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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-03-1973 City Council Minutes MiINUTES SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL PLACE: Sarat6ga CfF~k/f ~h'ambers~ '13777 Fruit~aie Av2., Saratoga, California · TYPE: Regular Meeting I. ORGANIZATION A. ROLL CALL rPresent: Councilmen Dw~er, Bridges% Diridon, and Smith Absent: Councilman Kraus B. MINUTES It was moved by Councilman Dwyer and seconded by Councilman Bridges that the minutes of October 3, 1973, beapproved. The motion was carried. C. APPOINTMENTS The City. Clerk administered the Oath of Office to William Buchanan and Becky Leong for their appointment as Youth Members to the Parks and Recreation Commission. D. PRESENTATION 1. Mr. Norm Matteoni, Chairman of'the May0rts Select Committee for Review of the Demonstration Bicycle Route System, indicated that the Committee is not looking for action on this matter tonight, but rather, would suggest that it be scheduled for discussion at a future Committee of the Whole Meeting. He suggested that after some of the problems of the interim report have been examined at a Committee of the Whole Meeting, the Committee come ~ack before the Council for appropriate public hearingS. This was acceptable to th& Council, and further discussion will be scheduled for a future Committee of the Whole Meeting. II. BIDS AND'CONTRACTS None III. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES AND FORMAL RESOLUTIONS A. ORDINANCE NO. 38.12.4 (Cont'd. from 9/17/73) Ordinance .of'lhe Ci~ of Saratoga Amending Article VI of Chapter 4 of the Saratoga City Code,,Providing for'the Granting of Franchises. for Cable Television Systems in Said City ' The City Manager&xplained that this ordinance, ~s~well as'Ordinance 38.54, w~s~a~=~du6e4 at the~ra=~ting-~n-Oe~t~ber--3rd-~__He--f~r~her cxplaincd ' that Ordinance 38.12.4 amends t~e ~asic enabling'o~dinance to comply with F.C.C. regul~tign~.- He' indicated that he has had several conversations with the applicant for this.f~anch{se, and there are a couple of 'areas that have to be worked out in order to arrive at an agreement. Heindicated that Maz._Nisb~mura_from Commuaicationz~qVstems_Corporatio~_is_[~zesent ~nawer any questions regarding the.proposed o~ain~nce. The City Manager indicated that he is recommending an extension of two weeks before final adoption oflthese ordinances. He explained that in making the ORDIN~qCE NO. 38.12.4 (Cont'd.) amendment to O~dinance'38.12.4, there-was significan~ modification per- ~aining to non-basic service, and the wording needs to be modified beyond what has already been done. He i~dicated in additiod tothe above change, there are a couple of questions Mr. Nishimura has with'regard to this proposed ordinance. The basic area of cohsideration in Ordinance 38.54 is that pertaining to the cash bond. Mr. Nishimura addressed· the Counci.1 and indicated that he felt the primary changes were those of substance in~ the two proposed ordinances, and in some c'~ses, a matter of clarifidation of some of the terms. He indicated that · one~of the requested hhanges would. be the.time period in which to build the system -- from twelve months toC~iL~it.e~.~months. In additionl he stated · there are changes from the Vriginat proposal submitted in November 1971. Mayor Smith inquired ~f there. could be any guarantee to insure that the difficult reception areas would be;completed within twelve months. Mr. Nishimura stated that hislc0mpany ~id submit in their Original proposal in 1971 an outline map of those areas to be served initially. Mr. Nishimura was of the feeling that the Big BaSin area was one of the areas which would receive service first. He further. indicated that the·y would be interfacing with Signals at the north edge of town, and their pian.~oul~ be to start construction ina 1 a theref6~e~ the 'time l~p~e between serving the !. r~as;, interface boundaries and the Big ~asin area woutd~not be' that great. Following additional discussion co~ce~nin~ esei~a~ed ti~e for installation', location of the headiend s't~tion, ~dd possible modifications to the pro- posed o~di~ance,~!t was moved by Councilman Bridges and seconded by Councilman Diridon that discussio~,of this matterb~ontinued at the October 9th Committee of the Whole Meeting. The motion'was carried. B. ORDINANCE NO. 38.54 (Cont'd. from79/17/73) - Ordinance Granting a Franchise to. Communications Systems Corporation to Construct, Operate and M&intain.a CableC~elevision System within the Cit~ of Saratoga It was moved by Councilman Bridgesland seconded by Councilman Diridon .that this be continued fo the October 9th Committee of the 'Whole Meeting and be re-agendized ~ith Ordinance 38.