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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04081929City Hall, Palo }i:o,Calsfornxa. April 8, 1929. The Council -Of -the City. of Palo Alto met in regular session on this.:d.ate' at 8 p. m., with Mayor Hoge presiding.. Roll call as follow ' Pre,e>rt. Bertsch's, Cathcart, Christensen, Hobart,. Ho,ge, Johnson,, Jordan., Kelly, Lausten, •Thoits,; Thomas, ^i sler. Absent Cottz_ello", i:ng.,�,:'Wood. :.t was reported that copies of the minutes of the meeting of March 11., 1929, had been sent to each member of the Council, and on motion the minutes of said meeting were approved. .wearing by- } :.R.C,'o'm ti.ssi;:on to be Held It was announced -that a hearing would Railroad Commission .in the City t=all at Palo Alto :ronday, April 15th, on .the Matter of establishing Churchill Avenue crossing. :Change. o.ff. Zone This wasthe time,set for a hearin_<.7 7 on the recommenda- tion of the City 'Planning 'Commission to rezone portions of Block 15 and Block 17 and all of .Block 18, Palo Alto from romfirs.,,-to third; residential distr=ict. No protests were received:. tend there was no . one pre"se.nt who -wished >tb be heard on the matter. Ordinance 'No 44 changing > g=- d the zone of portions of Blocks 15 and 17 and all of Block 18 to third residential district', Baas read, and on, motion of Lausten and Christensen. was adopted by unani:ous ,,vote on roll call. '�-u;idenia o -f C,arnbride Avenue The City= Attorney reported to the Council that upon the suggestion. of the. City:`P1anning Commission he had requested the Superior, Court to continue the proceedings in relation to' th e widening of Cambridge. Avenue for one month. P r y .` L. ''Peer, 'representing the commissioners in the matter Of widening Cambridge Avenue, stated that the commissioners would object to ,an indefinite continuance of this cnse, as certain bills ;s had been i.n,cur'red. which. should he paid. Kr. Guernsey', a property owner - on C;gmbrid ;e Avenue, addressed the Council. and stated that he ;and other property owners concerned desired to h`3ve the ;atter discontinued as the expenses if o;id in cash would be very heavy :on the property owners. After discussion, the ratter was referred to Committee. No. 1', to report brick to the Council at the next meeting. Petition 'rota. Penlnsix-1a Paving Co. petition wa.x rece ved from the Peninsula Paving for th& improvement of Third Street and other' be held by the at 10 gates at the theircontract Company asking for an extension of 120 days in which to complete , streets in the Bartley Tract. Resolution, No. dent to : grant an •extension. Paving 0o=pang to compete. of Kelly 'andBertsch.e, was 737, authorizing the Street 'Su erinten>• of ,.time of 120 days to the Peninsula their contract, was read, and on motion adopted by unanimous vote on roll call., Concernin ; Oil Station Leases Mr. J. M. Blackburn, representing the independent servicestations in the city, addressed the Council concerning; the proposed leases with the Standard Oil Company and Shell Oil Company' .;for., service stations at the University Avenue entrence, with particular r sfererce to the recent sub -leasing of these stations, thee recent:.; gasoline "price war" and other matters in connec.ti'on :with the e;sercice_: stations. He stated that the independent -service station owners were not opposed to the service stations, on the .highway oeing operated by the companies themselves, but they did, object to their sub -leasing of the s.tations,, and they desired to have the Council make a. provision' in the proposesleases' that, the companies must operate the stations themselves and, not sublet them as is being' done at present.. This, matter was discussed at length, and -op 'notion of Mrs. Thomas and Cathcart, it was directed that a .clause be written in the new leases to be entered into with the Standard u{ l Compar*Sfand :She.11 Oil Company wherein said companies shall not be ex'nit'ted .to sublease said stations without the consent of the Council. ' Changes , i; Comm i ttee Assignments Communications were receivea from the Mayor making the following changes in committee assignments: Counc ilman C E. Jordan on Committee;' No. 4 and assigned to Councilman E. C. Tho its Committee No , 4, 'and. Councilman C. from membership ; on Committee No. l is. relieved from membership Committee No. 3. was appointed. chairman of H. Christensen is relieved and assigted to Cozy ittee No. 4. Councilman' W.' E. Kelly is relieved from merbersh' p orr. Comr:ittee No.. 3 and assigned to membership on Corlmitte,e No. 1. Councilman E. A. Cottrell is relieved •from membersh ip on Com ii.ttee :No,,. 