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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-07-28 City Council (16)City City of Palo Alto Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL 6 FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: Planning and Community Environment DATE:July 28, 1997 CMR:341:97 SUBJECT:REFUND OF PLANNING AND BUILDING FEES FOR THE AMERICAN HERITAGE MUSEUM On September 16, 1996, the City Council referred to staff the request of the American Heritage Museum for waiver of City fees associated with reuse of the Williams House for the new museum. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that Council adopt the attached Budget Amendment Ordinance rebating $9,820 of Planning and Building fees charged to the American Heritage Museum for work associated with the Williams House property. POLICY IMPLICATIONS Rebate of the fees is consistent with the Fee Waiver provisions of the City Council’s 1994 policy statement regarding Public/Private Partnerships (copy attached). DISCUSSION The September 10, 1996 request (letter attached) for fee rebate was reviewed by the staff Public/Private Partnersh.~p Committee. The Committee concluded that the rebate of $9,820 identifed in the attached July 2, 1997 letter is consistent with the Public/Private Partnership policy. The rebated fees do not include any utility fees and consist of the following Planning and Building chargesi CMR:341:97 Page 1 of 3 5/i4/96 " $1,896.00 5/14/96 1,850.00 7/2/96 1,535.00 10/96 182.00 1/97 2,271.00 5/13/97 ~ $9,820.00 Application for Par_king Variance Conditional Use Permit Design Review (ARB Fee) Reroofmg Permit Plan Check Fee Building Permit Fee Total Fees Paid To Date The attached Budget Amendment Ordinance authorizes rebate of the identified fees with the funds taken from the Budget Stabilization Reserve. &LTERNATIVES The alternative to the staff recommendation is to reject the request for rebate of.the fees. FISCAL IMPACT Approval of the budget ordinance will reduce the Budget Stabilization Reserve by $9,280. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT Approval of a fee rebate is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act. No environmental review or f’mding is necessary. STEPS FOLLOWING APPROVAL Approval of the staff recommendation will result in a rebate check being processed within several weeks following Council action. ATTACHMENTS Budget Amendment Ordinance 9/10/96 Letter from The Museum of American Heritage 7/2/97 Letter from The Museum of American Heritage Public/Private Partnership Policy CMR:341:97 Page 2 of 3 PREPARED BY: Kenneth R. Schreiber DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW: KENNETH R. SCHREIBER Director of Planning and Community Environment CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: cc: Museum of American Heritage (Joe Ehrlich) CMR:341:97 Page 3 of 3 ORDINANCE NO. ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1997-98 TO PROVIDE AN~ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION FOR THE REFUND OF PLANNING AND BUILDING FEES FQR THE AMERICAN HERITAGE MUSEUM WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 of Article III of the Charter of the City of Palo Alto, the Council on June 23, 1997 did adopt a budget for fiscal year 1997-98; and WHEREAS, on September 16, 1996, Council referred to staff the request of the American Heritage Museum for waiver of City fees associated with reuse of the Williams House for the new museum; and WHEREAS, staff and the Public/Private Partnership Committee reviewed the request and concluded that the rebate request of $9,820 is consistent with the 1994 Public/Private Partnership policy; and WHEREAS, the Planning Department received the fees as revenue in prior fiscal years and in order to process the reimbursement the Department’s non-salary budget needs to be increased by.$9,820 to complete the refund; and WHEREAS, City Councilauthorization is needed to amend the 1997-98 budget as hereinafter set forth. NOW, THEREFORE, the Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as follows: SECTION I. The sum of Nine Thousand Eight Hundred TWenty Dollars ($9,820) is hereby appropriated to non-salary expenses in the Development Review and Construction Review Functional Areas in the Planning & Community Environment Department, and the Budget Stabilization Reserve is correspondingly reduced. SECTION 2. This transaction will reduce the Stabilization Reserve from $25,856,266 to $25,846,446. Budget SECTION 3. As specified in Section 2.28.080(a) of the Palo Alto Municipal-Code, a two-thirds vote of the City Council is required to adopt this ordinance. SECTION 4. The Council of the City of Palo Alto hereby finds that the enactment of this ordinance is not a project under the California Environmental -Quality Act