~2.4 for the next regular meeting. The motion was carried. C. RESOLUTION NO. 85.9.11 - Resglution Amending Resolution No. 85.9.8, Adding to Basic. Salary Classes, Employment Position Classifi- cations and Compensation Schedule for Employees of the City of Saratoga · The City Manager advised that thisZresolution modifies the previous job description of the City's Code Enforcement Officer,· the primary changes being the~ddcational requirements;and salary range. It was moved by CouncilmAn Bridgesiand seconded by Councilman Diridon that Resolution No. 85.9.11 be adopted.. The motion was carried. D. RESOLUTION NO. 669-1 - Resolution Amending Resolution No.' 669, Authorizing Transfer of Funds Between and/or Among Funds It was moved by Councfiman D{ridon 2and seconded by Councilman Bridges that Resolution No. 669-15e adopted. The motion was carried. E. RESOLUTION NO. 678 ,-Resolution of %the City Council of 'Saratoga Authorizing the Execqtion of the Agreement for State Administration of Local Sales= and Use Tax It was moved by Councilman Dwyer anJ seconded by Councilman Bridges that Resolution No. 678 be adopted. The~ motion was carried. ~.2 F. ORDINANCE NO. 38.55 - An Ordinancelof the City of Saratoga Amending Article 2 of Ch~pter!'14 of the Saratoga City Code Relating to Uniform Local Sales and Use Taxes Itwas moved by Councilman Bridgesiand seconded by Councilman Diridon that Ordinance No. 38.55 be introduced and the reading be waived.· The motion was carried. IV. SUBDIVISIONS, BUILDING SITES AND ZONIN~ REQUESTS A. .SDR-1047 JORN P. MC LAUGHLIN, VIAiREGINA (Cont'do from 9/17/73) The City Manager explained that on~ of the conditions being appealed in this matter is the removal of a tree situated in front of the applicant~s~l~tr~ He .indicated that each member of the Council had been to this site to ~i'~ , the tree. CounCilman Dwyer commented that he was of the opinion thatl a retaining wall wgUld be necessary before a driveway could be built at all. Cguncilman Diridon&ommented [hat he 7didn't know if the applicant could· build a retaining wall and stay onetheir own property. Following additional discussion of~this matter by the Council, it was moved by Councilman Dwyer and seconded by Councilman Diridon that the request for · reconsideration of conditions be denied. The motion'was carried. B. SDR-1073 JAMES RODRIGUES, WOODBANK WRY The City Manager advised that the cpnditi'on which is being requested for reconsideration is Condition II-E of the Planning Staff Report. This con- dition pertains to the constru~io~n of~an~_~ighteen-foot roadway~fO~ ~i~'~'~'~ni0 [h'e' p~6p~f"-Re inFiY~e~ .fhe Pianni~g Commission has modi- fie'~ this c'on~i'tion ~o r~ui~ Co~s'~uction of the ·roadway to eighteen feet for the first 141 feet, narrowing totwelve feet the remaining distance to the building site. , It was moved bY c°unci~man Bridges ~nd secondedby Codncilman Diridon that modified Staff Report', ~ated'Sept~mbe'r 24, 1973, be app~oved. The motion was carried. C. SDR-1066 RICHARD CALARCO, PIKE ROAD The City Manager explained that this request for reconsideration of con- ~t~p~ns per_~tains to Conditions II-B~ C and I, these Ib~i~Tc0~diti~h~ g~n~r- ~!.~I'~_~d~7~f~r~new construction ~n Pike Road. Re indicated [~'~ it would be his recommendation to consider this request at the time the Kirkpatrick , matter ~(~B~m{O~7~'iS ~0n7~id~re~ Zt was moved by Councilman Smith and ,seconded b,~ Councilman Bridges that this matter be continued to the nex~ regular meetinB. The motion was carried. D. TRACT 4826 SARATOOA'Z~O~HILLS, MI~3EVICH DRIVE A~ SARATOOA-SUNNTCALE ROAD It was moved by Councilman Diridon and seconded by Councilman Bridges that improvements for this tract b~ acce~ted for construction only. The motion was carried. -3 - E. TRACT 4954 SARATOGA.'FOOTHILLS, FRUITVALE. AVE. AT CRISP DRIVE It was moved by Councilman Dwyer and seconded by Councilman Diridon that , improvements be a~cepted for Construction only. The motion was carried. F. SDR-988 W. LOCKWOOD HAIGHT, GATEHOUSE CONDOMINI~MS The City Manager indicated that this is continued from the September 19th City Council Meeting, at which tim~ the question arose as to'who was re- sponsible for landscaping once the~Landscaping Performance Bond was released. Headvised that it is stated~in the C.C.&R~s forthe condominium development that the the developer shall assume responsibility for maintenance of the landscaped area adjacent to Springer Avenue. and Fourth Avenue, and this area shall be maintained as a part of the overall improvements of the subdivision. It_w~a~_moved byCouncilman Dwyer and seconded by Councilman Bridges that -~he staff' ~'au~d~to'release the $2,000 Performance Bond. The motion was carried. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. VI. