HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-11-1981 Planning Commission Minutes ?
CITY OF SARA'['OGA PLANNING COMMISSION
MIN[IT'IiS
DA"I'E: Wednesday, Ma.rch .1.]., ].981 - 7: 30 p .m.
PLACE: C':tt.y Counci. l. Chainhers, 1.3777 FrUitvaZle Avenue, Saratoga., CA
TYPI!: Regula'r Meeti_ng
ROUTINE OI~GANIZATION
Ro 1. 1 C a. '1 ?1
l~resent.: Commissioners Bolger, C'rowth. er} King, Laden, Mon:ia, Schaefer and
Zambett i..
Absent: Non. e
Minutes
The ~ol]owing chanoes were made to the minutes of February 25, Zl. 98]: On pages
8 and 9, the gentlemen on K'reisler Court=. who spoke regarding .the .Specific
Pl. an ~'as Chuck Heuer. On page 15, under: A-TSS, th.e second. sentence in the
si. xtl'~ pa. ragraph should read "Commiss~ione}? Moni. a stated that he has a t)roblem
with the size of these tiouses and the impervi. ous surt~ace coverage." On page
].6, under A-757, ~tt~e 'fir. g{z'S'~tence should read "gazebo pad was under water."
With th. ose changes, Commissioner Za. mbettl .moved, seconded. by Commissioner
Bo]_ger, to waive the reading o~ the minutes of February 2~, 1981 and approve
a.s amended. Th.e motion was carried unanimot~sly.
CONSENT CALENDAR
].. A-755 R. Haas', Chester/Via Tesoro Lot #4, Tract 3924, Si. ngle-Fam.Ely
Residence, l':inal Design l~evi_ew A13proval; Continued From February
28, ~981
~ A-760 Mandari. c (R Haas), Chester/Vi.a 'l'esoro, l,ot #3, Tract 5924
S i n g 1 e - F a. m i. ZI y R e s i d e n c e, F i. n a 1. D o s i. g n R e v i e tq A p p 1' o v a ].; C o I1 t i I1 u o d
from February 25, 1_98l
Commi. ssi0ner Zambetti moved, seconded by Commissioner 'King'; to apprOVZe.':~he "'-
above items l:[sted on the. Consent Calendar. The motion ~a.s ca~'ried, with
Commissioner Moni. a dissenting. Commissioner Crowthor stated tha. t he had
misunderstood the motion and wou].d like to reopen the discussion on A-TSS,
for Lot #4, explaining'that he h. ad requested information on the ove. ra].].
height of the structure but it had not been o-iven. lle added that he had
checked tt~e height and'.z.~.~-(.'is .in vi. olation of the ordinance, since it i.s a
40 'ft. 'high: structure. Sta.~f c]_ari. fied how the height ~¢as measured, and
it was determined that i.t does comply with ordinance requirements. It was
pointed out that this has a stepped. Lfoundation, M'~ich the Commission had
requested. Commissioner C'rowther st~-~ted that he was measuring ~yom lowest
gracle level. t'6 'the highest point o~ the r6of, and he would 'l_i. ke the subject
· reopened.. :
Commissi. oner Zambetti stated that he~ would not like to make a motion to
reconsider, si. nce the Chairman had. p?revi. ously asked if there Were
items to be removed from the' Consent C~.~].endar, and i.t had been approvocl
by a 6-1 Vote. Commissioner King ag~'eed, stating that at the 'l. ast meeti. ng
th.e Commission had agreed in princi. p.le to the size o~ th:~s home. It was
determi. ned that, since there h. ad been a denial. of making a mot;ion for
reopening o'f the issue, the matter is settled.
P t.l g .I, '[ C 1-I E A R I N G S
3. A-756 - Kath'l. een Bartie, 1.2896 Pierce Road, Si. ngl. e-Fami].y Resiclence,
l.:inal l)esign Review Approva.1; Continued from Feb.ruary 25,. _1.981.
S~:a'f~ .-.~.epo'~ted "~h~t"-th~s ~temT"'Nad 'bL6b~ con{~.nued from the previ. ous meeting,
'L
Flaarn;'ing Conm~iss ion Page
~'lee~t i ng '=Minutes - 3/]. ]./8 ].
A.- 756 (cont.)
and. the applicant has sul~mitted the requested information.
The public hea'ring was reopened at 7:45 p.m.
Robert-B0~t~d't;'--. ].2890 Pierce Road, stated th. at he cannot agree that a
sin. gle-story structu're i.n the same v:i'c:i. nity would have the same privacy
imi~act.. The fill that Mr. ::BO~'f~trt"'-. lia. d previously stated had been put
on the property was discussed.' FIe stated that he disagreed wi. th the
statement by the applicant that there will be no fi].]. underneath the area
of the proposed. bui.ldi'ng. M'r..Bos't~'cl't". commented that this. fi. ll has raised
the e].evation of. the property there and w:i. lt.'make the buri'lding even higher
than the natural. contours were. 'l"he .drainage situation was discussed.
It was pointed out to Mr..Bo~.t'edtT"~.halt there is a Co'nd.i. tion in the report
..~ stating that. detai. led drainage and grad. i. ng p].ans would have to be reviewed.
and. approved by the City before the structure can be built. Mr. Bostedt
commented that a. sirelimit.condition wds also put in SDR-1262 on the house
previously built, and it was .never done; the ].and was a].l graded towa'rd his
home.
Mrs. Bar-ri.e, tile applicant, stated she had not done any cut and fill. She
explained that she had ordered four truc'kloads of top soil, a. nd the firm
had gi_ven her five by mistake. Mrs.. l~a. rrie stated that she had paid to
have the one 10ad taken out. She conimented that she had lost her finan. cing
and probably ~:oulcl. not be able to build.
Commissioner Kin,~ moved to c].ose the rpublic hearing Commissioner Moni. a
secon. ded the mot:ion, which was carried unanimously.
Commissioner Crowther commented that he believes the overall si. tuation,
both in terms of t. he value of the house and the effects on the neighbor:lng
property, wot~].d be improved i.f the house were moved back about 50 ft. He
exp].ai. ned that moving it 50 ft. dowel th.e ].or wou].d give a. larger front
yard and 'possi. b'ly some ].arge trees cou].d be saved.
Commissioner Monvi'a. moved to approve A-756 per the Staff !~epo.rr,..- Commj:~s-
s:loner King seconded the motion. Commissioner Crowther mGVed' t'o~am'end ttid
motion to make j.t dependent on e'val. uati. on o£ whcthe'r it i.s :f-easible to
move th.e house back approximate].y 50 .{t. on the ].ot.
Commissioner Moni. a stated. th. at he was'. concerned that if th.e house were
moved back, it starts to have impact on the other,ji~-e_'.~d'a{~Ce'
hand side of the drive.. He added th. at the S].ope starts getting ].arger,
and he thinks that we would end up gradi. ng more aBd creating more of a'
i~rob].em wilfh the drainage in tlna. t are'a, a.s w'e].l a.s an impact on the exist-
ing house on the right-hand si. de.
Commissioner Crowther no'ted that the .].or .is fla. t .for' approximately 100 ft.
back, and then drops off after that.
