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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-18-1972 City Council Minutes SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES TIME: TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 1972:~- 5:00 P.M. PLACE: SARATOGX' CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 13777 FRUITVALE AVE., SARATOGA, CALIF. 95070 I .' ORGANIZATION Ai ROLL CALL _/ Present: Councilmen Dwyer, Bridges, Rob~ins, Smith and Kraus Absep~: None II. CANVASS OF VOTES A. RESOLUTION NO. 609 - A Resolution Canvassing the Vote Held April 11, 1972 Mayor Robbins moved adoption; it was seconded by Councilman Bridges and carried unanimously. Mayor Robbins then thanked the Council for the opportunity to work with them and expressed his appreciation for serving with such a fine group of individuals. III. INSTALLATION OF ELECTED CANDIDATE~ The City Clerk administered the 0~th of Office to newly-elected councilmen, Jerome A. Smith and Rod Diridon. He then issued the Certificate of Election to both of them. IV. REORGANIZATION OF CITY COUNCIL The City Clerk announced that election was now open for the position of mayor for the City of Saratoga. It was moved by Councilman Dwyer%and seconded by Councilman Kraus that Jerome Smith be elected mayor. Nomin- ations were closed and unanimous ballot was cast for Jerome Smith. Mayor Smith then asked for nominations for the position of vice-mayor. It was moved by Cole Bridges and seconded by Rodney Diridon that Bob Dwyer be nominated for the position of vice-mayor. Nominations were closed, and it was moved and seconded that. Mr. Dwyer be elected vice-mayor. This passed unanimously. Mayor Smith then commented on how the Council will be at a .loss to replace Mayor Robbins. He continued by saying that Mayor Robbins had made a tremendous contribution to the City of Saratoga and that he would be missed by his colleagues. The Council then adopted Resolution No. 611 declaring Charles H. Robbins to be an official municipal asset and resource. ~he Resolution was unanimously adopted. V. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 5:15 P.M. Respectfully submitted, SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES TM: WEDNESDAYs APRIL 5, 197Z - 7:30 P.M. PLACE: SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 13777 FR%rITVALE AVE,, SARATOGA, CA. 95070 TYPE: REGULAR MEETING I · ORGANIZATION A. ROLL CALL Present: Councilman Dwyer, Bridges, Robbins, Smith and Krsus. Absent: None · · B. MINUTES . The minutes of M~rch 1~, 1972 meeting were 8pproved as wTitten. II. BIDS AND CONTRACTS None. III. PEvEITIONS, ORDINANCES AND .FORMAL BESOL~TIONS A. RESOLUTION NO. 607 - A Res61ution Authorizing e Parade Through Certain Portions of Saratog8 on A~ril 8, 1972. Councilman Smith moved adoption; seconf,ea by Councl~mgn Bridges; carried unanimously, B. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SALE OF PARCEL OF TAX D~uED PROFmh~l"f TO SEA CLARA FLOOD CONTROL AND ~AT~ DISTRICT FOR $2.00. 'Councilrosa3 smith moved adoption'; seconded by Councilman Dwyer. Motion csau'ied unanimously. Mayer was~ authorized to execute Agreement. C. CONSIDERATION OF SUPPORT FOR PR01~R~n SAN ~'~IPE WATE~ EJECT Moved by Mayor Robbins, seconded by Councilman Smith .that the City support the expenditure of federal funds to conduct studies on this matter. Carried unanimously. D. RESOLUTION OF COMMENDATION FOR RICHARD SCHWENDINGER, 1925 Portos Dr. The Resolution commending Fa'. S~hwendinger for his outstanding work in the creation of West valley Youth Soccer League was read. Councilman I)wyer moved adoptio~n; s.econded. by Councilman .S~ith; carried unanimously. · Mayor Rob~ins Sckn6wledged 'th6 '~resence o~ M~Si JeSse Manuel, who sug- gested this Resolution, and thanked her for doing so. E. RESOLUTION NO~ 608 -' ACKNOWLEDGING SERVICES OF JMS R. HUFF Chief Curtis J. Kirby of'the Cent~ei F~re District presented a plaque to Mr. Huff. for his work in fire safety during his time with the City, and wished him well in future endeavors. · Mayor Robbins read e Resolution ~cknOwledging the outstanding services of Mr. Ruff. Adoption was moved .by Councilman Dwyer, seconded by Coun~ilman Sm~.th; cerrie~ ,~,~nimc~asly. A copy w8s Fesented to Mr. Buff IV. SUBDIVISIONS, BUILDING SITES AND ZONING REQUESTS A. Tract 50~9 - SARATOGA FOOi'R][.v-q