
Administrator for approval and such plans shall include,
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2/21/66
but shall not be limited to: (a) parking space layout ?no'
circulation, (b) storm water drainage, and (c) landscaping.
(5)
That the Church shall provide a faithful performance bond,
within thirty (30) days of the date of approval of the vari-
ance, in the amount of $24, 000. 00, which shall be re-
duced to $13, 000.00 after the first forty-six (46) spaces
have been satisfactorily installed.
The Mayor called attention to the extensive material which has been
supplied to each Councilman on this subject, including the report of
the Zoning Administrator, Planning Commission minutes and letters
from various individuals, both pro and con. The Planning Officer
reviewed the problem in some detail, both as to the number of park-
ing spaces involved and as to the time element, essentially relaying
the following statistics:
Number Parking Required
of Under. Reduced by
Year Seats Zoning Ordinance Variance to: Ratio
Original variance:
1959 1100 (antici- 275 spaces (-160*) = 115 1 space per
pated) 9.5+ seats
Application 65 -V -Z0 as intended to
be approved by Zoning Administrator:
1965 825 (actual) 206 spaces
(-160*) = 46
Application 65-V-20 as recommended by
Planning Commission after considering appeal:
1965 825 (actual) 206 spaces
(* to be provided by City parking lot.)
86 1 space per
9. 5+ seats
The several time extensions were noted by the Planning Officer as
well as the fact that no parking has as yet been provided by the Church.
Mayor Arnold ruled that the five proposed conditions be considered
separately and he moved approval of paragraph 1 thereof. The motion
was seconded. However, at the suggestion of Councilman Flint interested
persons in the audience were invited to speak on the subject as a whole.
Rev. Ted Palmquist, senior minister of the Church, commented on the
Church's decision to stay in the downtown area regardless of the finan-
cial burden involved, based on the real desire to be of service to the
downtown community. He expressed the eagerness of the Church to
find a solution and pointed out that the greatest parking need falls on
Sundays and evenings, which are offpeak hours in the downtown area.
Bonnar Cox, president of the Board of Trustees of the Church, acknowl-
edged that the building program had been undertaken in light of the
original variance and anticipated use of City -owned parking. He said
the now suggested revision has terms that place the Church in an un-
tenable position to wit: that while paragraph 1 is acce table, the date
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2/21/66
is two years short of their orig.nal request; that it is an impossibility
for the Church to arrange for parking in the downtown area as outlined
in paragraph 2; that the requirement in #3 for an additional 40 Spaces
is a "requirement greater than under the City Code and is not justified;"
that #4 is acceptable; and that #5 would be acceptable if it, were reduced
to reflect only the 46 spaces necessary under #1.
Discussion followed, with Planning Commissioner Grench participating,
as to the. alleged ambiguities in the language of the proposed conditions
wherein the terms "immediately abutting, " "adjacent," and "immedi-
ately adjacent" are used. Mr. Cox was asked if substitution of the
words "within 500 feet of the Church" would be acceptable in para-
graph 2 and he kelt it would be if the Council applied it to hours of
peak church usage and not on the basis of 7 says a week, 24 hours
a day.
Acquisition/use of several nearby properties for parking was ex-
plored and Mr. Cox advised that the lease requirements involved
in connection with the three 50 -ft. wide properties at 519 Webster,
526-28 Byron and 536-38 Byron, owned by the Church, preclude
their early demolition and use for parking; that other logical prop-
erties in the area are either not available or financially not feas-
ible to acq-lire.
Kenneth R. McDougall, property owner at 515-517 Byron Street,
addressed the Council in opposition to the proposed variance, re-
ferring to his very comprehensive letter dated February 21, 1966
directed primarily to the actions and policies of the business man-
agement of the Church dating back to 1951 in its attempt to negate
the parking requirement. Several specific suggestions were put
forth by Mr. McDougall including:
(1) Refer entire matter to committee to be worked out.
(2) Qualifying the word "can" in paragraph 2.
(3) Making paragraph 3 more specific; it is capable of
more than one interpretation.
(4) Retaining the full amount of the bond in paragra-41 5
until all the necessary land is acquired.
(5)
Studying the possible amendment of the Zoning Ordi-
nance, i.e., the 1 to 4 parking ratio for churches which
nowadays are more realistically "complexes," the
addition of a provision that ail land for necessary
parking be acquires henceforth before any construe-,
tion is permitt:d.