Mrs. Ba'rrie stated tha. t'the location 'she has chosen is good. ]and, but
possibly she could move i.t back a. lit;tie. She explained that th.e eng:i. neer
divided th.e lot inco'rrectly and. she has more land in front of her own home
than she had :intended. :
It was the consensus that Staff would.. determine whether the bui].ding
should be moved. back to the extent, o]i 50 ft. Cojnmiss:i. oner _Kj:Bg seconded
4. AL'7, 9 ..... '6a ' Ray, 13687 Quito Road, Request for Design lieview Approval :for
a two-story, singl'e-family dwell. ing that xqou, ld be over 22' in
height (maxi. mum 26') on a lot with an'average slope less than
10% in the R-l-10,000 zonin. g district
Staff described the proposal. They commented that the lot is nonconforming
from the standpoint of the depth of the .lot. It was noted that there i.s
an existing well in the backyard which can be used for irrigation. purposes;
~71.~;nning Cornmiss ion' Page 3
bifeet:ing Minutes 3/21_1/81
A-759 (cont.)
however,. :i.t is not a pump :for the po01. Staff stated that the :issues
before the Commiss:i_on are: (1) the app'roprj. a. teness o-f a two-story in th:i.s
location., (2) the privacy factor as j~t tel. ares to the adjoin:i. ng prope'rties,
and (3) the issue o:f wheth. er or not a variance would be required for the
stru. cture :i_n front of the .pad~ :It was noted that numerous letl:ers have
been 'rece:i. ved :i_n ol}posi t.i. on to this applj. cat] on. Sta. f-f suggested taking
public testi. monv and cont:i. nuing the :i:tem to a study session.
Th.e public hear:i. ng was opened a.t 8:10 p..m.
Gordon Jensen, 1.3737 Qu:ito Road, sta.~ed that his object:i. on centers on the
size of the house and the two-story design. He statbd that he :feel. s the
house :i.s inap'l~ropr:i.a. te for the present 'l. ocati. on . Mr. ,]ensen commented
that the lot is on'ly '1.06 ft. deep and it :i_s in a R*].-'I0',000 zon:i. ng. l-le
a].so commented that e:i. the'r the 'front .a. nd side yard setbacks should be
increased in. l'i. ne w'i. th the house, or ,the house s:i. ze shou'ld be reduced in
'l. ine with the zoning. Mr. ,J'ensen. sta, ted that hi.s property'. is 5' to 6 'ft.
lower than the Ra.v lot and th. ev'would suffer a complete ']_oss of pr:i. vacy
:i.n thei. r ba. ckyard w:i tb th.'is proposal. [.-le added th. at it i.s about three
times the hG:ight of the house next ddo'r, which is on].y 8 'ft. :from the
property ].j. ne.
Sta'ff explained the coverage factor. They stated that there :i.s no ordi-
n. ance that puts a ].im:i.t on the square footage, on'l.y on the percent of
co ve 'rage.
Mr. Ray, the a.i)plicant, sta. ted that his lot is 24,()00 sq. :ft. and on].y
covers ].7~ o'f the ].ot, a.s opposed t.o 55% allowed under ordinance. He
sta. ted t.t~a.t Mr. J'ensen can now see o~er :into bi.s yard, since j.t appears
that b:is house :i.s a two-story from the basic hci. ght.
Dr. lligg].e, 18640 Aspesi Court, stated that the petition received by the
Commission ha.d. been c:ircu:l. ated in the':i_r area against the re].a.t:i. ve]v
rise structures :i.n their area..
Marc:i.a C:i. tta., 15695 Quito Road, concurred wi. th the Jenscns about the :tTact
tha. t a two-story bomc would be very d. evastat:i. ng to her home. She stated.
that they arc concerned that Mr. Ray 'w:i'l] be I~ui]ding w:i. thin 21.0 'ft. of
h:is s':icle setback. Mrs. Citta added that sh.e recogn:i. zcd. tb. at Mr. Ray
trying to work around an exist:i. ng sw'i_'mm:i.n~ pool, wh. ich she doubt~ is worth
sav:i. ng, and feels i.t wou].d be best i..f he cou'ld just remove :it and then
mo.~e-his house to 'a. more central. loc~.~tion. She stated that she :i.s also
concerned about trees tha. t give them pr-i. vacy, s:i nce Mr. Ray has indicated
that be w:i.].]. prol~ab]y ha~'e to remove them.
Pat Br'igham stated that the)~ were d'i.r'ect:ly beh:ind the proposed house. Shc~
commented that -it would bc horrible to have a. two-story there.
Mr. Ray responded to the letters a'n~I pctj. t:i. on recci. ved by the Commission
in opposition He submitted a letter to the Commission, t:i. stin~ these
. responses. lie po:i_nted out that tbe:i.r. proposed home is designed. to blend
wi. th.. the newer exj..stlng homes :i_n the :ne:i. ghborhoo'd, and the preservat:ion
of 'large trees and n. atural su. rrou'nd:in~gs were g:i. ven priori. ty.
Chairman Laden suggested that the Commj. ss'ion t'ry t.o gj_ve some direct:ion to
the app.lj. cant ton:ight, and then agend;i. ze this matter for. a stu. d)~ session.
Comm:i_ssioner Moni. a stated that he has', a lot of scri'ous reserw:~.t:ion. s about
the tjome which he is not sure can be 'reso.lved :in a stud), sess:i. on. l.le
exp'l. aj. ned that thi. s is an.-6dd. situati.on where the lot is 24,000 sq. f't.
in a R-].-1O,000 zonino d:istrict He .stated that, since most o'f the
n.c:ighl~ors in. th6 back are single-stdry', a sing].e-story house wou'Id b~ more
appropr:i. ate. l.-tc .i. ndic~'~ted that hc is: also concerned about the sri. ze o'f the
house, and :feels th.e Cornmiss:ion has t'o look at the :i. ntent o:1'7 th.e zoning
area. Commissioner Monia stated that h.e would ].:i. ke to see the house :in
t?;La~n:fng :. Comm:i s s :i. On Page 4
Meet:i. ng Minutes 3/].'1./8].
A-759 (cont.)
more concert with the ne.ighborhood, say a 3500 sct. :ft. home.
Comm:i. ssj. oner Bolger agreed, stati. ng that the homes :in the j. mmediate vicinity
were much smal.'l. er, i.e., '[800-2700 sq. :ft. He commented that he fee'is
the size off thj. s dwe:l.l.j_ng i.s much larger tha, n the rest o:f the ne'tghborhood,
and he is conce'rned about a two-story design from the pri. v'acy aspect.
Comm:i. ssioner Schae.fer stated. th.a.t the .s:i. ze was her ma.j.n coficern. She
:[ndj:cated that -i.t was a vet)~ niceZ[y designed home, but questioned whether
it be:Longs on that. lot. Con~missi. oner Schae:Fer suggested ped~aps a second
story of some ki. nd could be worked out.
. '.
Commiss:i.o'ne~? (:rowther agreed t. ha~ th.e house is too ].a'rge. He i,'ndica. ted.
that he was concerned about' the setbacks anct th.e pool st.'ructt~re that :i.s
'there, wh:ich seems to be cL'i. ctat:ing a '~ot o-F the cons'iderati. on with rega'rd
to 'l. oc~:~tion o:l~ the house. ..
