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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-17-1973 City Council Minutes SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES TIME: Wednesday, January 17,-1973 - 7:30 P.M. PLACE: Saratoga City Council Chambers, 13777 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga, California TYPE: Regular Meeting I. ORGANIZATION A. ROLL CALL Present: Councilme~ Bridges, Diridon', Dwyer, Kraus and Smith Absent: None ~ B. MINUTES It was moved by Councilman Dirido~ and seconded by Councilman Kraus that the minutes of December 20, 1972 and January 3, 1973, be approved. The motion was carried. III. PETITIONS,~ORDINANCES'AND FORMAL RESOLUTIONS A. ORDINANCE NO. 38.50 - ~rdinance _of_ ~he_C_i~y of S_ara. t~ga_.Amepdi~g/A~rt'fcl~'TVI _ , ~ of Chapter 9 of the Saratoga City Code Relating to '~9peration of Bidycles ~ It was moved by Councilman Dwyer and segonded by Councilman Bridges that Ordinance 38.50 be ad6pted. The motipn was carried. B. ORDINANCE No. NS-3-31 - Ordinance of !the City of Saratoga Amending Zoning Ordfnance NS-3 to Allow for a Planned Commercial Zoning District for Saratoga Ecological Designs, Inc. Properties and Garcia Properties. A representative from the Northwest Saratoga Homeowners Association reRorted that they would like to go on record as being opposed totany~commerciat dev~lop- .~e_n_?~in this area. The City Manager presented a letter ~which was received from five residents on Natoma Court expressing their dissent of the existing walkway from Merida Drive onto the Garcia property and stating :that they would like to see non-commercial development of this property. It was moved by Councilman Dwyer and seconded by Councilman Kraus that this ordinance be referr j_to the Planning Co ission and that ~ motion~was~carried-~ ........ ? C. q~_~OEUTION NO. ~~B~'~j A ~[sol~tloK Pr6hib~tin~ Parking '6n a Portion of ~ ..... ,,I~-.~-~il'le~~~Avenu~tween Eric a~d 'Ascension Drive It was m~ved by Councilman Dwyer and ,,seconded by Councilman Kraus that Resolution MV-55 be adopted. The motion was carried. Councilman Diridon abstained from the vote. D. RESOLUTION N0. 651 - Resolution of Intention to Approve an Amendment to Contract Between the Board of A~ministration of the Public Employees' Retirement System and the City Council of the City of It was moved by Councilman Kr~aus and seconded by Councilman Bridges that Resolution 651 be adopted. The motion was carried. F. REQUEST~B~y~ FIRS. CLEMMER PECK RE: 'WILlIAMSON ACT (Cont. from 1/3/73) It was moved ~y Councilman Diridon th.at the request for the P~_ck~?roperty to be included under the Williamson Act be approved~a~d~h'~M~yor~rized I~ ~~~e~e~,'~ub]~to~'ap~6~l~he 'rezoning by the (Pl~nnfng Commfssi6n./'~h~ff~o~ ~s~carr-ied~- .................. 'T" IV. SUBDIVISIONS, BUILDING SITES ~D ZONING REQUESTS It was moved by Councilman ~aus and seconded by Councilman D~er that Resolution SDR-964-1, granting final building .site approval, be adopted. The motion was carried. V. PUBLIC HE~MGS A. ~QUEST OF ~0~ COCCI~DI RE: W~LLI~ON ACT The City Manager indica[ed that there is~ a staff report on this application reco~ending approval, as ~11 as a report from the Parks and Recreation Co~ission. He stated that the anticipated t~ loss by putting this under the Williamson ~ct ,~utd be approximately $1,442~to all governmental juris- dictions in that taxing district. The Mayor opened the public hearing at 8:16 P.M. There being no co~ents from the audience, it was moved by Council'man ~er and secb~[d~n~lman Kraus that the public hearing be closed. There being no further discussion by 'the council, it was moved by Councilman ~er and seconded by Councilman ~ridges that the application for inclusion o~ the Cocciard~ property under the Willi~son Act be /b~-~u[h~'e~er in~ ~h~i~e~t~bje~8~ro~f of' the rezoning ' ~PETITIONS ,~RDIN~CES ~D F~R~- RESOLdIONS (Continued) E. RESOLUTION N0. 652 - Resolution ~op~ing an Urban Service ~ea Plan add Reco~ending This Plan to L~CO. ~lanni~g Director Stanley Walker 'presented the four alternatives for the proposed Urban Service ~ea .Plan. C. W. Newell of Elgin ~sociates, representing thirty-three families ~ithin Saratoga~s Zone of I~fluence, spoke in opposition to Plan A and urged the Council to vote for Plan D, which proposes a more w~de ranging urban service policy. ~ Ovenauer,~dent, Southwe~.DeVel~n~C~rp~,-~tate~.tha~f~m ~utd ~k'~ .~ar~' ~~pme~t~.- H~ se~t i~ ~s~ ~is intent t~ ~hstruct be permanent private park landS. He ~further stated that he believes kind of development ~ich they have in mind would ~bring. the right kind of attention to Saratoga. ' ~. Robert K, e to ~s.