and, therefore, no environmental impact assessment is necessary. SECTION 5. As provided in Section 2.04.350 of the Palo Alto M~nicipal Code, this ordinance shall become effective upon adoption. INTRODUCED AND PASSED: AYES: .NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENT: ATTEST:APPROVED: City Clerk Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM:City Manager Senior Asst. City Attorney Acting, Administrative Services Department Director _ Director of Planning Community Environment THE MUSEUM of AMERICAN HERITAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS J. Robert Beck Chairman George Zimmerman Vice-chairman Charles L. Pack Treasurer Beverly J. Nelson Secretary/Exec. Dir. Roger D, Broussal Kathleen A. Craig Joseph Ehrlich Crystal D. Gamage Charles M. Gillis Kenneth Kormanak Marshall Mathews Carl B. Moerdyke Roxy Rapp ¯ Tony K. Svensson OFFICERS Carl B. Moerdyke President Frank Livermore Founder/Vice.pres. Suzann~ H. Beaver Vice.presiden t Theodora Nelson Vice.prexident COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD James L. Adams Robert E. Bnnd Allan Chin Marybelle Cody Joseph J. Corn Joan Cnnneen Leonard W. Ely Marge Gratiot l.nretta Green Carroll ~arrin~to~ Charles C. Hoa~e Carl Holvick Ralph lgler David M. Kelleg Jacques Littlefield T. Kevin Mallen Jeanne McDonnell Shelley Mongort Barbara Newton CarrnH Nollh~J~ Rix~ord K. Snyder Sara C. Spang Steve Staiger Eleanor J. ~atanabe Gail Woolley September 10, 1996 The Honorable City Council City of Palo Alto, California Subject:Rona Williams Property - Waiver of Fees Request Dear Members of the Council: The Museum of American Heritage has recently completed a successful $500,000 fund drive for the restoration of the Williams Hous, e, the construction of an- Education Center and the continued preservation and improvement of the gardens. The Museum has recently received unanimous recommendation~ for approval by the Historic Resources Board (HRB), the Architectural Review Board (ARB), and the Planning Commission. It is our understanding that the Museum will be on the City Council agenda for consideration of final approval on September 16, 1996. The purpose of this letter is to request a waiver of fees from the cost of plan check and building permit fees and any other fees that may be appropriate. This request appears to be in accordance with the Policy Statement approved by the City . Council on February 28, 1994. It is our understanding that this .waiver had previously been extended to the Children’s Theater and the Senior Citizen’s Coordinating Council. The Williams property i~ owned by the City and its historic gardens will be not only a public benefit, but are also expected to be a public park as well. Obviously, the Museum prefers to utilize every penny of its private contributions for the improvement of the Williams House and construction of the Education Center. It has already paid th~ City $5,000 as required for the lease option and $1,500 for the ¯ Architectural Review Committee fee. The Museum’s Board estimates that plan check fees, permit fees, connection fees, etc., will run in excess orS10,000. When one considers that the Museum of American Heritage is a tenant and the City of Palo Alto is the landlord, the Museum believes that it’s not unreasonable, in this case, for the landlord to absorb the fees on a project which it dearly owns. Furthermore, the Museum considers such a waiver to be in the spirit of the public/private partnership’s policy that was adopted by the City Council staff on February 28, 1994. The Museum’s Board respectfully requests that the City Council directs to give a favorable consideration of this waiver of fee request and in a relatively expeditious manner in order that the restoration of this building can proceed without delay. 3401 El Camlno Real ¯ Palo Alto, California 94306-2805 ¯ Phone 4151321-1004 o Fax 415/494-6183Founded 1985 By The Frank Livermore Truat A Cali[urnia Niiii-ptofll Corpuraliul| Fed 11) |77-0106732 ,Stale ID #1280035 Rona Williams Property September 10, 1996 Page 2 We thank you for considering this request. ~Y~@~~~ ~e Ehrlich Board Member and Co-Chair of the Design Committee co: June Fleming, City Manager ..... EmilyHarrison, Deputy City Manager - JE/cm:fleming.doe July 2, 1997 STAFFWILL RESPOND CITY OF, .~,,_~"~’ 0 ALTO. CACITY L,_r.r:r~ .