Commj. Ssi. oner K.i.n,~ stated that he 'fee].s cont:inu:i_ng the matte'r to a. stuc[y
sessi. on :is a good idea. ile commented that Mr. R~D,'. mj. ght cons':i. der some o:E
the suggest:ions the nej. ghl~o'rs have ra.:i_sed conceT'n:i. ng the ]oca. t:i. on o'~ one
end o:1~ th.e 1. or, and he would haxre some question about the.value o'~ the
ex:Lstj_ng pool. st'ru'ct, ure as :it .re:l. ates t.o the sit'i. ng o:~' th.e house.
C:'omm:Lssioner Za'mbettj_ stated that h_is .conce'rn w~'s. that the nei. gM_~o'rh. ood
wor'k in ha'rmony with the app'l. i cant. tle added that he 'fee].s it :i.s 'i. mpo'rtant
that this :i. ten~ be continued so the .neighbo'rhood can talk among therose'[yes,
ancl then come to a.'study session, in 6'rder to reach a comp-ron~ise.
Mr. Ray s'tated that he tTeel. s it wou].d be to ev'eryon.e's advantage ]~ we'
d.o h. avea stud.}~ sess:i. on. He pointed Out th. at he would ]_j. ke to eml~has:i. ze
tha't:, 'regardl. ess o.E whether the house ,:i.s o'ne o'r two-story, he can covet
much more squc~.'re :footao'e oJ~ the lot i.F it j.s o'ne-Story wi. thot~t having to
appear be'[ore the Commissj_'on, pe~.' ord'~nance. He :i. ndj. cated that the pool
:i.s o:[7 ~rea. t w~lu.e t.o them.
The :[~o]..low:Lno' were summa. Tized a.s concerns of the Commission.'
~ ·
(:I.) Concern t:or the tx~'o-sto'ry house by nej_ghbors a.:nd some o:~ the
Comm:i_ssi. on . Pe'rhaps som~ k:i. nd oil cOmprom:i. se can. be reached;
'some port:i. on mj. ght be two-st. oTy that wou]_d'n~t :i. mpact the 'rest
of th.e ne:i. ght~orhood.. :l:t 'm:Lght be a possj_bi]:Lty that pe'rhaps
on:l.'y a s:ingle stor)' home ~wou] d be desiral:~Z[e.
(2) Concern in t,he p].acement o.f the house to the easterly propert),
1. -i. ~ e
(3) The size off the house '
It was d~'~'L:ted' t'~' '.~h~.~ "item' be con'~j..nOed 't&' ~ ~tudy sess:i. on on Apr:i ] 14,
~98'.1. an.d the ~'egu].ar meetino' on. April-2? 198].
...... .: --~-' · .. ....... .
-- . . . . , .-.-.-.2. ': ~2 ': . . ...... ' '- .... :
Use Permit :Fo'r the pa. rk:~ng 'l:ot ].:i. ght:i_nB: program
St.a:I7:t~ exp].a:i. ned that the o'ri.g].na'l. use .pe~'nl:i.t :for the expans:ion ha.d a~con ....
"~'~'~'io'fi'-th. at the .t:i. gliting program must :he sul_~m:i_tted :[.o'r review through the
use permj. t procedure. Sta:F'F d. escr:i.l~ed the p~'oposaI.
'l"he pubtic hea. rin. g was opened at 8:52 ,p .m'.
Since' no one c.~ppeared, Comm:i. ss:Loner 'Bo]ger moved t.o c'l. ose the pub:L:i.c hear-
'i. ng. (:ommiss:ioner Zambetti seconded the IllOtj. Oll~ wh'i. ch was carr:i_ed unan:i.-
m o u s ]. y.
Commi:ssi. one'r Cr0wt]~er tooreel. to clpprov~ UP-479 per the St~'f-f Report.
P Z[ ~-~ n]~ i n g C o m m i s s ~. o n P a. g e 5
;Meptin~ ML'nutes -. 3/21.]./8
UP-479 (cont.)
.Commiss i. oner King seconded the motioh, wh.i. ch was carried. unani. nlous].7.
6. UP-480 - Pa~'k Saratoga Assocj. a. tes, Request for a Use Permit to allow a
real estate o:Efice to oper~t. te j_n a. C-V (Visitor-Commercial)
d.:i. str:kct a.t ].2222 and 1222~ Saratoga-Sunnyva]e Road
Staf:~ explained that under the original use permi. t for th.j.s development,
Con. ditio'n No. 2 exc'l. uded any Eutu~'e uses o'ff real estate. However, :i.n
this locati_on a retai. 1 store wou.ld have a very dj.t~icu'l.t ti. me. They
described the current proposal.
The i~ubl.~i.c hc~ri. ng was opened at 8:55 p.m.
Richard Bass':i.n, one of the oxq~e'rs of the Heritage llome, stated that he
:~e]_t they were a. creditable, quality company. I. le' stated that he has
worked with Staff in working out the p'rol~lcms. Mr. Bassi. n stated that
all of the people workj_n.g in. the of:f:i_ce are already exj. sti. ng Sa.'ratoga
agents and resi. d. ents.
Since no one el. so appeared, Commissioner Zambe~ti moved to close the
public h. ea. ri. ng. Commissioner Mon. i.a seconded the moti. on, wh:i. ch was carri. ed
unan:Lmous ].y .
Comm].ssioner Laden stated that, afte~ vj. siting the site, she :feels that,
surround. ed by real estate and tit]_e companies, a. retail sto~'e would have
a d:i.:tF:tjicult time bringing sufficient 't'7oot traf'fic to make it a. vi. able
business.
Commissj_oner Bolge.r stated. he had nof. h:i. ng a. ga'inst real estate organiza-
tions, but h.e wott.]_d pre'fer to have a. 'ret~i]. establishment there.
Commiss].oner' Sct~aefer stated that she was concerned'~['l~at~ commerc'ia]. bu:i_].d-
ings 'ate' b~i':lt-~'~it~tl .the"..~d'~' bf lD~'ovi'difi~- .~'x ~e'~f~ue, and '~ti-e~:"- b'eCo~'.-com-
· m'6'4~'c i'a i" t]{~ t"vdo 8~" 'no ~" "pro duc e ~ ~'~- :~h~enl~e ~- :'f0 ~ Z'.~iY%~7c ~'y .2? "'~._2sl~&~' ]~.'n.~i~'4t~v~ ~-~i~7~: t.
'~'j~-~-". a ~' ~:~ r'~-a ~d~"'Yh'~ 15e' ~'b' i 'e .7' vd~-~. :'~,"~h t' '~j '&om g"'i n t .o. '7..t h C V i 11 a g e 'a.~.~_ ".me d i c a 1.__
'-~'f~E]F~'&s ~;~d' ~g~'~l~il ec~s ~.".l'~.l~"e'~e.~o.~e, '7m'a~b'e 'tl~e' C'{t'~ i S k"id~i:n.~: '.'.th'em'~ e ires. w'h en
the
- c'o~ercia'l ~oes not=r'develop. She'added-.:t'h'-at~: ~.e'rhh~s-- ~Tba'l"a~'~e:' is n&eded.
-'~F~lle'~"~4'i~j'~d that ~'a .~'aY'~ame' '[5~"~p~..~(~zoz5 'th~'~ 'and'' ~7~',-no reF~i21..j~m&" a..Y'o,~'," -tl~-D__~.rh_~pS~:~a-i~-~t~Lte--F~h~:i~:~%~d.Gn¥.idered.. · . ..