In the discussion it was established that the parking requirement in
the Zoning Ordinance for churches is based on the seating capacity
of the "main room;" that although the situation has never arisen
wherein .'te capacity of the hall is greater than the sanctuary, if it
were so. the parking requirement would be premised on its capacity
'rather than that of the sanctuary.
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2/21/66
Karl Bledsoe, speaking as a member of the Church, urged that the
discussion be limited to more properly requiring 46 rather than 86
psi : 3ng spaces, allowing additional time for compliance, and that the
past history be forgotten.
Mrs►.' _ u h r rapwei.;,,property owner at571Hamilton Avenue and one
of the arnellarts, countered that the past history is important. She
submitted an excerpt from the Council_ minutes of April Z3, 1951 to bear
out her contention that the whole history of the Ch'..'. ch's development
program had been unustifiably predicated on the assumption that what-
ever comes up in the future the City would provide the parking.
Councilman Sher said he was willing to approve in substance the over
all recommendation of the Planning Commission with a few charges to
clear up the ambiguities, and after an explanation and discussion of the
intent of his proposed motion, Mayor Arnold withdrew his ruling for
separate consideration of the five conditions and, with the approval of
his second, withdrew his motion for approval of paragraph 1.
Mr. Sher's Inotion, later seconded by Comstock, was refined during
the course of the discussion which followed to the effect that the Council
grant the variance application, subject to the conditions outlined by the
Planning Commission with the following changes:
addition of the words "shall be provided on property- that'd
in the first line of par. 2 after the words "forty-six (46)
spaces."
-- substitution of the words "within 500 feet of" in place of
"adjacent to" in the last li:.e of par. 2.
substitution of the words "immediately abutting" in place
of "immediately adjacent" in line 2 of par. 3.
substitution of the words "when requirements of par. 1
have been complied with" in place of "after the first
forty-six (46) spaces have been satisfacto -ily installed"
in par. 5.
There was further discussion as to where and by what means the Church
might comply thro•xgh the alternatives of purchase in fee simple, lease
arrangement, annexation to the assessment district or other financial
arrangement with the City, study of the downtown parking permit situ-
ation, b:ulding demolition, and extension of the 500 -ft. range.
Councilman Worthington moved an amendment to Sher's changes, which
was duly seconded, to:
- - sabstitute the date "March 1, 1967" in place of "June 30,
t968" in paragraphs 1 and 2.
-- delete paragraph 3.
-- delete all wording in par. 5 atter the $24, 000.00."
Mayor Arnold ruled that it would be appropriate to vote w= -the various
parts of the Worthington a. _� e--rn T*_Aeonzjtely_ Comstock chaff ='riged
the ruling and the Mayor was sustained by the illowing r°o=1 tat vote:
Ayes:
re, Dias, Flint, Pearson, Worthington.
Noes: toms- " ., _
•
Accordingly, the Worthington az ::.. ent was divided acid the change
of dates in paragraphs 1 and 2 to March 1, 1967 was carried by a voice
vote.
The amendment to delete paragraph 3 was defeated by the following vote
on roll call:
Ayes: Arnold, Beahra, Dias, c•rthington.
Noes: Comstock, Debs, Flint, Fta-son,
Worthington's amendment to cover the rewording of paragraph 5 carried
on the following roll call:
Ayes: Debs, Dias, Flint, Pcar::on, Worthington.
Noes: Arnold, Beahrs, Comstock, Sher.
Councilman Worthington moved a further amendment, which lost for
lack of a second, to reword paragraph 3 to read: "That an additional
40 parking spaces shall be provided on property owned by the Church
and located within 500 feet of the Church sanctuary, said spaces to be
provided on or before June 30, 1970."
The main motion, as amended, was then restated as s follows: That the
Council grant the variance application of the First Methodist Church
(65-V-20) on the grounds set forth in Section 23.09(a) of the Zoning
Ordinance, subject to the following conditions:
(1) Forty-six (46) off-street parking spaces shall L= _ j o-
vided on property owned by the Church on the same
property, or immediately abutting the property, upon
which the Church plant is located, on or before March 1,
1967.
(2) That until March 1, 1967, the forty-six (46) spaces shall
be provided on property that can include property other
than church -owned property as long as there is written
evidence filed with the City of the Church's right to use
it and that the forty-six (46) spaces be on property with-
in 500 feet of the Church.
(3) That an additional 40 parking Ipaces shall be provided
on property owned by the Church immediately abutting
the property upon which the Church plant is located and/
or immediately across the street therefrom and/or
immediately abutting the previously provided Church -
owned parking area on or before June 30, 1970.