DEVELOPMENT' CORP. - SARATOGA INN PLACE. Councilman B~idges moved acceptance of improvements and releasing of bond. SecOnded by Councilman Smith; cs/u'ied unanimously. B. SDR-828 - DR. JOH~ E. COX i JACKS+ED. -Release of Investment Certificates Councilman Smith had questions concerning the~ u~derground work.and cut, as well as the drainage syste.m and the road. Mr. Walker said these problems were being worked out and that releasing the certifi- cates would release Dr. Cox but would not release the property owners on this particular road, and that acceptance Wou~d not be finalized until construction is accepted. Mayor Robbins asked for a ~ort from staff and directed that this matter be re-agendized fort the next meeting. C. SDR-550 -.Wl~IAM D. GARLAND - Via Regina - R~lease of Faithful Performance Bond. Councilman B~idges~ moved a'doption~ seconded by Councilman Smith; carried unanimously. V. PUBLIC ~EARI~G8 A. V-371. W. C. & A XEnm'- mm v E - ' appeal Of the Planning Commission Decision to'deny a variance to allow' a food stqre of 28,000 .sq. ft. in lieu of the meximum of 12,000 'sq. ft. ,permitted. City Manager Beyer indicated that there had been a request to delay this heaXing for two %we~k~..-hr+t Mayor Robbins said that since Notice of Public Hearing has been duly published, if anyon.e had come to be heard, he would. hear him and then continue theEeating until next meeting.. Jam~s. Br.,o~n~ 1,2099' Natoma ~Court, Pre'sident of the Northwest Home Owneras. Associ.ati0n said.he h~d sent' .in a letter protesting the variance b~cause it would ~require an enormous parking area and that :p~opez~y ~values w~ld. suffer. He said he felt that the · ' Sa~a~ogadu~nyva!~ Rmaa~ sh~ou!,a be ~ide~e,d 'to 100 ft. ~-ian.' · road, divided, should".!this variance be allowed -- that this .would help the. Blue Hills-Azule Fshopping area and wodld make it more attradti~e to ~vleitor 'Co~m~erciai,deveiopment~ He felt that the qt,e~ifications and limitations of Visitor Cou~nercial zoning should be clarified so that variances would not be necessary. '. Eugene Geritz, of Schoell, Ceritz, Paul and+ Allard, Inc., project architects, said because of preVious commitments 'of other members of his firm it is imposSib~le for them to attend this meeting and he especially wanted them. i.t.o m~k..e-the presentation as repres~ati'ves .. of LuCky Marke~s and Long~ Drugs, two of the major proposed t~nants. He felt ~hat actually there should he two variances pending. ' Mayor Rob~ins directed th~ City Attorney to clarify the Ordi'nance, and he wanted. to l~ow whether "Pharmacy" includes "Drug Store." Councilmmn'Dwyer wanted t6 know if. ~t department store of 2~,000 sq. ft. ~fould be a permitted use, and though~ the ardhitect raised a. good point about clarification.. Mr.' Charles. Schwage~, of- 20386 ki~kmont D. riVe, Said' he and others in the neighborhood were very concerned abo~t. this matter and asked they 'could· he notified as to when the next hearing will be... Mayor Robbins said it .would definitely be at the next Council meet'~ng on April 19. ~ . ..' Counoilm8~ Smith moved ~hat t~e. hearing be ciosed and continued to April 19- Seconded .by-Councilman Kratts; carried unanimously.i B. SDR-911 - WILLARD THOMPSON - OAK STREET - An appeal of Planning Commtssion decision to den~ application for building site approval. Mr. Walker indicated the. location of the property on a map -o next to the old right-of-way on 5th Street.-~ and said it had. had site approval for 'several yearS; t~at it e]~pired several times and was renewed, but this time, Mr. Thompson applied for an ext~nsio~ of six months -- that was about seven months-ago, and hewas in.no position to give forther extensions. Mayor Robbins said ~e ~talkedl.witk~Wi~lYs~ck~ab'out~,~he bM~P~ss~and' is · p~l~the '~opi~!O~ ~hpi~vit~age ~udy~Comm~.~tte~er~s?~no~t~h~,.OB~gh!. _s~udYing it. He mentioned ~hat Mr. Thompson has been most cooperative in Working with the' City on this, and felt that to be a .plus in his favor. Councilman Smith asked when the report of+ the study committee is - 'due 'and ~r. W~lker ~aid there l~As. ~n6 'pa~/icular. date. -- ~ that they ' ' ~ ~il'L~m~et ag~ ~n'Apr~l ~ abOUt' t~el p~rk~ag lane, 'and apparently will present it to the Planning Comm~ssion in May or June. He said that the bye-pass q~estion. has. more or.! less been put aside until a parking plan ~'i~ work&d:'od~I~ tha~!