... - ........
commissioner Bolge'r stated he would a:gree 'to that. Howeve'r, the problem
ri_s that s'ince the bui. ld. ing was built, a ]:;or .I.,ease si. gn has been up, and
they have been unable to -f'jn.d an occtipa'nt.
Commissioner Crowther stated that he wou].d h. ave Concern about any type of
b'usj.'ne.ss that would have a ].ot oE tra'ff.Lc comj_ng out to the south side
o.~ the hui].dj. ng because o:t~ the setbac.ks.
Commi. ss:i. oner Mon.ia s'tated that he sha.red some o:f the concerns, but _fejl. t
the subject should be assigned to a s'tudy sess.i. on and rea]].y ]_ooked into,
and th.e Commj. ssion shoul. d move forwar.d wj. th. th. is part].cull. ar .item.
Commj. ssj. oner Zambett:i moved to approve UP-480 per the Staff Report. Com-
mj. ssi. oner Monia seconded. th.e motion, whri. ch was carr:i ed, with Commiss:i. oners
Bo].ger and S~hae'fe'r dissenting.
Comm:i_ssioner Zambett:i. moved to deFlete Condi. ti. on No. 2 of UP-42].. Commi. s-
sioner King seconded the motion, which was carried unanj_mously. ]:t was
noted that there is a uniform sign progranl rfor this particu'].ar development
under the use permj. t, .and the Commi. ssi. on has not approved any except:i. ons
to that.
Commissioner Schae]Tcr suggested that perhaps the General P].an Review
Committee could consj. der expressly ].ookvi. ng for the kj. nds o:f businesses
that th. ev would like tO attra. ct and the general a'rea they would like them
to go
S
pla. hffi ng Cornmiss ion Page 6
~ee'ti. ng Mi. nutes 3/11'./81
7. UP-482 Ga].eb Properties, Request for a Use Permit to alllow a dance
school to operate in a C-N (Ne-ighborhood-Commercia]_) district,
a.t ].2378 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road
The p'roposa] was d. Gscr.i. bed by Staff.
The.publ:i.c hearj. ng was opened at 9:07~ p.m.
The appl.:i_cant, Georgina Ba.h. ramian, st:ated that the dance schoo'[ would be
basi. cal.ly ba'l. let, with some jazz and 2exe-rcise' classes, and no tap el. asses.
It was noted that the wa'[].s of the theatre are on the opposite wa'l.].s.
The hours o:17 0peratj. on were d:i. scussed' j_n re].ation to the pa'rki. ng for the
chambe'r theat're. Chai. rman Laden stat.ed that poss:i_bly the Commission could
rex4ew i.t ].ater as to an.y parking problems.
Commiss:i. oner Moni. a moved to close the' l~ub].ic hear].rig. Comn~j. ssj. oner Zambetti
seconded· the mot:ion, ~qhich was carr:ied unanimousl. y.
Commissi. oner Schae'fer commented that the studio has been desi. gned for
sound., an.d the cl.a. sses are very' qu:i_et:. She stated that there i.s car pool-
i. ng and t~eopl. e do not tend to park. 'tt was noted that any noise i.n~pa. cts
Could aZlso be reviewed in the 90-.day review.
Comm:lssioner Mo'nia ~noved to approve 11p-482 per the Staff Report. Commis-
sioner Crowther seconded the moti. on , Wt~:Lch 'was carri. ed 'unani. mousl. y.
8. V-544 - .John Anawa].t, ].389]. Raven. Court, Request for a Variance to allow
a proposed additi. on to ma:Lnta:in a ].9.5' exteri. or s:i. de yard where
25 ' i.s requi red
Staff descr:i_bed th.e project. They exp]_ained that the individ. ual doing the
dra. w:i. ng took the property line froln tile ba. ck of curb versus th.e right-oL[-
way. This was not noticed at th.e Staf't' level. and construct].on was started
before one of the building i. nst~e'ctors. note. d :i.t. They ind:i. cated that Sta.:l~f
was able to make the fi. ndings for the, variance, based on the aspects of
ttne ]ot.
The publ:kc hear:[n.g was opened· at 9:15. p.m.
..lohn Anaw~-~lt, the applicant, _i. nt. roduc[~d petiti. ons signed b'y the neighbors
:i.n.i.'*a'vor of the va.r~.ance. This was noted. into the record·.
MichaeYl Myles, a representative of-' thb const'ructi. on company, stated they
were concerned and he-'was there to answer questions.
Ken Co21son, 1_3851 Raven Court, and Mr]. Ral. ph Van Heerden, ].38421. Ravenwood
Drive, both expressed their support for this proposal.
Commiss_ioner King moved to c].ose the pub].ic hear].rig. Comm:i. ssion. er Zambetti
seconded the motion, whj. ch was carried unanri. mously.
Comm:i. ssion. er Mon:i.a moved to approve V~544 per the Staff Report, ma'king the
'.fi_nd:i_ngs to grant the variance. Comm.'i. ss-ioner Crowther seconded the mot].on,
· which was ca. tried unanimous].y.
Comm:i. ssioner Mon:ia commented that a.t a stud), sess:ion th.e Commission shou]'.d.
talk about how emergenci. es l.i. ke this might be handled, si. nce there was
about a five-week d.e'la), betwee:n th.e t-Line the City found out about this
I~rob]_em until th.e time the publ:i.c hear:].rig was he].d. It was noted that
there are legal requ:i_rements t~or not:Lc:i. ng o1_'- a pub].ic hearing.
M't:.-Myles expl. ained how he had measured t'o determ:ine the property line.
lie asked about the appeal pe:riod, and. i.t was cla'r:i:f.-'ied that the va'ri. ance
is not e.f-fect:i. ve i:or .I. 0 days.
I3 r e a. k 9: 20 9: 35 p.m.
. P'l..:~n.,.!~:i.n.g Cornre:is s i. on . Pa. ge 7
Me e't .i..r~ 2, ~"'! _i. m.~ t e s ~..5 /.:L.:L / 8 ].
9. D:i. sct~ssion o'1-' Spec_EF:i.c P'l. an fo'r the Northwest H:i. llSides; Con. tinued
t:.rom Feb'ruary 25, 1.981.
Cha:i.~'man l, aden ind:i. cated that tin ere t~.ave been study sessions since the
last regular meeting on the Spec-i'fj.'c'P.'[an, and some beginning changes
have been made in the Plan, and the Commi. ssion has come to some con. sensus
o'E op~.nion. She sta. ted that bas:ica. l.!y the add-it~.ons a. nd changes we-re to
more c].ose.t.y t:i.e the goals to the sta. tements mad. e 'in the Measure 'A' itseEl. f.
She rev;i. ewecl the changes made to date, ;i. ncl. ud.:ing the sections on geology
and c.j. rcuZl. ation. She noted that th. ere was a consensus o:f the Comm:i. ss-ion
that the road between Pierce and Tolji. gate, the Saratoga 1.4e~gh. ts Road.,
shot~].d be a publ:i.c road connect:i. ng tl%ose two arte~?:i. es to a].low through
circulation at t.h.a.t po:int. She stated that the other consensus the Com-
mission arrived at was the road now termed. the Southwest~Northeast l'~oad,
wh:i. ch wouil. d run between Mr. l:.~d. ei~ and ProspeCt Road, wou].d be con. st~'ucted
as a pub:[ic road to a:[lo~: for ci'rcu].i~t:ion; that the proposed connectj. on
the Dra:ft P.lan at Wardell wou:ld be e].:i.m'i. nated, but that the proposed connec-
t 'i. o n a t C h :i. q u :i. t a a n d C o m e r w o u '1_ d b e. m a j. n t a. i. n e d.