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4)
(5)
That detailed plans of parking be filed with the Zoning
Administrator for approval and such plans ehall include,
e all neat be limited to: (a) parking space layout and
i Liatiu (bJ, storm m ter drainage, and (c) landscaping.
That the Chu�h hai vi: de a faithful performance bond,
within thirty (30) ys of th . & _T.of approval of the vari-
ance, in the amount of $-24,000.00-''
The motion i-- was carriCu -- ~" the following roll call vote:
Ayes:
Comstock, Debs, Flint, Pearson, Sher.
Noes: Arnold, Beahrs, Dias, Worthington.
(A recess was taken from 9:40 to 9:50 p.m.)
Councilman Pearson moved, seconded bar Arnold, to reconsider Mr.
Worthington's amendment that would have deleted paragraph 3.
Councilman Debs roted that such action would, in effect, thereby
reopen the whole subject of the variance. A roll call taken to recon-
sider the entire matter lost by the following vote:
Ayes: Arnold, Debs, Pearson, Worthington.
Noes: Beahrs, Comstock, Dias, Flint, Sher.
(Councilman Rohrs returned to the meeting.)
Zone Change A alication
Road (b5-ZC-20)
A report was received from the Planning Commission unanimously
recommending denial of the application of .Thomas R. Swanson,
Melinda A. Swanson, Edward M. Legacy and Margaret Schrock for
a change of district of property known as 3190 Middlefield Road from
R-3-G'(Garden-Apartment District Regulations) to R-3 (Neighborhood -
Apartment District Regulations).
On motion of Debs and Dias, the recommendation was unanimously
accepted.
Lot Division Appeal - John F. Dahl
4100b Block oI " e Mill Road (6'S LD-33
A report was received from the Planning Commission unanimously
recommending approval of the appeal of owner and appli:ant, John F.
Dahl, for s::division o less than five lots of a portion of Section 15,
Lan is of Dahl., in the 41000 block of Page Mill Road; that the .9 2, -.:re
lot be approved subject to 60 -ft. dedication and to conditions in Engi-
neer's Bulletin No. 66-1.
After discussion, a motion was made by Sher, seconded by Debs and
carried on majority voice `ote, Dias voting no, to continue the matter
to February 28, 1966; that the Planing Officer provide reaps and other
information to individual Councilmen for study prior to the meeting.
134`
Eases nt n > c fic Gas . Electric Co,
�_ inarauo `ti! aMeter 'Station _ ... w� ::: ., :ter_
Reference '.eas ree- e je, i& —st icilman Pea rsote t. the action of the Council
on Febri 14 authr.; zing tne,Mayei.. to ee.ie ,4te an easement to Pacific
Gas Pt x,#;. ctric Co petroitexteL1 of a 1,0 kv trensmiseion line
from C4 ,.>iey Isandie; te the Colorado- Ave a ;° metering
moved °.a recor ie. ' the subject end rear st,'ed rewording of the easerr'ent-= -
to add the followi /g on page 4 thereof after the words .. and ass�gn3: `t
:Said ea cement or easements shall.be considered abandoned
at the spf.ion of the City if P. G. &-E. shall not -require said
easement for the purpose of distribution system voltage or
60 k4 »see. "
The City Manager indicated that he had advised P. G. & E.
representatives this afternoon of the suggested addition and that they
have not had ample opportunity as yet to respond; that from the point
of view of the City staff there is need for adequate transmission
capacity by late summer.
The motion to reconsider was seconded by Flkot and carried by the
following roll call vote:
Ayes: Comstock, Debs, Flint, Pearson, Sher, Worthington.
Noes: Arnold, Beahrs, Dias, Rohrs.
Noting the technical nature of the subject under consideration, Coun-
cilman Rohrs suggested continuing the matterto next week to permit
consultation with the Chief Electrical Engineer. The Mayor advised
that while he had withheld signing the: easement, there must be Some
reasonable time limit on the reconsideration.