~the p~esent pavement os 16' .to 18' wide and Widening it would present '.quite a construction project. It is the feeli~ ..of~ the~ Citize~. C6mmit~ee not- toI use St. Charles Street, he said, and there is a good ~poss~bllity~' ~hey might come~up with a by-pans plan. Assuming there is no by-pass ~and no widening, then Mr. Thompson~would be required to do slight widening to accommodate street parking and" extra traffic. Mayor Robbins asked if the ~xtension granted by Mr..Thompson was within the limit.' Mr. Walker said it was, assnmtng there would be a The Hearing'.was ~pened. at 8:30 P~M. Mr. Willard ThompSon, 15710 West Road, Los Gato~, said he_ bought the lot in' 1963 and immsdi.ately got ~permission for ~ apartments and the City said they wer~e going to abandon 5th Street. Then - he found the' City didn't own the street, and it took h~im two years to find the owners and to clear the title. The City said they were going to.widen .the street, but finally.sent 'him a letter in 1968 saying 'they wer~ going to do the streets last year. That 'is why he applied for anotherA approval, -which was denied.. He said he was interested in getting this cleared up, admitting it is a marginal property, but delays cause a financial borden due to increasing taxes and interest and higher construction costs, as. well as the possibility of higher~interest rates for construction money. Mayor Robbins referred ~he: matter to the Planning and EnVironmental. Committee for a reportA Councilman':Smith moved to close the hearing; seconded by Councilm~_~ Bridges; passed unanimously. The Hearing was closed at 8:35 P.M. and Mayor Robbins told Mr. Thompson the EnVironmental Committee of the Council would be in touch with +him, and that the Hearing would be continued. C. · SDR-~2 - SHANNON LIGHTFOOT -~ SPRINc~A~ AVENUE - Am Appeal of the Planning Commission to deny application for building site approval-for two 10tS on Springer Avenue. Mr. Walker pointed out the ~location of the property on maps and stated he had furnished a description to the Council members. Councilman Dwyer requested that in the future, on reports of 'this type, that the location be shown since it is unimproved property and under'the present system, it is impossible to locate the" property when one goes out to view it. Mr. Walker said this dates back actually to the early 1900's,. when there were. ~wo. lots -- Lot 9~, which runs from Lot 88 all the way back to Sage Avenue right-~of-way, and Lot 95, which ran the same distance, back in'1906. In ~961, a Record of Survey was filed and recorded, showing the two,lots as one, stopping at Old Sage. Inn. Then in 1963, Shannon Lightfoot applied for a building permit, show-, ing them as they were originally developed 'in 19o6. The Planning C~mmisSion had'no knowledge of the Re6ord of Survey at,'that time. Then the approval in 1963 .Yor two lots expired, and nothing-happened. Now, in 1972,'Mr. Light. foot is applying for two Iota, referring back to Mr. Tansey.. There are .!now two lots with a' 20-foot right-of-way. It was the opinion. of the 'City Attorney that these two lots .cannot be approved because they are illegal. In 1906 the 10ts would be legal., but they have changed from~ 1906 tO date, and they are 'illegal as two lots. It could possibly.be al~proved as one, but not two lots. Councilman Smith inquired as ~o the total acreage -- about 1/4 acre? Mr. Walker answered affirmatively. The. Public Hearing Opened at 8:~8 P.M. Atto~n~'Rob~t T..' N~mard, 9~0 'North"F'.Ll~t S~reet, 'San Jose, representing Shannon Lightfoot, said that the appeal was made on the the~.follcWing grounds: That the ~iVlsion of land into two.lots was effecte~ by'-recox;di~g of said division on May ~, 1961~ prior to the effective date of the City's Zoning Ordinance in August, 196!. He ~said that the :parCel has been ~and ~till is assessed as. two sepa- rate lotS; that Sanitation! District IV has assessed these .lots separately; That the division of the property is a reasonable and proper use of Said property; and that' the denial of this application deprives applicant of a vested'prOperty right and amounts to'condem- nation of the applicant 'S i. nterest .in said property. Applicant Shannon Lightf~ot, 11~1 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, said