Cha_irfnan Lade'n rioted that Comm_~_ss:ioner Crowther had pointed out that there
were some a. reas :in the map which shonl. d be revi. sed. Sta.:iTf stated that :i.n
~. _ erie ~e iss and greed that th:is
the early stages the Counc.i_'l had 'r . .~ d. this ue
~.s th.e map the attorneys have been u~i. ng. Comm:i. ssj. oner Crowther commented
that he was recommending at change because it seems apparent f'rom looki'ng
at the Measure 'A' map titat 'i.t doesnit agree.
The 'Delz.~ty C:i_t>~ Attorney commented tl:~a.t he be]._~.eves the maps as sh. own were
adopted adopted by the Ci. ty Council a.s rep'resent.~ng the t)ropor d.e-tTiniti. on
o.E the Measure '.A' terri_tory. FIe stated th. at the Comm:i. ssj. on shou]_d adhere
to th.e boundar:ies as de'f:i. ned bv the City Council, particularl. y j.n v:[ew of
the ITact that th. ere has be'en ].:it:i. gat:i. on on the :i. ssue o'f boundar:ies and.,
with that in mind, the Commission should not be defining bounda.~'j. es
d.j_:fferent from the C:i. ty Council. at tl~j.s poi. nt. [.le noted that the Speci.'.fic
P'tan.w:i.].] next go to the C4. ty Council, and'at that poj. nt, ~.t7 they w:i. sh to
change-the l'>oundaries' that they hav'e defj. ned themse].'xres, they.~ can do so.
Commissioner Bo].ger stated that he wGul. d like to have in the Appendix,
wh-i. ch shows the actt~a]_ text o'tZ the '[nj_trlati. ve, the proper real3 that was
adol'~ted by the voters, and 'i.f. the Comm:ission wi. shes to use something
dif:f. erent at thj_"s po'i. nt and t. in~e, we ~ call do that.
It was cla. rj_fied that the map th.e Commission i.s us:i. ng here and presented
1.3,~ the C:itizens Advisory Commj_ttee :i.n their l)ra.ft P].an :i.s the one that
was adopted by the C'i. ty Counc:i_].. (]hairman Laden stated that thj. s issue
can be added :i.n the Comm'i. ss:i_on's notes for the C:i.t.y Counci.].'s c. onsriderat:i. on,
and the. Councr['l. can then take a. vote;on that if deemed appropriate.
The Deputy Cit'.x.~ Attorney commented :.that such actqon'x~'o'Ul_d' be appropriate.
FIe stated that the map becomes c.ritj.&~aT1 to the extent that :i.t impadt~ an
area whi. ch '.ix subject to the Measure' '.A' mo'rato'r:ium. Once the Specj.:fic
Pl. an is adopted, we are.no ].on. ger deaTl. ri. ng with the moratorj. um. At that
point th.e C:ity Councj.']. ca.n de~2ine t. hO boun. daries because they are dea. l:i. ng
with a plan tl'~at ~.s be:i. ng i. mpl. emented with ~'espect to that area. He stated
that he sees noth:ing wrong on at 1. east advising the Cot~nc:i.]. that there
are two ;interp'retati. on.s. At th. ri.s point, however, j_t seems the .P].annin. g
Commissi. on should adhere to the boundaries as defined by the COuncil.
Commj. ss~.one~' Crowther commented that he feel. s :it is -i. mportant that the
entvi.'re Measure wh:tch appeared j.n the hal. lot pamph].et, including the ba].]r'ot
ax'guments, etc.., be inc].uded in Appendix I.
'The pub].ic hearing .was reopened a.t ]_0:00 p.m.
Kenneth Moy stated that he was 1.,egal.. Consultant t.o ABAG's Water Qua].j. ty.~
Program'. He cornmen. ted that the percentage and numt~ers used in the ABAG
study on the Calabazas Water Shed, c~.ted b)~ the Citizens Adv:i. sory Committee,
are a. static ntunbers, and r[.:f there .-i.s: const'ruction i.n 't. he h'ill.].si. des , these
numbers w:i.].] no longer hold. lie suggesteel 'revl_sj. ons to pages '25-26 o:f
7
P.I a2nr~ri. ng Commis s ion Page 8
Meeting Minutes 3/11/81
Specific l-~la.n (cont.) '
th.e Plan to reflect this. He a'l. so commented that, as 'l. ega'l. consultant
to ABAG for 1980-8'1. under their Water: Quality Program, he offers his
services to loca. 1 jurisdictions to revise in particular Grading Ord.i. nances
for water qua. l. ity purposes. He noted: that one of the directi. x~es stated
in the Plan. is For the City Staf-F to ~'evise the Grading Ord. in. ance. to meet
the rural. and aesthetic. conservation policies outlined in the Pl. an. (add~.t-i. on
on pa,',e 8a attached) ,
Chai. rman. [,aden stated. tha.t sh.e felt it 'is a. ppropria. te to suggest as an
acti. on pro~ram "Rev:i. ew and revise Grading Ordinance with cons'i_deration of
water quali..ty". Commissioner Crowthe~.' stated' that he felt Mr. Moy's
comments are also important with regard to hydro].ogy and f].ood:i. ng which
'i.s affected by sedimentation also, and perhaps they should. a].so be con-
sidered in that section.
Dianne Bolger, of the Measure 'A' Committee, recommended that, regarding
the geo'lo~v section Mr Cotton's note to users of the maps shou'ld be
f..':' j_n. cluded. Chai'rman Laden stated they wou].d check w.i. th Mr. Cotton on the
verb a.g e',
Dora Grens, 13451 Old Oak Way, expressed her Concern that development.~.qill
occur,. and it w:i.]l be d:iscovered 'that the Sou. th~es.t~Northeas't Road'can't be
built from an. engineering and geologi~ situation. She stated tha. t she felt
this should be investigated further:
Since 'no one else a. ppea~ed, Commiss i. oner King moved to close the public
hea. r:Lng. Commissioner Bolger seconded the motion, which was ca. tried unani-
mous ly.
The Deputy City Attorney discussed thQ possib:ility oE obta:i.n-ing insurance
coverage to cover the t~aza'rd of damage to a road as a. result of a landslide
or any other haza. rd, where the City might have a l~ability to repair,
wheth. er ~:t-would be possible, in view'of Proposition 13, to form an assess-
merit district for the .purpose of paying the :i. nsurance premi. ums. He stated
h.e has conferred with the Ci. ty's bon. dino counsel. and the answer seems to
be that it cannot be done; i.t would really be another form o'f taxation
which would not be permissible under present law. However, there :i.s leo'is-
lation pending wh:i. ch wou].d permit municipalit'ies to form assessment dis-
tr.i_cts wh'erebv there would not be a tax based upon property va.]ues, but
rather upon some determi'nation of the benefit received by each p'roperty
owner. The're is an existing law that.already permits assessments. of th:is
kind on the basis of benefit, but :i_t is confined solely to parks a. nd l. ight-
ing. The idea 'ks to expan. d th'is act to include street maintenance, sewer
maintenance and other I~ublic faciliti. Gs. The [)eputy City Attorney stated
that his suggestion to thO Con~missi. on.would. be to consider the possibility
of inciudino as an action program, that when and if such-l. eg:islation
passes, the C:ity take approl~r:ia. te steps to adopt ordinances or to initiate
an assessment distr-i. ct, i.'f j.t seems to be the proper th:ing to 'do at th.a.t
time.