City lvianager Morgan proceeded to report orthe necessity for the
easement to provide distribution power to Mackay Radio until such
time as it ceases to exist or comes into the City; that the existing
tower line (presently carrying two 60 kv circuits), supplemented by_
this additional 60 kv line, will provide the City's known power re-
quirements to 1973-75; that after that time it will be necessary, in all
probability, to increase the transmission facilities, and that the logi-
cal way to do this would seem to be by reinsulating the two lines on the
towers to carry 115 kv power. . He said the need for the pole line that
would be located on the easement would be solely to provide distribution
power to Mackay, but, additionally, its existence could provide a measure
of reliability, since there is no power source from the south that would
be adequate to provide system reliability in the event the tower line
was put out of. operation. He said the new pole line would replace the
existing 4-kv pole line which serves Mackay and wc►uld follow portions
of the old easement as well as portions of the new. The old poles
will come down and new poles will be. installed. He noted that the 4-kv
line is now situated on a 20 -foot easement while the new Lne will re-
quire 35 feet where it is is 4mediately adjacent to the tower line; that to
his knowledge no portions of the old easement, as such, will be abandoned.
Aft ' discitshi h, rind on motion of Debs, duly seconded and c.arrif;d
on i no:j r. sty oi':, vote, t words "City of Palo Alto" were de-
leted from Mrb, Pearson's motion.
A rn,)tioA by Arnold and Rohrs to' continue the matter to February Z$
was il: 1'edtecf by the following roll call:
r
Ayc;i: Arnold, Beahrs, Dias, Flint, Rohrs.
Nries: Comstock, Debs, Pearson, Sher, Worthington.
rirs. `�arson's amendment of the easement; as amended at thi " time ,
carriEd by the following roll call votc:
Ayes: Comstock, Debs, Flint, Pearsor, Sher, Worthington.
Noes: Arnold, Beahrs, Dias, Rohrs.
Resolution No. 3867 authorizing and directing the Mayor to execute
an easement (as amended) to Pacific Gas and Electric Company for
an electrical transmission, line was re -introduced, and on motion
duly made and seconded, was adopted by the following rotl cali s ote
(requires 7 votes):
Ayes: Arnold, Comstock, Debs, Flint, Pearson, Sher,
Worthington,
Noes: Beahrs, Dias, Rohrs.
Reconsideration of
first et o fis Tiurch Variance
At this time a motion was -:wade by Councilman Sher to reconsider
this subject which hae been disposed of earlier in the evening. It
was n, i by the City Attorney that most, if not all, of the interested
partie-3 riad left the meetitig and the motion was declared lost.
Zone ChanLe; (65-ZC-19)
evera c o er es to P -F
nriowne rorn f.o" -1:q
Councilman Comstock moved the adoption of Ordinance No. 2279
entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending
Section 3. 02 of Ordinance No. 1324, the Zoning Ordinance, Changing
the Zoning of Certain Publicly Owned Property to P -F and Property
Known as 2211 Park Brulevard from P -F to M -1:S. "
The motion was duly seconded and passed unanimously on a voice
vote.
Amendment of Munici • . Code
ruc
A motion was made by Comstock. seconded by Dias and unanimously
carried by voice vota to adopt Qr 4"';pkre No. 2280 entitled `=Ordinance - ---
See
Page 158
of the Council of the City of J ,,lo Alto Amending Section 19. 132 of
the Palo Alto Municipal Cod,.'. i sr,ablishing Truck Routes by Changing
the Designation of Limited Truck Routes to Local Truck Routes and
Changing Multiple Deliver!, Zone Sheet 3."
A further motion was ma.if; by Comstock, duly seconded and carried
by unanimous voice vote to adopt Ordinance No. 2281 entitled "Ordi-
nance of the Council of ..he City of Palo Alto Amending Section 19.132
of the Palo Alto Municipal Code Eet::blis :ing Trtick Routed by De-
leting a Portion of ii:mbarcadero Road from the List of Limited
Truck Routes."
Councilman Comstock then moved adoption of Ordinance No. 2282
entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending
Section 19.13Z of fte Palo Alto Municipal Code Establishing Truck
Routes by Amendirg the Designation of Oregon Avenue as a Limited
Truck Route." The motion was seconded.
Attorney Pain N, McCloskey, Jr., representing Urban Bros.
Pacific Ready -Mix Piantat 70 Horner Avenue, referred to his letter
of February 14 requesting reconsideration of the Council's position
whereby Oregon Avenue would be essentially closed to heavy trucks
between Bayshore and Alma. He directed the Council's attention
to the history of litigation on this subject and advised that the passage
of the ordinance would put his client in a position of having to litigate
the matt.: -r; that the effect of it would be to condemn out of existence
by police power a long-established business by adding approximately
$1 per cubic yard to their cost of ready -mix concrete, since the in-
gredients must come via the Dunbarton Bridge. He called attention
in his letter to the fact that no judicial decision has yet upheld a
City's denial of truck traffic on a county bond -financed expressway.