he is the. owner' of the lots'; That he tel~d to Gary' Bonfiglio, who said there was no Record of Survey prior to 1961~. and that it .was illegal, regardless of the size. Nr. Walker'told him the same thing. And he talked to ~. Johnston and he said the same thing. He said he ha~ been paying~taxes on .two'piece~ of .property and doesn't think it is fair. ~r.. Jacklin, of 1~6 Esterlee, .said that if Mr. Eightfont .obtained building site approval, it would completely .transform the whole neighborhood, and that he had prepared a petition and has all the signatures. He said there.are two matters in contention-- the lots, and whether..ornot they are legal lots in ~hat location.-- He.said he had spent time researching this matter' and. that the old survey map shews the :lots were changed, and the-lots proposed in the application were not the original two lotS,' and he is proposing to build on lots that clearly:do not extend tofSage. At the Sage Street end, Mr. -Blce has a garage and a barbecue that has existed for at ~east nine years -- not possible to change back into. the non-conforming size. This ;presentI lot he proposes.lto bUi~l dv. on is about the .size of two lots. Council~ Eraus asked where the barbecue building is located. Mr. Jacklin said it was across the end of both these lots. And he is sure Mr. owns the garage and that property. The City Attorney said it. was untrue what Mr. Lightfoot said about his agreeing with Mr. Lightfoot. Said Mr. Lightfoot looked him up at his (the attorney's) ~olside and brought out maps, and wan told the maps showed one parcel, not two. His application showed them to!'~be different from the original, and he would hav~ to buy the ground back for it to be like the original. Councilmn- Smith moved that the Hearing be closed for tonight and continued to the next meeting; Councilman Eraus seconded. The motion carried ~-nimously~ The Nearing closed at 8:55 P.M. and the applicant was told that the Environmental Committee would be in touch with him. VI. ADMINISTRATIVE MA~'A'~HS A. MAYOR Mayor Robbins: took up the'. matter of the law suit City of Saratoga vs. James R. Huff, 'pertaining to improvements to the Saratoga campus of West Valley College, under the Recreational Facilities Assessment District. After Ken Jones and the City Attorney spoke to the issues involved, the Mayor said ~e would like to see the City support an appeal, so once and for all the City would know where it stands. The motion *an m~de' by ~SUncifman Smit~ to direct 'the City Attorney to take the case to appeal; seconded by Councilm-n D~yer. Carried unanimously.' , ,, , .. B. FINANCE 1. Payment-of Claims Approved list of disbLL~sements dated April 5, 197a, and a~r~hor- ized th~ Mayor to ~i~n the warrants. C. COUNCIL CO~I~I'~'~'~S AND CO~4ISSION 1. Councilm~n Smith reported';on ~he l~il~evich situation and the diffi- culties in obtaining housing for the Rizzos~ as .veil as the fact that Nontoya's power' had been o~f for tllree weeks~ and the steps taken to get the power back on. Councilman .Brid~es felt that this thing could go on forever, and that a de£inite' date should be set for demolition, and meanwhile ~ontinue with the efforts ~to find housing for the Rizzos. The ~yor directed that p~ans go ~head with the plan £or' demolition of the place on May 1st. ~. Thorn Ford gave a brief report .on the parks and ReCreation Committee, sayin~ that Chairman Matteoni and Mr. Bonnet have been studying 'details re parks use, general p.lll-pose# and definitions. -The Mayor referred the report to 'Staff and th6 Public Welfare Committee for review and r, eport. D. DEPART!~T HF~DS AND OFFICF~ · ~. Shook reported on' the Piedmont-Mendelsohn problems, andSa~irl".