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS A. MAYOR 1. Annoumced Executive Session to follow this meeting. B. FINANCE 1. Payment of Claims It was moved by Councilman Bridges and seconded by CounCilman Diridon that the disbursementS, 17955 through 18037, be approved and the Mayor be authorized to sign the warrants. The motion was carried. C. COUNCIL AND COMMISSION REPORTS. t. Recommendation from Parks and Recreation Commission Co.ncerning Tennis Court Lighting-.at Saratoga High: School The City Manager explained that. in the'1973-74 Capital Improvements. Budget, there were funds allocated. for construction of lights at the tennis courts at Saratoga High-School, as well~as a joint project with the Saratoga~Losz Gat0sl'Parks and ReCreation District. He indicated that _ one' concern expressed was wh~ ~ffect these lights would have on the~ neighbors and what time these lights ~ho~l~ be.on.' He indicated tha Parks and Redreatio~.Commissioh. is recommending. approval for allocation of these funds on the condition[that: 1) One-hal~ !of'~the 'lighted courts be available !~or open play by the .public Monda~ th[u T~ursday evenings ~and Friday, Saturday and Sunday all the courts be left open. 2) The tennis court lights ~ould beleft on past 10:00, unless valid complaints are received by residents. I~ was moved by Councilman Dwye~ and seconded by Councilman Bridges that the policies recommended by the Parks and Recreation CommiSsion concerning the tennis court lighting be approved. The motion was carried. 2. Parks and Recreation Commissio~ Re: Parks use Hours. The City Manager indicated thatl the Parks Commission has been reviewing the type of use the parks have 'been receiving~ 'The Commission has recommended that all parks be closed to the public.between the 'hours of 7:00 P.M. of eaCh'day until' sunrise of the following day November thrU April; and 10:00 P.M. of each day to sunrise of each day May thru OctOber.. It was felt 6his would help to~provide for additional safety in the parks, as wellaS help deal with some,of the complaints from neighbors With regard to activities in the parks after hours. It was moved by Councilman Bridges and seconded by Councilman Diridon that the Council adopt a minute resolution approving the hours for park use as'indicated above. The m6tion was carried. · 3. Recommendat{on from the Planning Commission Urging the City Council to Adopt an Emergency Ordinance to Prevent Conversion from One-Story Residences to Two-Story Residences Mayor Smith indicated that [he'Planning Commission at their meeting of September 24, 1973, had taken action urging the City Council to adopt an Emergency Interim. Ordinance tolprevent' conversion.of existing one-story residences to tw.o-story.residenCes. The Mayor commented that the Council has ~xperienced qonsid~rable p~oblems with new construction in this re- spect and has directed the. Planning Commis~ionto develop a policy con- cerning new construction, ~nd'~ suggestion was brought up to consider a similar ordinance applicable t8 'add-on or reconstruction of existing residences. The City Ma~ager·indica~ed'/~ h~d.disc~ssed ~his suggestion with the City Attorney:and is recommending against adoption of an emergency ordinan~ to cover existing. residences a~.this time. He stated that they could ascertain no basis f~r this tobe considered an."'emergency" in the community. He further stated that there are a number of issues pertaining to "two-story'I~.that~ne~d clarification prior' to!considering an ordinance such as th~s,7.~ndv'a~s~ a ~i~f4~entiatio~ made'b~tw&en "new homes" and "existing home~"j Mr. Warren Herr, 12617 Radoyka. Drive, commented thatit~Was his under- standing this was not the first time this problem has come before the Planning Commission, ~nd he made r~ference to'the matter concerniRg con- stru~tion of two-story homes ·i~ the Osterlund development across from City Hall. Mayor Smith explaine'd that the~e complaints were relevant to new structures, and that is an 'entirely different issue than thatof existing homes. Mr. Herr inquired if there wasn't some way the Codncil could pass temporary legislation. He indicated thai in talking with other cities, he learned that they do enact such ordinances for additions to existing structures, and in most cases,. they required obtaining of a varience, followed by a ten-daywaiting period to consider any complaints from area residents. Mr. Walker, DireCtOr. of Planning, indicated that he was not familiar with this policy by neighboring cities. Mayor Smith asked the City AttOrney to comment 6n two issues -- ~) the legality of such an ordinance; and 2) the idea of an "emergency ~dinance". - 5 - PROPOSED TWO-STORY-ORDINANCE (Cont~d.) City Attorney Faber Johnston c'ommented that there is no'question that .under the. City's general legislative power and zoning, it can regulate the height of buildings and th.e number. of stories. He stated that under tthe .S~at~ planning .Act, this must be done at a public h~aring ~t. the _Planni_pg.. Commission level or the City ~oU~cil level. Mr.; Johnston stated that there is such a thing as "emer'gency ' "if there is going to be a zoning real:threat to the general welfare of the community during the interim. He was of'the opinion there was no "emergency"'in this situationt~l~"~ Because sS~&6ne, wants to. add a second ~tory. He felt there would be no problem in the Planning Commis~sion or Council adopting normal legislation to more strictly limit the number of stories on homes, but he did not feel emergency legislation was the way to start it. Mr. RoBert Cottie stated that'he is opposed to an emergency ordinance, in that the.