Mr. McCloskey suggested -- as an alternative to the possibility of
litigation -- exercise of a permit procedure as a "safety valve measure"
as used in Menlo Park.
The City Attorney replied to the effect that Mr. McCloskey had ne-
glected to take into consideration the outcome of the 1954 litigation
wherein Urban Bros. was represented 'by an attorney as amicus
curiae in an effort to test the constitutionality of the City's truck
ordinance; that the 1954 ordinance, which was to require trucks to
"practically go around the horn," to so speak, was found to be con-
stitutional. 'rle said he was not offering any guarantee that the ordi-
nance under consideration would be upheld but advised the Council
against accepting the threat of litigation. Mr. Michalski pointed
out that the burden of proof would be upon anyone attacking the ordi-
nance; that it was not up to the City to prove its constitutionality;
and that the question of economic hardship and the additional cost
of doing business must be considered just an inconvenience of living_
and doing business in today's complex society. He pointed out further
that Urban Bros.' protest of economic hardship and greater mileage
had been raised in the 1954 case and resolved against them.
Rejarditg the ma*ter of permits, the City Attorney reported, that he
had discussed thin with the City Attcrnev of Menlo Park andfit was
137
2/21/65
not purported to be any "safety valve;" that the permit system is
directed to excavating and filling operations involving particular jobs,
as is the one in Belmont; and that the Belmont ordinance requires a
$35 filing fee and $10 per day per truck. He noted that the City al-
ready has a permit provision in its goading and excavation ordinance
wherein routes 'and hours may be controlled by the City Engineer,
and he felt it would be very difficult to apply a permit procedure to
a fixed place of business for use of a certain street.
The City Attorney added that with reference to restricting traffic
on a county bond -financed expressway, the bond issue was presented
and passed with full knowledge of all concerned that the applicable
statutes provided that the City would retain police ?o er over the
expressway and control over the weight of vehicles.
Councilman Rohrs said he opposed the ordinance, aside from its
financial aspect in relation to business, based on the potential
traffic hazard which might be created for large trucks getting on
and off of Alma, On question, Mr. McCioskey advised that his
client also has a plant in the vicinity of Page Mill between El Camino
and the railroad. Councilman Flint suggested it might be possible
to sometime later consider Oregon Avenue as a truck route, if its
adjoining buffer strip could somehow be made complete.
Ordinance No. 2282 was a,iopted 'oy the following vote on roll call:
Ayes: Arnold, Comstock, Debs, Flint, Pearson, Sher,
Worthington.
Noes: Beahrs, Dias, .Rohrs.
Salary of C a Contr a oller nd C iy Clerk
o .6.o.r =
A motion was made by Mayor Arnold and seconded for adoption of
Resolution No. 3869 entitled "Resolution of the Council of the City
of Palo Alto Amending Resolution No. 3829 Adopting a Basic Com-
pensation Plan Setting Forth Administrative Salary Schedules
Changing the Salary of the City Controller and the City Clerk."
On motion of Flint, duly seconded and carried by majority voice
vote, the lower limit of the salary range for the City Clerk was
changed from $666 to $686 per month to agree with the salary es-
tablished at a previous meeting.
Resolution No. 3869, as amended, was adopted by uaanimous voice
vote.
Replacement of Fire Truck
[1 5U t- M Pumper)
The City Manager reviewed his report to the Council recomthc:-Idin,
repiacrment' of one of the fire trucks (1250 GPM Pumper, bei .g` a
1949,ieagrave) at a cost of approximately $3R, 000.
138
2/21/66
Ordinance No. 2283 entitled "Ordinance of the Council of the City of
Palo Alto Making Additional Appropriations in the Capital Improve-
ment Fund (Fire Pumper)" was introduced and on motion of Debs,
duly seconded,- was adopted by unanimous voice vote. Nine votes
are required for passage and there were 10 Councilm.: n present.
Long-range Wastewater Qua1iy
iumpi overne:L-'-ograrrs
The City Manager reviewed his report to the -Council on the progra/o
for long-range ' iastewater quality improvement in accordance wiy`'.i
criteria established by the Regional Water Quality Control Boar,:'.
The report requested authorization to execute a contract with Jerks
and Adamson, as consulting engineers, to undertake Phase 16i the
proposal at a cost not to exceed $4, 000.