4 and assigned as chairman of Committee No. 3.. Mrs E.. J. :Thomas Is relieved from ;nen:bersh~ p on Committee No. 3 and assigned t.,r ;..Committee: No.. 4. The above changes: were madam as a result of re4uests from. COuncilmmsjordan and Councilman Cottrell that their . res;ignations.from Committee No. 4 be accepted, as they :are rot candidates :for. re-electi:on:.and felt that the members of Committee .No. 4 who are'. to make up the budget for the coming yeir should be" eztbers ,.of ,the Council who will be in office during the next' fiscal year. Letter from. S P..A.Aesi:ents =assn. A communication was received from the South Palo •Alto • Aesidenta A>:sociation concerning the proposed Embaresdero Road subway .and presenting the reasons wh ' they considered the..: construction 'of this subway unwise at the present ti:me. This was referred to the Board 'of . Public Works. tetter from lausniCipal League A letter was received from the League of California Municipalities referring to Senate Bill No. 652 providing for sewage .research, and ,rc uest:ing the city to telegraph at once to the senators and assemblymen: from this district asking them to vote' for: this bill as. amended,. and also to the Governor asking him to sign the. bill if it is passed. On motion of Cathcart ana Hobart,. the City,Clerk.was instructed to send the messages as re uested in the .c'oMmunication. Let; accountaa referred 1 Lett Light of t 934 and 03 of lightin rttorney. Lett =-oge coerce, Stree Q the pro -pose reference t width than be paved an be increase additional and other s some plan wl :whole cost i ;No. 4 referr that the Cit.' ' paving of th by, the City over 36 feet in the asses: cost by the t the cost as proposed to 'c paving on Emv r:venue to Se;: r1 ordan and 'Ke was adopted, district to b the Council f Q A recommending cost of the a, that the esti: ,Mrs.. Thomas a; :vote on roll ?urchasf A recommending t intersection c Offered of recommendatior necessary amou P*, Letter from Cordon Rowe Co. A ,communication ' from Gordon Rowe Company, pubile accountants, concerning the -yearly audit of the city books, was referred to Committee .N ': 5 Letter from Bureau of Power and Light of L.A. A letter, was .received..from the Bureau of Power and Light of the City'of Los Angeles referring to Assembly Bills No. 934 and 935 relating to, acquisition, construction and maintenance 0/of lighting systems. Tnis, comet nicati.on was referred to the City nrtorney.. `> Lett•1r from Representative Spalding A letter frogRepre,entatjve C. C. Spalding to Mayor; loge Concerning Assembly -Bill file. y 8.11 No. . 718 was received end placed" on Street Paving Program C A report was received from the Board of Works , s concerning the proposed street, paving program for 1929, with especial . reference to those street's on which the paving; will be of greater width than 36 feet. The .Board recommended that n barcadero Road oe paved and that.if necessary the size of the assessment district oe increased in order.to relieve the city of the cost of the additional paving The Board further recommended that Alma Street and other" streets.- proposed for improvement in 1929 be paved under sore plan whereby the property owners would be assessed for the whole cost if necessary. A joint report was received from Committees No. 1 and ,vo. 4 referring to the paving of Embarcadero Road, recommending that the City Engineer- prepare plans and specifications for the paving of this street and:that an assessment district be worked out by the City Engineer, that 2/3 of the cost of the addit.;oraal paving over 36 feet and -the gore corners be borne by the property owners in the assessment' district,and approximately 1/3 of this additional cost by .the City, the. property owners of the frontage to pay only the cost as usual of 18 feet of paving„ The City .Engineer explained that the assessment district proposed to be formed. to pay for 2/3 of the cost of the additional _paving on Embarcader..o Road would