~ated that:he-wou~d l~kej~he Council to come and take Yan ~ . ~, a look at the ~ole ar~i~'~h%~ 8~f~=i~uence and decide on a permanent basis ~at is the ideal utilization for these areas and allow them to be developed on the merits of their o~ suitability. He stated that6~ne d97~t find this kind of utilization of the lands in Plan A. It was moved bX Councilman 'D~er and seconded by Councilman ~aus that ~ be ~[~ie'd~g'Y.A~F~7oT'y~e :~ot~o~ ~ ~ar[ied~~'' 7 - 2 - V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Continued) B. REQUEST FOR TRANSFER OF CERTIFICATE TO OPERATE A TAXI CAB CO. -- FRANK E. CRUM The City Manager explained that this matter came up several weeks ago and was referred back to staff for further review. He explained that there is an ordinance requiring a public hearing to be held prior to granting this type of request. The Mayor opened the public hearing at 9:20 P.M. Mr. Louis Miles stated that he is,~the pres~n~ ownerof the Saratoga Yellow Cab Company, and due to health reasons, Mr. c~um has been operating his cab company for the past two months. He indicated that he is here to ask that the Council grant this request to Mr.~ Crum aS he is a very r~liable and capable person. Mr. Miles further stated that he has reduced his rates to help curb inflation. He stated that'there are some cases where transportation is not available to people, and it w~uld, therefore, be a necessity. He stated that Mr. Crum is presently operating in Los Gatos. It was moved by Councilman Dwyer and Iseconded by Councilman Bridges that the public hearing be closed. The pqblic.hearing was closed at 9:25 P.M. Councilman Dwyer moved that the reque. st for transfer of the ~ertificate to operate a cab company be granted. Councilman Bridges seconded the motion, and it was carried. C. THE BURL -- ALBERT STURM The City Manager indicated that this b~ilding is located on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road on the "Miljevich" property. He reviewed the chronology of events relevant to this business license application.. He explained that Mr. Sturm had made his original application for a licensZe in. October, 1972, at which time he had had conversations with Mr. Harris, Building Official, and Greg Morris, Code Enforcement Officer. Mr. Sturm had ihdicated that he was interested in doing minor work in the restoring of burls.. Mr. Beyer indicated that Mr. Sturm formally came in and applied for a business license in November, and after review by the Planning Department and the Building Official, the license was issued. Mr. Beyer 'stated that Mr. Sturm came in approximately three weeks later and asked for an application for a building permit to construct a £ire- place, and this was not granted. Approximately one week later, it was noted that a fireplace had been constructed. on the premises. The Code Enforcement Officer and Planning Director made an inspection and found that the fireplace was, in fact, in use. This was also inspected by the Fire Marshall. Mr. Morris, Code Enforcement Officer, indicated that the Fire Marshall had made another inspection today and he a~ ' .complied with Conditions 1 thrqugh 6 of the Fire Marshall's original letter; however, violation 7 still exists, and the Fire Marshall advised that it would be necessary to cap the fireplace off. Mr. Morris stated that there had been further alterations installed without the benefit of a permit. The public hearing'was opened at 9:30i P.M. Mr. Sturm indicated that he had been Using the fireplace, but he would cap it. 'He stated that he would like [o have perm{ssion of the Council, however, to use his tools, such as a vacuum, h~nd sanders, etc'. f - 3 - Councilman Dwyer asked Mr. Sturm if he could comply with the Fire Marshall's requirements about the d6ors. Mr. Sturm replied that he could meet these requirements. Councilman Dwyer stated that the Council has gone to considerable lengths to allow people to rectify situations and felt that the Council could try to work out some time frame to allow Mr. Sturm a chance to correct ~ ~'~j~ies as outlined in the Fire Marshall's letter to Mr. Sturm. Mayor Smith sta~ed that the letter from~the Fire Marshall does not state anything specifically aboht wiring. in%the stuc~ure~ Mr. Morris indicated that as he understands it, the build. ing is capable of being used for commercial business, but not for use of power tools. . The City Manager explained that the business license was issued on the premise that there would not be u~e of power tools. Mayor Smith asked Mr. Sturm if he could operate his business without the use of power tools. Mr. Sturm replied that he could operate business; however, it would be difficult. He pointed Out that the type of power tools he is using are those such aS hand sanders/band saws, shapers and a vacuum cleaner, all of which are run by three-horse motors.' Councilman Diridon stated that he senses that there maN' be something