A resolution was presented entitled "Resolution of the Council of the
City of Palo Alto Approving Schedule of Action to be Taken Leading
to Provision of Supplemental Wastes Treatment and Disposal Facil-
ities in Accordance with Regional Water Quality Control Board
Resolution No. 436, and Directing the City Staff to Initiate the
Necessary Work to be Done."
Noting the complexity of the subject, Councilman Debs moved, Com-
stock seconded, that the entire matter be referred to the Committee
on Finance.
Councilman Flint indicated concern over the designation of a par-
ticular consultant and non-use of the bid procedure, whereupon the
Mayor called a point of order -and moved an amendment, seconded
by Dias and carried by voice vote. to the effect that a representative
list of sanitary engineering firms woilld be apprised of the committee
meeting. The motion to refer then carried on a majority voice vote.
Old Trace Road, et al.
T,roject 64-4
.......,
The City Manager reviewed the progress report and preliminary plan
as prepared by the City Engineer, for Improvement Project No. 64-4,
Old Trace Road, et al. It was requested that the staff be directed to
proceed with the development of the detailed engineer's report and a
date be set for public hearing, should the preliminary plan meet with
the Council's approval.
On motion of Councilman Sher, seconded by Debs, the matter was
unanimously referred to the Committee on Planning and Procedures
on a voice vote. Members of the public were advised that the, nfor-
mation. on this project is on file for examination and study.
Future Status of PP.io Alto-
ta►o,.or osp ,: en sr
Mayor Arard called attention to a letter da' d J,41uary 26, 196E, of
fco p
wh;�-h-a!l_!;,ouaciirnea hid receive:- iti,/ i�or�r.��r. J. t:. WaL`.ace
139
2/21/66
Sterling, President of Stanford University. Attached to Dr. Sterling's
letter w«s a copy of his letter to Dr. Robert Klein, President of the
Board of Directors of the Hospital and a letter to Dr. Sterling from
Dr. Robert J. Glaser, Dean of the School of Medicine. The iiiforYna-
tion contained therein pointed to the conc' usion which has been c;,:<_he( F
to the effect that Stanford should enter into early negotiations with the/
/
City Council aimed at acquiring the Hospital for their purposes,
at the same time assuring adequate hospital facilities to meet the
needs of the co rail -a ity.
The Mayor proposed that it would be logical t_o __secv -e addition21
background information by
(1) authorizing him to ask Stanford to be more specific
in regard to their request, and
(2)
similarly ie.thor;zin.g him to request the advice and
opinion of 'c'.ie Palo Alto -Stanford Hospital Board. of;'
Trustees with regard to the Stanford request.
He moved, seconded by Beahrs, that the authori..ation in (1) and (2)
be given,
Councilman Debs moved, and it was seconded, that the future status
of the Palo Alto -Stanford Hospital Center and the problem of future
community medical care be r.e!erred to the Committee on Finance
and that the Hospitcl Board of, Directors and representatives of Stan-
ford be invited to attend committee meetings dealing with these sub-
jects, such meeting(s) to be scheduled at the earliest possible date.
Councilman Rohrs spoke against referring to a standing committee
and favored a special committee. Mr. Beahrs felt it should be a
committee of the whole, while Mr. Flint favored the standing com-
mittee consideratiou after the City has first determined what it wants.
Mr. Sher moved an amendment, duly seconded and carried, to auth-
orize the Mayor to direct a communication to Stanford asking that
they be more specific on their proposal.
The motion to refer to the Committee on Finance, with Mayor Arnold
to be the letter writer, carried on the following roll call:
Ayes: Comstock, Debs, Dias, Flint, Pearson, Sher,
Worthington.
Noes: Arnold, Beahrs, Rohrs.
ON Mr am
At this time (11:45 p.m.) there was a motion by Mayor Arnold to take
up item 33 out of order, followed by a motion by Councilman; Debs,
duly seconded, for adjournment, which lost on the f ► rllowing vote on
roll call:
Ayes: Arnold. Beahrs. Rohrs.
Noes; Comstock. Dabs. Dias, Flint, •Pearson Sher,
Worthington.
140
2/21/66
Codification and P•',lication
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The City Attorney reviewed his letter to the Council transmitting an
ordinance analysis and report prepared by Book Publishir,g.Company,
representing the -f! .st step in the codification anr' publishing of the
Palo Alto Municipal CcIde.