-’, OFFICL 97 JUL -7 AI’4 9:58 THE MUSEUM of AM-ERt CAN HERITAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS J. Robert Beck Chairman George Zimmerman Vice-chairman Charles L. Pack Treasurer Beverly J. Nelson Secrelary/Exec, Dir. Roger D. Broussal Kathleen A. Craig Joseph Ehrlich Crystal D. Gamage Charles M. Gillis Kenneth Kormanak Marshall Mathews Carl B. Moerdyke Roxy Rapp Tory K. Svensson OFFICERS Carl B. Moerdyke President Frank Livermore Founder/Vice-pres. ¯ Suzanne H, Beaver Vice.p resident Theodora Nelson Vice-president COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD James L. Adams Robert E. Bond Allan Chin Marybelle Cody Joseph J. Corn Joan Cunneen Wallace V. Cunneen Leonard W. Ely Marge Gratiot Loretta Green Carroll Harrington Charles C. Hoage Carl Holvick Ralph Igler David M. Kelley Jacques Littlefield T. Kevin Mallen Jeanne McDonnell Shelley Monfort Barbara Newton Carroll Notthoff Rixt’ord K. Snyder Sara C. Spang Steve Staiger Eleanor J. Watanabe Gail Woolley Members ~fthe Palo Alto City Council Dear Honorable Council Members:JUL ? I997 OFFIC~ OF TH~ CITY MANA(3~ On September 16, 1966, I spoke to you on behalf of The Museum of American Heritage, requesting that various permit fees paid by the Museum be waived on this City owned project. You may recall that we cited the precedent for this fee waiver was previously established by City policy for the Gamble Gardens Project and the Children’s Theater. My recollection is that the Council Members expressed support for this request and directed the City Manager to prepare the necessary report to the City Council to take action on this request. Last April several members Of the Museum Board met with staff members, Janet Freeland, Martha Miller and Bill Feldman, to determine the status of the report. We were told that preparation of the report was the responsibility of the Planning Department, and its staff was busy with the Palo Alto Clinic and the Stanford Sand Hill Road projects, and as a result, nb action had been taken. The Museum has signed a contract with Jack & Cohen, the. General Contractor. The lease has been signed, all permits secured (with the exception of the fire sprinkler permit still pending) and construction has begun with..completion currently schedule on or before the end of November, 1997. ,, I am taking the liberty of listing the permit fees already paid by the Museum to the City: 5/14/96 $1,896.00 Application for Parking Variance (which includes $46 for photocopying and miscellaneous expenses) Conditional use Permit Architectural Review Board Fee Reroofing Permit Plan Check Fee Building Permit Fee Total Fees paid to date -5/1.4/96 $1,850.00 7/2/96 $1,535.00 10/96 $ 182.00 1/97 $2,271.00 5/13/97 $2,086.00 $9~820.00 3401 El Camino Real *Palo Alto, California 94306-2805 ¯ Phone 415/321-1004 ¯ Fax 415/494-6183Founded 1985 By The Frank Liverraore Trust A Catifornia Non-profit Corporation Fed ID #77-1)106732 State 1D #1280035 THE MUSEUM of AMERICAN HERITAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS J. Robert Beck Chairman George Zimmerman Vice-chairman Charles L, Pack Treasurer Beverly J, Nelson Secretary/Exec. Dir. Roger D. Broussal Kathleen A. Craig Joseph Ehrlich Crystal D. Gamage Charles M. Gillis Kenneth Kormanak Marshall Mathews Carl B. Moerdyke Roxy Rapp Tony K, Svensson OFFICERS Carl B. Moerdyke President Frank Livermore Founder/Vice-pres, Suzanne B. Beaver Vice-president Theodora Nelson Vice-president COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD James L. Adams Robert E. Bond Allan "Chin Marybelle Cody Joseph J. Corn Joan Cunneen Wallace V. Cunneen Leonard W. Ely Marge Gratiot Loretta Green Carroll Harrington Charles C. Hoage Carl Holvick Ralph lgler David M. Kelley Jacques Littlefield T. Kevin Mallen Jeanne McDonnell Shelley Monfort Barbara Newton Carroll Notthoff Rixford K. Snyder Sara C. Spang Steve Staiger Eleanor J. Watanabe Gail Woolley Members of the Palo Alto City Council July 2, 1997 Page 2 The Museum has. raised sufficient funds in contributions and pledges to assure completion of construction. We recognize however, that in retrofitting a historic building and historic gardens, conditions may be encounterett that may add unanticipated costs to the project, and an additional $9,830, that we have already paid to the City of Palo Alto, could-be put to excellent use by our 100% volunteer organization. We again respectfully request that the Council direct its staff to refund these fees and any other City imposed fees, (excluding utility fees) that may come up during the course of construction. We thank you for your consideration on this matter. ~E~ncerely’ hrlich B~oard Member and Chair of the Design Committee June ~leming, City Manager Emily Harrison, Assistant City Manager Kenneth Schreiber, Director of Planning and Community Environment JE/cm:citycncl.doc 3401 El Camino Real * Palo Alto, California 94306-2805 * Phone 415/321-1004 ¯ Fax 415/494-6183 Founded 1985 By The Frank Livermore Trust A California Non-profit Corporation Fed ID #77-0106732 State ID #1280035 POLICY AND PROCEDURES 1-25 Page 1 of 3 April 1994 EFFECTIVE: April 21, 1994 PUBLIC,PRIVATE EARTNERSHIPS POLICY STATEMENT It is the policy of the city of Palo_A!to to encourage the development of public/private partnerships for public benefit. A