other than wiring involved here.that relates to the point of construction, in that these' power tools sometimes heat up and are fire hazards. Mr. George Hamilton, President, Saratoga Ecological Designs, indicated that this alteration of the property was done during his absence from Saratoga, and he was quite'upset about these alterations taking place Without his consent. He advised the council that this particular building, before being vacated by the Rizo family,~fZEw~as owned by an individual in the boat repair business, and this type of business was approved for wiring at that time. The City Manager indicated that it is his understanding that when the City z a on had the problems~_at~the time the R1 o! family w s lxvxng the premises, the building .was closed as"~'~si'd~'ial'~i[. However, he felt that if it is being brought up to code, the City has nO basis on which to condemn the property for commercial use. Mayor Smi[h asked if there is a sanit'ation problem involved here. Mr. Morris replied that during the time the building was boarded up, there was norecord of a sanitation problem existing. Councilman Dwyer moved that the pubti.~ hearing be' closed; Councilman Kraus seconded the motion, and it was carried. The public hearing was closed at 9:46 P.M. It was moved by Councilman Bridges that the present business license be revoked and that Mr. Sturm be allowed' to make application for a new license, ~~l?f~n'f~'~of power tools,\within the next thirty days, and that thi~' li~e~'~ee'i~'sL~If'~rI d~dditionsi~were brought up to Code at that time. Councilman Dwyer seconded the motion, and it was carried. -4 - VI. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS A. f~AYOR 1. Proclamation Designating January lthru January 51 as "Junior Month". 2. Re-appointment of three Planning Commissioners: It was moved by Councilman Dwyer and seconded by 'Councilman Kraus that the re-appointments 'of Philip Lively, Norman Martin and Stan MarShall be confirmed. The motion was carried. 3. Announced an Executive Session to follow tonight~s meeting. B. FINANCE 1. Payment of Claims - It was moved b~ Councilman Kraus and seconded by Councilman Bridges that the list of disbursements be approved and the Mayor be authorized to sign the wayrants. The motion was carried. 2. City Clerk~s Financial Report - No~ed and filed. 3. City TreasUrer's Report - Noted and 'filed. C. COUNCIL AND COMMISSION REPORTS 1. Councilman Diridon had received a ~omplaint re: John Gotman operating business out of his home again. City Attorney advised that action is being taken on this. 2. Councilman Dwyer suggested that th~ Council consider becoming involved 3. Councilman Kraus announced that plans from Monte Bello Ridge Study are expected to be bac~ in the very near future. 4. Mayor Smith announced that Santa Clara County Planning Commission has passed a "slope density" rule which will be before the Board of Super- visors next Thursday. 5. Councilman Diridon inquired if thelCity has an ordinance which prevents -construction of water heaters with an open flame in garages. City Manager to discuss this 'with the City's Building Official and report back. D. DEPARTMENT HEADS AND OFFICERS 1. Director of Public Works advised that construction would begin next month on the Underground Utility District. 2. Director of'PubliC Works advised that bid date ~or Highway 85 Project has been moved up to February 21st, with construction to begin in April or May. 3. Public Works Director indicated [hat plans and specifications should be sent to the State so that. bids Can%be taken in April or May. 4. Public Works Director, re: Calbaza~ Creek debris basin - Mayor felt it would be advisable to suggest to n~w Flood Control Board of Directors that infor- mational hearings be held on major'issues such as th{s in the future. - 5 - E. CITY MANAGER 1. Announced Adjourned Regular Meeting next Tuesday, January 23rd,' for discussion and possible action regarding salary negotiations. VII. COMMUNICATIONS 1. Letter from William Evans re: Bicycle Lanes on-Miller Ave. City Manager to respond. 2. Letter from John F. Mallory re: Emergency.Ordinance on Saratoga-Sunn~vale Road - Noted and filed. 3. Letter from J. J. Parker re: continuance of sidewalk on Lar~hmonnI- City Manager to respond. 4.. Letter from Mrs. William L. Beck re: ]Br~okside Club - City ManagEr to respond. 5. Letter from George'W. Lampr~s, M.D. requesting modifications of conditions ' on SD-879 - No action taken. VIII. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Councilman Bridges and-se'conded by Councilman Diridon that the meeting be adjourned to an Executive Session and an AdjoHrned Regular Meeting on January 23, 1973. The motion was cart'led. The meeting.wasc&djpurned at 11:00 P.M. ~' ~ ~ 'e p~_ submxt.~d~ ·city clerk/, -