There were nt.e.cb ertio s and the is tty Attorney was thanked for the
report. At the s'ig estion of Councilman Sher, asasirance was given
that subsequent inseta—cation ri r__ .-ee; .it this matter win be trans-
mitted to the Council as the work progresses.
Claim for Dama-tes
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The C,t7 Atto eey r.por'cd on a claim filed by Douglas P. Cushing
of 11-C Escondido Village, Stanford, in the sum of $49.92 for
damages t., his automobile allegedly caused when his vehicle struck
the curb when driving into the intersection at Greer and Kenneth on
December 28, 1965. From his investigation, with the aid of the De-
partment of Public Works, he concluded that there was no evidence
of negligence on the part of the City, that the claim is not a proper
charge against the City, and he recommended that the Council so
find and reject the claim in its entirety.
On motion duly made and seconded, the Council, by unanimous voice
vote, accepted the recommendation of the City Attorney and rejected
the claim.
Claim for Personal Injury
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The City Attorney reported on a claim filed by Joel Amkraut, through
hie gnerdi_a„ Sid Amkraut of 3434 Janice. Way, Palo Alto, in the amount
of $10, 000 for personal injury incurred on December 3, 1965, during
a physical education class at Wilbur Junior High School. He pointed
out that the accident occurredia school during class over which the City
has no jurisdiction or control and that the claim is not a proper charge
against the City. He therefore recommended that the Council s, find
and reject the claim in its entirety.
A motion was made, seconded and unanimously carried to accept the
recommendation of the City Attorney and deny the claim in its entirety.
Policy Guidelines for Council Procedure
Th..? City Attorn2y called attention to the fact that a copy of the Policy
Guidelines for Council Procedure, as recently adopted, has been
placed in each of the Councilmen's folders. He advised that thitt in-
formation io in the process of being prepared in card form as re -
qt r►ted by Courcitman Comstock.
141
2/21/66
Pre-emption Legislation
The City Attorney reviewed ' ie Mayor's report to the Council trans-
mitting a letter from the Board of Supervisors asking the City's
------suppzort in urging the Governor to place the matter of pre-emption on
the special call of this year's iegislative session. Also transmit:ed
with the Mayor's report was a_copy of a let±4.,r from the League of
California Cities outlining their position on the matter.
The Mayor minted out that his recommendation for a motion strongly
urging the Governor to put the matter on species 1 call was not to be
construed as an endorsement of the so-called Decency Amendment.
A motion was made by Councilman Dias and seconded to accept the
Mayor's recomt ic^dat1nn. In the discussion which followed, Coun-
cilman Sher said he was against the moticnrt; that to urge that the
matter be put on special call would appear to be putting a stamp of
approval on the legislation; and that he felt it was entirely wrong to
allow each community to impose different criminal laws; and that
the State should have complete control of criminal activity.
The City Attorney observed that ti,e courts,, through the Carol Lane
case and others, have adopted a rule of implied pre-emption, which
has changed traditional rules relied upon in the past to determine
whether a city could enact more restrictive local regulations; that
now no city attorney can reasonably predict whether a local ordi-
nance will be valid if the Legislatuz a has spoken at all on the sub-
ject, even though the State Law leaves gaps and does not exi ressly
occupy the field; and that the sole p'urpo c of the motion is to ask
the Legislature to attempt to clarify the pre-emption problem and
restore local police powers and home rule.
The motion to request that the matter of pre-emption be placed on
special call of this year's legislative session was defeated by the
following roll call:
Ayes: Arnold, Beahrs, Dias, Flint, Rohrs.
Noes: Comstock, Debs, Pearson, Sher, Worthington.
Review of Tape Recorder
A motion was made by Rohr;, duly seconded and carried by the fol-
lowing roll call vote to continue this matter to a subsequent meeting.
Ayes: Arnold, Beaters, Comstock, Dias, Flint, Pearson,
Rot. -s, Sher, Worthington.
Noes: Debs.
At this time (12:05 p.m.) there was a motion to adjourn which lost
for lack of a second.
142
2/21/66
Study of Sewer Claims for 1965
A motion was made, seconded and carried by voice vote to continue to
February 28 Councilman Cooley's request for a study regarding sewer
claims for the caler.dair year 1965.
Designation of Bicycle Routes
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A request was received from Councilman Pearson that the Council
direct the T.-affic Engineer to prepare for a.nd submit to the CouuLil •
a report i complete with maps and suggested signs, designating a
series of bicycle routes in Palo Alto; the routes to be between specific
destinations in Palo Alto, such as Rinconada Park to Mitchell Park,
Byyshoi.%e recreation lands to Foothills Park, schools and parks,
lib aries, parks and schools; -Pilo Alto to Stanford; the report to
include the use of striping to designate bicycle —_--
stre ets.