~:'~fsfa IV has requested alternate bids from the planholders and bid opening is set for next ~uesday. The contract will probably be let in ~ay, he sad. Mr. Shook said that ~ olive trees would have to be removed if Peach Hill were used as a detour out of the area. Councilm-n Dwyer suggested the closing of Montalvo for those three days and detour through there, and he wanted tO know what would be the impact of using a ~rivate road. Mr. Shook said Mr. Goodman is putting his total efforts against this. Councilman Smith said he thought the City should take the initiative in re.solving this matters and said he would be willing. to meet with the 35 people in the aries, if desired. Mayor Robbins directed Staff tO try to wore this out with the parties involved. On Wildwood Park, Mr. Shook said that the Agreement between the Council and Flood Control has been held up in the offices of the attorneys for Flood Control, but is scheduled for a meeting on April 18, approximately. But, consistent with the Agreebent, Engineering Services and Flood Control work could ~e accomplished this year. .AttOrney Johnston said that Agreement was based on an. agreement between Kocher and Tyler, which they would be happy to rescind if it could be completed by October 1, 1972, with no trespassing of either boundary. Mr. Beyer said he had talked with Mr. Tyler briefly, who said they were interested in .some specific time. The matter was referred to the .City Manager~ ' ~'~7~.* Mr. Shook then took up the matter of the Traffic Study of Scotland and Glen Brae. The Traffic Engineer had suggested reducing the grade of the surrounding yards, as opposed to stopping. Mr. Beyer suggested that the property owners be approached on this matter as to what might or might not be done. The Mayor directed that the study continue~ Mr. Shook brought up the matter of the 40" Oak ~ree on FruitVale near the . George Day Subdivision ~t Douglass Lane, and whether it will have to be removed. I Maylor Robeins ~referr~d the matter/to the ~a~di~;i~ten-6k~,*tt~e., }~-. WaZ~er ~ no re~orts from the Planning Department .' ~-. CZ~ l. r~e Cityc~ager a~'v~sed that it i~ no~ official** The populstion of Saratoga i8 29,200, according to the State :Department of Finance. 2. Azmexation of Westbrook to SezaZtoga ~ been approved, and a letter from Os~a~ Thtu~ner requests the Cit~ to commence formal a~aexation proceedings. Mayor :Roh~ins referred this to the PZs~niug Commission. :).. Nilje~r~ch Harm - Mz. Heyer suggested ~'riting Hz', ZvJ:LlJevieh a letter ssying unless it is removed within the: next two weeks, we will send someone in to demolish it. 4. Piedmont Road - Asked what direction the Council wished to move on this matter. Mayor Robbins said he thought the Staff should take the lead. Normally the City does not go in and repair ,a,private road, but he felt this was different since it takes so much traffic that is not rightfully theirs -- comes from all over the County. He directed Staff to start work on this. VII. COF]~fNICATIONS .1 . A. WRI'ITEN 1. From Wilson, Jones, Morton & Lynch re City of S~atoga vs. ~f. 2 ~tter fr~ Faber ~o~ston re City of S~at6ga vs. H~f. California Cu~cil~ on Intergo~rment~ Relations - J~s A. R. Johnson ~ Policy Guidelines Depmmnt of hbl~c Works - State of California ~ J~es A. S~atoga C~ber o~ Comrce - ~les R~in, Chaim~ of the' ~chitect~ Comittee. ' 6. S.C.C. ~dical Society - 0~TION EE 72-N0~H. 7. Bonnie Croft of Rit,nn~ Co~t - re ~lJe~ch ~o~rty. 8.' Elden Beck ~ Re Cmmity G~en. 9. ~. ~d ~s. ~om E~lish - ~ Cornunity G~den. Beard J. ~eom, 1741 S~atoga A~.., S~ Jose, w~ted to. ~ what the tim table is for. acquisition of the Catholic Ch~ch ~o~y. ~ ~yor Robbins s~d~the~ +wo~d be a disc~slon of this at the Executi~ Session foll~ng this motif, ~d he could gi~ no ~er n~' but wo~d t~ to get ~. ~er as q~c~'as possible.' 2. B~ne~ N~lin~ 26~ Ritm~a Ct., S~atoga,' w~tEd to ~ if the~ is a ~tim li~t on the ~ljevich pro~y ~d exactly when it~ wi~ be acc~lished. The ~or said it ~o~d be ~y 1st. ~.. M~in cited t~ worsening condition of the rest of the pro~y, concerning d~ing of ~bbish, cutti~ of t~es, etc. ~d he ~ked if s~ action co~d ~ t~en t~d closing ~ the entire pro~y.+ .~. Beyer said ~ ~ attest to ~t that to colon ~th ~the tim sched~e.. ~TEity Attorney said it is app~ently zoned at ~esent to ~mit s~e of W~ - G~g ~mis wo~d ~ a' det~led ~l~. But it is app~ent~ being ~ed for my thins, son of which ~e ,mslght~, and s~ illeg~. VIII. ~yor Robbins acquitted the ~eaence of A~iral R~ph ~c~i of the P~ni~ Co~ salon, ~d mm~rs of the ~ ~mnt Group. ~ 7 He c~led for ~ Executi~ SesSion foll~ing the re~l~ meting to discuss ~rsomel problem~ ~d c~led a S~ci~ ~eting for April 18, 5 P.M. to recei~ the mpo~ of t~ City 01erk on his c~v~ of the April ~ b~lotS. The meti~ ~omed to ~ecuti~ ~ssion at 1~:15 P.M. ~e ~ecut~ Session ~op~ ~ResoIution~a~horizi~ condemtion of Lots' H0 ~d lll ~n ~ide's Crossing South ~-f~ ~k p~oses. ~e Re~ Meeting r~con~ned at~ ~:45' P.M. ~d ~jmed.