Comn~issioner C'rowther commented tha. t it is his understanding 'that the land
failure insurance compan:i. es have g'ott&n into financial difficulties with
what .they l'~ave insured, and, as a result, they have hired very competent
geologists an.d they' woll't insure areas without a very careFul.geologic
review. lie asked if it would be possible, in vi. ew o~ that, to 'require that
a develope'r, before he puts a road i.n~ get a commitment from the insurance
a. gency that th. ev will insure the City at a reasonable rate, wh. ich we would
establish, as a condition of construction of the road.
The peputy. Ci'ty Attorney stated th. at the fact that A di~t~'L~t~-'~an't be
-:~6'~m&:a z-'~6~. '~he pu~-~6~'6; 6 f" 'h.~ing th a ".d'iLt {'z ~ns"p_~.y. ~Tth~""ih~G~f'~'H.~'._ :a~'~'~7.. n.o~.
z~':an~:"~'e"'pu~li.c entity cannot obtain the pol'icy; what we are ta].k~'ng about
i.s passing the cost on tO .the residents. As 'Far as imposing that as a
requirement,-'> on the developer, the I)eputy City Attorney stated th. at his
concern woLild be that if the carrier comes in and determines the risk
too high, then it may be the case tha. f the develol~er s:i. mi~ly cannot obtain
8
~lanning Commission Page 8a
Meeting Minutes - 3/11/81
Additional statements to be added to first paragraph of page 8, under
Specific Plan:
Mr. Moy was asked if he had any comments on Saratoga's Grading Ordinance.
He indicated that he would have to study it in greater detail. Mr. Moy
was asked if the Saratoga threshhold of 10 ft. cut and fill depth before a
grading permit was required was typical of that of other communities. He
answered that most communities with hillside development have a thresh-
hold limit of 4 feet.
P 15 n ~, i. n£ C o mn~ i s s i o n P a. g e 9
'~e~t~.ng ~'l:inutes - 3/]]/81
Spec-i..F'ic P] an (cont.)
insurance. tfe commented that more i.n[~ormat-ion. i.s needed on the a.w~].~a-
I~'i.~:i.t).' ot7 ~i. nsurance c. overa~e. He ad~ecl that, under the Subdiv~i.s~on
].t would appear that the C].t)~ cou]~ not requ-i.~'e a developer to post a
bond ~or coT~'ect~on of d.e~ects and workn~ansh].p or mater.i.a]. beyond one
the Subd-i.v:i_sion ~1a.p Act spec~[F].ca~ly .re'Eers to the local. author].t)~ rectu].r-
~in~ a bond ~or a. pe~'.~od o'F one ~ear.' 'Fhe Deputy C]t), C~erk commented that
he thought there ~i.s ~ serious .cluest]on a.s to ~'hether a t~oncl'in~ compan)~ 'would
even write a bond be)'ond, say t~O'-"yea~. tie ].ndicated that, be)~ond two 'ye~-~rs,
it becomes d.i:l~.t:'icu.]t to prove that :i.'ff t. here -ks a lands]_~de, ]t is hecause
o'f7 some d.e'[:ect ].n ~vo~-kTnansh:i.p committed by the contractor, as opposecl to
the gcolog'i.c condit].on.
Comm'issj. oner Crowth. er suggested that,. i.nstead o.~ request.i.ng a. I~ond, the
(]].t), ~,,ou'l. cl not 'ta. ke ded'i. cat:i. on of the street -~or a pcr:i_oc] o'[ ten )~ea. rs,
wh].ch w] 1.], du'~'ing that per.i. od o~ t.ime, ho].d the ~leveloper respon. s:il~le
For a~y major land Fa.i.]ure o~' other damage.
'[~he l)e'outv (:it.v Attorney commented tl~at he thouo'ht it woulct be a prot}jlem
:~ora dcve'l. oper who :i.s developin.g scattered ].ots and 'is not dea'l.].ng ~v].th
a un:i..IFj. ed suhd].v'is:i. on. tie stated th~.t i.E the~-e is not a homeowners assoc-i.--
at].on, w-i. th powe'r to ]ev)' assessments on :i. ts members, and :['1: the C:i. ty does
not accept ded:i. cation, then the~'c :i.s no ~'esponsit}]e pa'rty aw:~:i].ab].e t.o
ma.]ntai. n the road.. 'Th':i_S:]~sy'res'uli :i.n'the R'It. Eden court 't:?'pe o:~ s'[tuat]_on,
wh. ere obv:[ous]), the road :i.s :in need o_F repa:i.'r, but nobod')~ CaT~ seem to agree
on thc:i.~' proport'[onate sh. are off the cost. l--le stated that ]_f ].t 'is a pri.-
rate road, he would th'Ln.k that the (:~t'),' couJd require 'land. t'a:i.].ure i. nsu'rancc
th. rough. CCa'~Rs, a. ssun~ing j.t :i.s ava. i.l. ab!e. Ile added that there m:i ght be
some prol~lem as to the cost; 'i.t m:ight t}e availaisle, l~ut at a rather h:i. gh
l~rem:i. um. 'l.'he Deput), Ci.t)~ Atto~'nc}' stated that, si.n. ce the subject was
d'i. scussed at la. st n:i. ght's meet:i. ng, he w:i.]]. have to check further into the
avai. lab:i.].:i. ty a.~.d cost. oF the insurance. However, 'i.n concept it doesn't
seem much dif~erent than say':i. ng i.n the CC:aRs that a homeowners assoc:~ati. on
shall ma'intsj. n haza. rd ]_nsu~'ance coverage on the common areas and. structures.
~['he Deputy C:i.t), At. tome), added that ~_:t~ the C:i.t)' were to sa.y :i.t :i.s a manda-
tory requ'i.'rement that a.n)~ new suhd-i. vi.s].on ma'intain insurance a. ga:inst.
daxnage to its roads, the question he would want to ].ook at i.s whether that
would be :i.mposi. ng some requi. remcnt more sere're than the w-lr].ous cond-itions
p~-ov:i. dedl i.n the Suhdi. v:Lsion 'Nlap Act.: '.-He clari'fied. that [he above comments
were rd~ga. rdi. ng:lar'Lv'ai:e ~'oads. :l.f :i.t :is a pul~li.c road, he commented., then
the C-it)' would have a real p'rol~lent r~quiring p~'i.'vate partj. es to insu're
pul~l.'[c roads; he doesn't thi. nk th.e C~i.t),-wou'ld have an)~' legal. autho'rit)f to
make th. at dema~d. The publ'i.c road would h'e the C]t),'s ]:i. abi.].it~', and i.t
would seem that the i. nsu'rance cost o:F th. at wou].d c].earl}' be the C:i. ty's
expense. The on].), situa. ti. on undc'r which the Ci. ty might I.~e able to pass
that expense on wou].d be '[:[ the new ieg:is].atio'~ is passed, perm:i. tting the
.~o'rmation of asscssinent di. st'ri_cts 'ba~ed on bcnef:[.t.