include the property from Lincoln, Venue to :Seale Avenue.. After wuch discussion on.:this subject, on motion o.f, vordar. anct Kelly,- the; recornmendati,on :of Committees No. ova,s," a�.opted is"t : bein �. � 1 and'Na. 4.. ,, , g'un e , "- d rsto�o:d. that the Plans or the assess..m,ent district to be prep area by the `City Engineer .ould be brow. _h > 'the Council .for its con'si.deraton a.t -'a later meeting. before .A report was; also received from Co-mnittees No. 1. and ?yo. recommending that Alma Street .,be paved to California ,venue, the cost of the additional width to be paid by the City. It wai :st:ated t::at the: es:tima,ted cost was/approximatelyy rmotion f rs '�'hOmas arid. Thoits. the s., recommendation w s approvedbyunanimous vote on ro% .. G ,► Purchase : of. Tri:an?1e A(r._eport was received from Committees No. 1 and'No. 4 r ecommena.ing that the ,city purchase the triangle of land at the, `.ntersection of Middlefield Road and Palo Alto Avenue at the trice offered of $1600.'90.;.' .On motion of f mrs . Thomas and Bert ,che, .this recommendation was • approved by.unan nousvote on roll cal.l., the necessaey .amount to. be 'taken` from:the contingent fund. 4mbarC adero SUbw „ A report was : received from the Board of Works recommend, ing that the Council. initiate prc::^eedings for a bond issue`' for '50,OOO for construction of the Embarcadero Road. subway. Resoiatio a Not, 738, entitled "hesolut.ion : eterm .ning That the Pub11c .1 tere;st and the Public .Necessity `De: and Certain 'ublic Irnprovenents." In: and for the City of Palo Altotto-witie A Separation of'Grades in t'he construction of a Subway at the Cross- ing' of Embarcadero. goad with the Right of Way and .Tracks of the Southern Pacific Company,: the Cost of Which will be, uoo ' xreat to be Paid Out of "t het Ordinary Income and. Revenue of ,aid City",- was read, and on notion of Hobart and Thoits, was adopted b-, unanimous vote• on roll' cal , In :the ctacussion of this ratter,, Councilman. Christensen stated tat , be wished to go on record as opposing a narrow subway but .mould favor the ; construction of a wider one than that . proposed in the present plans. Councilman Cathcart stated that he was apposed to `the construction of a subway but believed that t e voter*should decide the 4uestion at the election. Report,' on Arterial A report was received from the Board of Safety stating that it haa considered the matter of making 'e verley Street an . arterial and does not think it necessary to establish this street as an arterialat present. On motion of Thoits end `ihisler, this report was eptroved. Concerning Leases reloot tstWasreceived frozzl the Planning Commission r co►'r end-1ng that ,:the ' for of lease prepared by the City Attorney .for the .recital` O .land; at the corner : f University Avenue and El Cai ino .pea} to, tne� Standard Oil Company and Shell Gil Company be approved as. to general terms, but that the legal terms be left to. the City Attorney.: No' -action was taken on this matte:, as the proposed leases have beery sent to theBoard. of Trustees of Stanford University f crthei3'' approval and have not yet been returned. Pedest:ria:n: Su.b ray Referrin, to the proposed pedestrian subway under E? Camino Real for the protection of Mayfie?d. School children, the City Planning Corumiss:ion reported that it felt that .the necessity of this should be .deter:iixied',by the Board of Safety, and that in the. event the Board of,Safety' finds it necessary to construct the subway, the Planning Commission would have no objection to its being_ located:, opposite;= tee Mayfield School and constructed in •connection . with the raroposed Widdfting of 71 Camino Feal. The report of. the Board' of" Zducat'! on :dated Tune 25, 1928 approving of the c:onstruetion of they. : subway in accordance with the .pans of the City Eazgi'neer was.,read. It:w.as stated by the City Clerk. that the Board of Safety. and. Board of Works have also approved the plans. On motion of 'rs .:Thomas, and alisIer , this matter was referred , to Lommi tee No .t:o: oe ,inoiuded in next year's b; dget, the •estimated cost being approximately $7500.00. Street, Opening and - Widening a report eras received from the City Planning: Commission recommending _that the' {CoUici i . enter into proceedings for the widen1ng