City Manager suggested it would be appropriate to direct the
City Manager and staff rather than the Traffic Engineer to prepare
the report, and on motion duly made, seconded and carried, the City
Manager was directed to prepare the requested report.
Master Path Plan for Foothills
A motion was made by Councilman Pearson and seconded that the
Council direct the Planning Department to prepare for and submit
to the Cour:c'1 a master path plan for,the Palo Alto foothills; the plan
to include Foothills Park, Surest t development lu G and other private
property, wherein the possible and necessary utilization of easements
across private properties will have to be exercised; the plan to be com-
plete with various types of packs (foot, bicycles, horse) to be built,
complete with costs of construction and maintenance; the plan to be
coordinated as ne..rly as possible with other trails and paths in other
jurisdictions in the foothills.
After discussion, the words "Planning Department" were changed to
"City Manager" and the words "complete with costs of construction
and maintenance" were changed to "cost estimates."
With these amendments, the motion was carried by unanirnous voice
-vote.
Abandonment of a Portion of Ash Street
Councilman Debs stated that he bad asked the City Attorney to pre-
pare a resolution initiating abandonment proceedings to cover a por-
tion of Ash Street between Chestnut and Fernando Avenues, in line
with action taken on February 14th. He was advised that the matter
would be on the, agenda for next week; that the proposed resolution
had been prepared but not in time for distribution to the Council. At
has requcst, copies of the resolution entitled "Rero1ution of the Coun-
cil of the City of Palo Alto of Intentio r to Order the Vacation of a
Portion of Ash Street" were distributed at this time and a motion
was made by Debs for its adoption. with the :-late of hearing to be
set for Monday, March 21st. There was no second and the motion
was lost.
A motion was then made by Sher, seconded and carried to include
the resolution on the agenda fpr February 28th under unfinished
business.
Meetin with Supervisors.
e ar cg`s; 'i3z.'y"Tafids anc 'Flood Control
Reference Was made to the proposed meeting with the County Board
of Supervisors :ind the Mayor's earliest request for a suitable date.
No date was set at this time. (*) A motion was made by Sher, seconded
and carried by majority voice vote to request the staff to prepare for
the Council a report that will show pians for the development of the
leased yacht harbor area, including the terms of the gift of the duck
pond to the City, --negotiations on the deposit of spoils, and any other
material relevant to the impending discussion with the Supervisors.
Letter from Hewlett Packard
Cor n re equacy o ectrical Power
A letter was received and filed from Hewlett Packard, 1501 Page Mill
Road, indicating concern over the apparent inadequacy of the present
fA4rler system from P.G. & E. to the City's metering system. The
l,.tter pointed out that they are eng?Qed in many critical manufacturing
?rocesses which, if interrupted because of Ycwer failure, would incur
large financial- losses. -
Parki 1in Midtown Area
A request was received from Crocker -Citizens National Bank for con-
sideration of the following solution to the parking problem in the area
of their Middlefield -Colorado Branch:
"Change from the 'No Parking Anytime,' to 'One Hour
Parking' on the north side of Colorado Avenue from
Midtown Court to 100 feet west of Midtown Court"
It was understood that this matter is already under study by the staff
and that the staff report will be forthcoming. -
(Councilman Rohrs left the meeting at this time.)
(*Meeting subsequently set for March 22, 1966)
144
2/21/66
Request from City of Mountain View -
p r .Tor..S ii-C-FTlege-5iim ----
Reference was made to a latter received by the Mayor from the Mayor
of the City of Mountain View enclosing a copy c,f a resolution recently
passed by the membership of the Inter -City Council of Santa Clara
County supporting the location of the prop.:sed State College campus
in Mountain View nc,rth of Bayshore Freeway, end expressing the hope
that the Palo Alto City Council will see fit to pass a,,similar resolu-
Lion of support.
A motion to go en record in support of the Mountain View site was
made by Mayor Arnold and duly seconded, but lost on the following
roll call:
Ayes: Arnold, Beahrs, Comstock, Diaz:.
Noes: Debs, Flint, Pearson, Sher, Worthington.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m.
APPROVED:
4rdS. A old
Mayor
ATTEST:
cee
a. City Clerk
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