(:omm.i. ss-ioner Crowthe~- sta. tect. that h.e i.s his Eee]..i. ng that the Ci.t}, ought to
have an act:ion pl~u~ to 'require that the developer, be:Fore he constructs
a. ~'oad, get a comm:i. tment o'~ :[l]sl.II'allce at a 'reasona. b].e ~:atc to be e'stab].i. shed
by the (::[t)~, '.ffor that road, and' the C-it}, woul. d buy the 'i. nsurance.
CommLss:i. oner Bol. ger stated that he u~de'rstood that cove'rage i.s readi.:l.~,
ava.'i. lab].e a.t t.h.:[s ti. me .for road fa.i. lure , la.'nd '~ai].ure t).~pe po].ici. es, and
the cost :i.s rea. sonal.~le.
Comm'Lss.i. oner Scha. e-tVer commented that she IYelt there is some r.i. sk i.n an)~
deve.l. opment that :i.s done, e'v-,en though :i.t :i.s des.[gn. cd to the best off thei. r
a. bi].ity. She st~:tted th. at she '~ee]s .that, i'~ we are say'ing 'it ht~s to meet
the cri. te'r.ia o.lf a.n insurance policy that we can a:~-ffo'~:'d, we are sa.)"i. ng the~'e
wit] I~e no bu:i. ldin. g anywhere .i.n the hi]]si. des , a~'~d she wonde'rs :it' that 'is
l'eas o~a]~ le.
Cornmiss:loner Crowthe~- comme~ted that' we are ta.'Lk.i. ng aleout hu:i.l.d:[ng roads
through vet)~ unsta. h].e soi.l s, and he :thi. nks the (':i. ty shou'l d :ff:i. nd out,
Pl"%tn'nin~g Commi ssion Page ].1
~"Me"~.l~.ing Minutes - 3/]_1/821_
Specific Plan (coat.)
added. to Chiquita and Comer as through streets.
Commi. ssioner Crowther commented tha. t: the people tha. t were present a.t the
meeting on Kreisler and Hillmoor were tol. d that they were not being con-
sidereal, and it wou.l.d n. ot be fair.
Commissioner Mon-i.a stated he also agreed with Comm:i. ssioner Bol. ger. I-te
stated that he .felt it would be d.:i..ff:Lcult to justify havi. nga th. rough road
to handl. e 160 trips a. day; i.t really'doesn't change the :i. mpact at all on
the surroundi. ng areas. He commented. that he was more concerned now about
the fact th. at one of the refi. sOns for his o'rig:i. nal position about private
roads was the .tTact that Commi. ssioner Bolger had brouoht kip a. si. tuation
by wh.i_ch we fel. t we might be able to'assure some reasonable financial
Sa.17ety in the hills:ides with insurance. However, he is concerned now about
developi. ng so many roads i.f the City does not have that opti. on. Commis-
sio.ner Mon:i.a stated he would be :in fa. vor of going back to Alternate 2.
Ch. airman I,aden commented that one o'~ the th:i. ngs .the through yoad did do
i.s take some of the traffic of'[~ o[' Arroyo de Argucllo which normally would
come .17rom Pi. erce Road, and th.e i'ndicat:i_on is that some of the traffic woul. d
then use the Ch:i. qui. ta--Comer connection to the new road out to P'rospect, and
it also seems that this has been a problem area.
Commi_ssioner Bolger stated. that 'he fee'Is that the number o.[~ vehicle tri. ps
that they have projected on lower Wardell .is going to be much less than
what they wil. l. be when Comer and Chi~]uita go through.
Commi. ssioner Crowther stated that the Southwest-Northeast Road is going to
be a ver'v difficul. t road to build. He commented that he thinks
Chi. quita and Comer go through before. that :i.s built, it wil. 1 never be
built, because the traffic will come:down and .go onto l'.~ierce. Therefore,
you wil. 1 have defeated one of th.e major purposes of Measure 'A' and the
will of the voters.
Commissioner Zambetti stated he [e].t that was an erroneous statement,
because the Carrod Road, th.e Southwest-Northeast Road and thc'Parker Ranch
Road, wh. ich i.s one road, must all l~e:.compl. eted according to the Water
D [strict.
Chairman l,aden stated. that th. at problem could be resoldred by putting
· i. nto the program that a stepped a. ctiOn be done, and the connecting roads
not be connected until. andunl'ess'tKeSouthwest-Northeast Road i.s completed,
a staging of development.
Commissioner Crowther asked the Deputy City Alto'racy if there is a. possi-
b:i. lity of litigation relative to the City violating what the voters passed
by taking such an acti. on. as putting a through street through an area where
putting such a street does not preserve rural character, and knowi. ng the
financial ri. sks. The Deputy City AtT. orney commented that there i.s always
the poss'i. bility of litigation. IIe stated that an argument can be made on
the other h. and that putting a road th. rough. preserves the rural. character
to the extent it relieves traffic on Pierce. He added that he d:i.d not
beli eve he could answer Cornmiss loner Crowther ' s qu.estion.
'It was determined that a vote should' be taken on the circulation. Commis-
s:ioner Zambetti moved to approve the, Parker Ranch Road as a through road,
to meet up with Garrod Road to Mr. Eden Road; that th.e Parnas Saratoga
Heights Road will go from Pierce Roaa and come down to Tollgate Road to
Con. gress Springs Road; ,Quarry Road w:i. ll not be connected. and will have an
emergency access; Old Oak Way wil. 1 not be connected and will ha. re an emer-
gency. access; Chiqui. ta. Way and Comer w:i. ll be connected to the Parker l~anch.
Road, and the Wardel. 1 Road wil. 1 be eli. minated as an extension to the t>a. rker
Ranch Road; Hi. llmoor and Kreisler Court will 'not be through streets. He
stated that he was voting '~or this ci. rculation because thi. s al. ternati.ve
w:i. ll reduce traffic on Warde2i. 1 Road by 600 vehicles; i.t will take traffic
out Pi. erce I~oad, which i.s a very da~ige'rous road, and for the li'~e safety
- 121. -
Plam~ing Comm~ ss ion ~ Page :L2
Mec~t, ing~ Minutes 3/11/81
Speci'fic Plan (cont.)
element in regard. s to response times .from fire veh:icles and emergency
vehi. cles, and also in rega. rds to C:~,ty: services. Commissioner King
seconded the motion.
Cornmiss.Loner Schaefer sta~ed. she would like to vote on Ct~iquita and Comer
separately. Cha:].rman Laden commen~ed that th.e Commission should. vote on
the moti. on as it stands, and. i~ it doesn't pass, it can be modified.
Commissioner Schaefer stated. she wou]~d. like to discuss the Comer and.
Chiquita connections. She commented 'that, since it has been brought up
that the Southwest-Northeast Road s]~ould go through ~i. rst, which seems to
make sense, she [felt the easements should be set aside, so t]~a.t when it
is appropriate for these roads to go 'through, there wi:L1 not be the problems
that bare developed ov'er Wardeli. She requested that this be an amendment
to the mot:~.on,.':' th~t"a'::~'~'~ed 'devel. oDment occur w~th. regard to Chiquita and
Comer, with the proper easements set .aside, and they would not be connected
until the Southwest-Northeast Roa~d is completed. Commiss:~.oner Zambetti
~d~F~n~s~i~~i~:~b~]~ep~64~f~is~mendm~nt to the motion. The vote
was taken, a'nd th.e motion was carried, with Commissioners Bolge'r, Crowther
and Monia d:i. ssenting.