and' opening .of.,Center Street from :namilton'to Channing Avenu:es,, and the wide>ui g and ooening of Dana Street• from Center Street to Newell :Road,,= in eaeh cease the widening to be of the stand a. the C _ t recomme Carlson {n Ever `n such could n this ma of elect 1929, an creation construc terri for Thomas, Company of Palo r Road were Departmen of March, Ac were alto appropris.i of t :e Raj and elect: a4©00.00, standard width of 60 feet. On :rotior. of Thoits and 3ertsche, the City Attorney was instructed to prepare the necessary papers. Tax Refund RecoMmended A report was ' received from the City Assessor recommending that a tax: refund of 31.38 be made to Mr. C O. Carlson, as an error had been :Wade in assessing; his property in Evergreen Perk: as of commercial value insteadof residential. :'eference was Made 'to' a previous opinion of the City r,ttorney {n such cases in which it was stated that a refund of this kind could not be legally made,." On motion of 7ihislc.r and Jordan, this :natter was referred tote. Board cf ';:;ualization. l esolution:• on -Election Matters ResoluLion' No. 739,, providing for t'rie consolidation of election precincts fora the next general election on May 13, 1929,and providing for elections; :at the same time for the creation of a oonded indebtedness in the sum of 6,01 000 for the construction of ,.a subv,-ay,:and for',the annexation of uninhabited territory to the City,:was read, and on notion of Kelly and .u.rs.- Thomas, was adoptedby—unatimous vote on roll call. A a onm1uti.cation from the. Pacific Gas and Electric ;ompany and two '`res.o1 ut -oTts covering the conveyance to the City of Palo..Alto 2of gas: _mains on Embarcadezo Road and Middlefield road were referred to the. Board of Public Works. Reports ofOfficials' The reports. of the Department of Public corks, :epartment. of Public Sgfety, Auditor and Treasurer for the month of March, 1929', i ere Treceiv:ed and placed on file. Accounts On ;notion of Thoits and Kelly, the following Claims were al lokved and warrants;', authorized in payment of the same �.o ,L, -.LJ�(C��rS1 - YP 20.00 City -,Planning. Publishing Co. 3.00 Cal �'. ,',Pac' f e Title & Trust Co 15.00 1�...'Carlisle a Co. 14.73 Egerton D . 1,s.in 75.00 :.a,1coim and David 200.00 Palo Alto : heatro Co. 70.40 A T. ret;teT 36.00 Automobile Registration Service 69.65 F. A..Stuart 40.25 Travelers Insurance Co . 131.25 Calif. Pacific'Title F- Tr. Co. 75.00 °ran R. mills 10.00 ?.. A. Theatre Co 41.60 Railroad Commission 888.05 ra: ,► 110..75 ► 71.99 ►► 411.6E On motion of vrdan and Christensen the fund appr opri;ated :from; the Mayfield gas and light fund to pay the .bs11s of the Railroad Gommi ss ion .gor°-.ti ei va1ua}ion of the *'n.-rf l e 1 d gas and electric. distributing, system was increased fro.. '42000.00 to 4OOO:0O, by unanimous _vote on roll call. Concernincr ,Biack . Case Mr. Hobart brought up the matter of the Black case and askec for•. report on the case. The Deputy City Attorney gave a brief review, of the case and stated ths t the trial is to begs on °+Cay 6th and' would probably take three weeks. "lr Ho:oart s ;,ggested that, in view of the serious aspect Of this case, he thought it advisable to employ -'additional counsel to assist the city attorney's office. This matter was discussed at length, and on motion of Whis1er and John -son, it was directed that the Council secure assistant legal counel for the Prosecution of this case against the Council, Board of Works -and City Engineer,, and that Committee .o. 4:be authorized to secure this: additional counsel. Conc'erning Park:Development The matter of our Thomas -,who .suggested that the park development teat is being and Park Superintendent park system was discussed by Mrs. members of the Council view the carried on by the Board of Works Adjournment :. to April 22nd „anmotion, the, Council adjourned to Monday, April 22, 1929, at 8 po nv.''in the City Hall. Approved: Attest: Ht S p. oge pre 7neetirg Ora bond the cons t:+ be held n 13, 292S,; ^r:er: ed Oy' bonds a' .re, at Palo for th a; f r o n d will no b: ordinance call. Orair, annexation Tract", tY_r f on motion 0 on roll cal Petit. "sk! n? f contract f dent to g:•a: contract fo_ of Sertsce ?e t j t . portion of Block 95, be _Lan ni: g Letter; C 3paidi-^.g and "soul;' sup:,er: 1 These .sett :ms's •