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HomeMy WebLinkAbout0298.091/ • ~I ~< ., .. , ;" May 23, 1991 THE HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA / Request Qf Friends of the Palo Alto Children's Theatre Members ot the council: 9 Attached is a letter from the Friends of the Palo Alto Children's Theatre requesting that the City Council waive the normal City fees for the initial review process of the Children's Theatre project. Tbe Friends suqqest such a waiv~r on the part of the Council would be in the spirit of the community's gift to the City~ Despite the value of the Friends' efforts to improve the theatre, I must recommend that you t'!o not qrant the requested waiver for-two reasons. First, the City council has been consistent over the years in its refusal to waive fees no matter-how worthy the project. To do otherwise subjects us to a constant demand for similar treatment. Althouqh this project is a qift to the City, the work which must be performed by City employees in conjunction with the review of the project design must be paid ror, if not by the Friends then by some other individual or group. At a time yben the Council is insistinq on cost recovery, reduced staffinq and increased user respon­ Sibility, a waiver of fees hardly seems appropriate~ Second, previous advice from the City Attorney has indicated that authority to waive fees is not contained within the existing municipal code. This omission is not an accident --previous cCKincils ha,ve used the existinq system to assure that all applicants are treated equally and that none can exert special or unusual influence on their own behalf. submitted, Attachment CIIR:298:91 .---~-- \ the Palo Alto Children's Theatre. The Honorable Jack sutorlU5, Mayor City of Palo Alto ~embers of the palo Alto City Council City Hall Palo Alto, Ca .. Dear Mayor Sutorius and Council Members: May 20, 1991 As you knew, the friends of the Palo Alto Children's Theatre has been 1n the process of raising funds for an addition to the Children's Theatre buIlding.. The firm of Stoecker and NOlth~ay has been retained b~ the friends to prepare architectural deSigns for submittal to the City's review process. At this time, we Bre pleased to report to you that the preliminary design has been com~leted.. John North.ay has consulted with the appropriate City personnel and is now resdy to submit the design and required documents for review by the ArchItectural Review Board and other review agencies. ~e are enthusiastic about the plant and look fOlward to sharing detaih.1th the Council at the appropriate time. The FriendS of Children's Theatre request that the Council waive the 52,308 fee required for the initial review process. We ~ill be making a gift to the City and the children of this community which will total approximately $650,000 to complete. All of the money raised from bUSinesses, foundations, and individuals in the communIty, Is presently invested in interest bearing ~ccounts $0 as to ma~imlze the value of gifts for the project while we ~ontinue our fund raising efforts. We are hopeful that the Council .111 recognize the value of the contribution we are making to the CIty at a time .hen the City cannet afford to expand this 54 year old facility. In effect, the Friends' gift .111 make it possible to lnvolve more children and adolescents in constructive, respon­ sible, and enjoyable activitIes for years to come~ Since the building is a gift to the City, we would hope that the Council .ill not ask the Friends to expend funds for 8 re~ie~ process .. o for the city's benefit. Your action en this matter .ill enable us to go for~ard .ith t~e initial revie. process Immed!ately. Thank you for your help. Sincerel),. • G.......L. C;f , Carl Gillespie, ~!i~n~ Board of the Friends of the Palo Alto Chl1dren 1 s Theatre ,~~ ... #-~,... SUl8 B. Stewart P~st President and Building Project Coordinator