The 'issue of the 3(.)% road slope was d:i. scussed, a. nd Publi. c Works Staff
stated that page 219 speaks to this. 2]t was determined that the sentence
read.:-"Grading should be minimized (Gy groupi. ng homes) and by 'locating
roads and homesites on slopes less than 30% unless given. prior a. pproval by
the governing bodies." It was also determined on that page, regarding ...........
corrective grading, that the sentence should read: "Allow corrective :gradi.~g..'/
in the western hills:ides to minim'i. ze :risks from geol. ogi. c hazards especially
for new or existing development, l~rov'ided it' does not remove major trees
or irrevocably damage the City's scen. ic resources."
Discuss'i. on foil. owed on the comment recommended by Commissioner C~'owther
regarding cut and fill. There was a. consensus to table the item, pending
some add:i. tional information and review. Commi. ssioner Crowther stated he
wot.~.l.d get a copy ok' the Los Altos Hills Ordinance for review. The. Deputy
C:i.t~ Attorney commented that the Pl. ann ing Commission can recommend th:i.s as
a. separate item later if approl)riate.
The definition of ridgeli. n:es was disdu.ssed. It was determined that a
statement shall be added, to read: "Scenic easements sha'l.] be established
to protect the sceni. c ridgelines w]li.~h Cl~]'~ the City." There was a co'll-
seasus that at a. planning session th.e Commission wou'l.d in fact adopt a map
that actually l. ays out which of thos& hiZl].s'i. des we are referring to, rather
than t.rying to in. elude it at this t:i. me .
Commissioner Bolger stated that he f~els there det/'initely shou'l.d 15e some
protection for the fact that wc should have stag:i_ng of h. omes until at
least the Southwest-Northeast Road i.~ completed. Th.e Water Assessment
l')istrict-Road. Assessment 1)i. strict wa.~ discussed. It was clari.fied that
those tentative maps tha. t would have :used the Water Assessment District
were conditi. oned, and the road. is tied to that. Public Works Staff stated
that in the early stages of the Water Assessment District the roadway to
be const'ructed was only a service .~L~'ad"'t6 coh~U'c.t the ~a't~rl:Lne. However,
as it progressed and a.s the need. for F'the Southwest--Northeast ROad was then
accepted, the Assessment District was modified to include that as a connect-
ing 'road.. It was detern~ined that under the Action 1.'rogram there would be
statement, to read: "Chiquita and Comer shall not become pubflit roads
through. Parker Ranch Road until .the Southwest-Northeast connection is
completed and the Water Assessment District formed."
Commissioner Crowther distr:i. buted some suggestions for revision of page 44
i.n the hydrology se'cti. on, and aLlso 'rdvision to the noise secti.on on page
48. The Noise Standa. rd wa.s discussed, and :i.t was determi. ned that it
sbou]_d he added to the statement on page 48, "and, to the extent feas-i.l~l.e,
any increases in noise 'l. evels above the General 'l~].a.n/Measu-re 'A' standarcts"
It was noted on page 63 th~:~t the reference to the Fremdnt finion Ili. gh School
12
~-t~].a~,,ning Commission Page -~_3
: Meetj. ng M:i. nutes - 3/17[/81
Speci-fi_c P'La.n (c'ont.)
should be removed from the Proposed PoZlicies.
'It was determined that the Commj_sg_i. on ~qould review"'~gg pagG' 4'4a '
dist. rj. buted b)? Commissione'r Crowther and di. scuss it further a't the
next meeting. It was directed tl'~t this matter w:E].]. be continued
to the meeting on Ma~ch 25, 1981, and Staff wi.].l make the approl.3rj_ate
'revisj. ons and d. el.Lver to the Commi. ssi. on for their reg:i. ew before that
meeting. It was noted that th:i_s matter wil. Z1. go to the City CounciZl.
].evel on Apri_Zl. 15, 1981..
M I SC E L L AN EOU S
10. SDR-1.420 - Warren Hej. d .(Carro'l.].) Bj_g .Basin Way, Tentat:Eve Bu;i. ld:i. ng
Site Approval, Request for One -Year Extensi on
Commissione'r Schaefer noted that, in readino over th.e mj_.nutes, there
had been concern about the 13uj. ld'Lno envelope, and there were 'teaS[
questions abot~t th.e parki. n~ probZl. ems on this project The Publj. c
Works Staff d:i_scussed the rel. Ocati. on that had bee'n d. one of the bui.].d-
i. ng and also the parkin. g. Cha'i. rman Laden exp].ai. ned that the bui].di. ng
· ;fi'rst wa.s attached to the bank, ~nd the Commj. ssj. on tried to move it
as .{;ar back as 13ossib.l.e, and the kVater Di. stri. ct sa.i.d that cou].d not
be done. Therefore, the present l. ocation was a compron~i. se, and the
pa.~'king lot was redesigned. to make sure that the access was through.
Commi_ss;i. oner Laden moved to appro~re the o~e-5, ear exten. s;i..on :for SDRL].420.
Commi. ssioner K~.ng seconded the mot:i. on , wh. ich was ca.~'r;i. ed, with Comm;i.s-
s:i. oners Crowther and Monia di. ssenyi. ng, a'nd Commj. ssioners Bol. ger and
Schaefer abstaj_n:i.n.g.
COMMUN I CAT IONS
Written
].. Letter from Mr. Thomas Seefurth, .President of th.e Emerald H'i.l. ls-
Tcsoro Homeowners Association, a. skin~ that ali-of' the' trail. easements be
returned. to the homeowners as a pa. rt of th.e:i.r -respective propert-ies. ]'t
was determi. ned that this matter should be referred to the Par'ks and Rccrea-
tj. on Comm:i. ssj. on . Staff was d:i. rected to answer Mr. Seefurth's ].etter~
adv'j. sing him of thj. s acti. on.
Oral
1. C;i.t}, Council Report - Conu~:i. ssione'r Zambett;i. gave a b~'ief report
on. the C:i. ty Councj. 1 meeting held on March 4, 1981. A cop~, of the mj. nutes
o:f th'i_s meeting is on 'E:Lle j.n the City Administration Off:ice.
2. Commissioner Bolger agai'n commented on a request for review of
the Vii]age and the other comme~'cial areas of the ci_t)~ by the General Plan
Co'mm'i. ttee, to investigate the allowedL uses and conditions we have :i.n the
"C-V" and "C-C" districts. :
3. Chai. rman Laden than'ked Councj._twoman Jensen for attendi. ng th.e
meeting, and Admiral MetealOe and MrsL Armstrong of the Good Government G'roup
for attendi. ng and servi. ng coffee.
AD,] OU RNMENT
Con~m.i_ss:i. oner Mon.:Ea moved to adjou'rn the meetj. ng. Commissioner Bolger
seconded the motion, which was carr.:i. ed. unani_mously. · The meet:i. ng was
a d j o u 'r n e d a. t ]. 2: 0 S p.m.
Respect:fully subm'j tted.,
RSR: cd Secretary