public/private partnership is defined as cooperation between the city and private sector or nonprofit organizations in providing services, facilities or other capital projects to the community. This policy and its implementing procedures were approved by the City Council on February 28, 1994. Public/private,,partnerships may take different forms. most common include: Two of the Cooperative partnerships: This approach assumes cooperation between the public and private or nonprofit sectors in order to achieve mutually shared objectives. Examples include construction of the expansion to the Children’s Theatre, the City’s relationships with the Senior Center and the Palo Alto Housing Corporation, and the Economic outlook Committee. Inducements: In this approach, the City structures incentives that change the market environment in which the private sectbr operates in order to achieve social goals. Examples include the PARTNERS program in the Utilities Department and the 250 University Avenue development, in which increased square footage and relaxed height restrictions were exchanged by the City for public parking and dedicated alley improvements. city Role in Partnership Formation The City has historically acted primarily as a passive recipient of proposals for public/private partnerships. It is the intent of this policy, however, to promote the active participation of the City in the formition of such partnerships. "Active participation" could include: Facilitation of proposals through the City’s regulatory process (e.g., 250 University); POLICY AND PROCEDURES 1-25 Page 2 of 3 April 1994 Solicitation of proposals for public/private ventures (e.g., Tower Well site, ~huck Thompson site); Waiver of fees by the City Council for construction of facilities to be owned, or controlled, and operated by the City (e.g., Children’s Theatre); Use of facilities/subsidized rent (e.g., Cubberley). PROCEDURE Proposals for a public/private partnership opportunity are normally received by City staff from private sector or nonprofit organizations. They may also be referred by the-City Council to staff for review and recommendation. An important component for facilitating public/private partnerships is the ability of the City to react quickly and comprehensively to a proposal. Also of importance for some proposals is the impact of City processing fees. The following procedures establish a mechanism to obtain prompt and comprehensive initial City review of a proposal and consideration of requests for waiving city fees. Public/Private Committee A Public/Private Review Committee shall be appointed by the City Manager, with representation from the Police, Fire, Public Works, Community Services, Planning and Finance Departments, as well as the City Attorney’s Office. As appropriate, staff from other departments who are involved in a public/private proposal may also participate on the Committee. The Committee shall be chaired by the City Manager.or his/her designee. The Committee shall meet as required to review public/private proposals, but no less .than quarterly. Pros and cons of a proposal will be identified and discussed. A summary of each private or non-profit sector proposal will be forwarded to the City Council, accompanied by a recommendation from the City Manager to the City Council on whether the City should participate. The summary and recommendation tothe City Council will be prepared whether or not the City staff support ¯ the proposal as a public/private partnership. Fee Waiver The Public/Private Committee may recommend, as part of its review of a proposal, that any normal City processing or use fees under POLICY AND PROCEDURES 1-25" Page 3 of 3 April 1994 the Municipal Fee Schedule, not including fees and charges levied by City of P~lo Alto utilities, be waived as a part of the City’s participation in appropriate public/private partnerships. Waiver of fees shall be by the City Council and limited to those fees associated with a construction or capital project which, upon its completion, results in a new or improved public facility, building or park, or some portion thereof, that will be solely owned or controlled by the City. In the event that only some portion of a construction or capital project will result in a new or improved City facility, building or park, or some portion thereof, then the City Council may only waive that portion of any associated fees directly relating to the construction, improvement or enhancement of the City facility, building or park. If appropriate, the summary and recommendation report to the City Council will include a recommendation on waiving fees, and the Council can approve or deny the waiver recommended by staff. NOTE:Questions and/or clarification of this policy should be directed to the Office of the City Manager.