~on~F~cti6~'of an' additional story to an existing single- story home would not meet the ~efinition of "emergency". Councilman Bridges asked the C.ity Attorney if this individual contem- plating building this addition to his home were to come to the C~ty Offices to obtain a building p~rmit, would there be any reason to with- hold such a permit? The City ~Attorney replied that it could be with- held'only if there wasan ordinance prohibiting such use. Councilman Diridon indicated that he would favor the emergency ordinance at this time in order to study' the situa.tion and come.back with a possible solution to the entire problemI. Councilman Dwyer stated that although he is in sympathy with the residents in a.situation such as this, the city has to grapple with conflicting interests .as the need changes,. and also, he felt there would be a future possibility of a law suit.. He therefore indicated he would share the City Attorney~s' view concerning enactment of an emergency ordinance. After hearing additional comments from members in the audience, as well as the staff and Council, it was requested that the*City Attorney give verbal example of such an emergency ordinance. This was done, and followi~ a b~ief discussion regarding the contents of this proposed ordinance, it w~s moved by Councilman Diridon and seconded by Councilman Bridges that consideration of the proposed ~rdinance (No. 3-E-11) be given at an AdjOurned Regular Meeting on Tuesday, October 9th. The motion was carried. 4. Councilman Diridon - Announced: P.~.C. Meeting ~omorrow (Oct aober 4) to discuss the Hillside Study and~ Monte Belle Ridge StUdy. 5. Councilman Diridon - Announced' A.B.A.G. General Assembly meeting on October llth; ~l~'~0~"~f pe~'~fficers. D. ·DEPARTMENT HEADS AND OFFICERS No report. E. CITY MANAGER ".' 7 " ~ ' ~ ' 1. PresentatiOn Re:-PropOsition I', .California Tax'Initiative The City' Manager'indicated that there were two items of correspondence received on- ~his ma'tte~.'!~- IMr;, Har:ry Mayfield,' President, The Good (L~_" GovernmenE'GroUp,.'ana [Tho~a~ M~!lOn, Chief Ad~inis[rative Officer and President, League of CalifO~nih Cities. PROPOSITION I (Cont~d.) The City Manager explained that at the last regular meeting he was asked to make an analysis o~ the proposed proposition and how it would affect the City of Saratoga in the financing of local government. This review was completed, and it was found that the proposition ~uld have a direct affect on local government financing in the City of Saratoga. He then presented a summary of the analysis and recommended, on the basis of this general information, that the Council go on record opposing the initiative in its present form on the basis that it has a negative affect on-local government financing. Following a brief discussing of the issue by the Council, it was moved by Councilman Smith an~.seconded by Councilman Diridon that the Council go ' on record in opposition to Proposition I. The motion was carried. 2. Status Report Re: Lynch Property, Big Basin Way. The City Manager indicated tha~ at the last regular City Council Meeting there was a letter presented from Mrs. Anna Loze requesting information concerning the status of the b6arded-up house on Big Basin Way near Sixth Street. He related the history on this matter and indicated that ~recentty the house has been put up for sale. Upon recent inspection of this property by the Fire Marshall and the City's Building Official, the Fire Marshall has indicated that unless certain improvements are made to bring the building up to th~ required safety standards (within a ten- day period), it is lthe staff~s'recommendation that the City should pro- ceed=with another. condemnationiorder. 3. Report Re:.Traffic Problems on Scully Avenue TheCity Manager meneioned'the'conce~ns'expressed by residents on Scully Avenue -- 1) increased traffic v~!umes ~n Scully Ave.; and 2) speeding. He reported ~hatl~he D~.partmen~ of Public WoFk~ has investigated the 'situation ~nd,feeis*there are.~t&pswhich can be taken to improve the markings in the area, such as use of reflectors on the berm at the right curye, speed warning signs, additional traffic enforcement to cut down on the odcasional §peeder. In addition to this, the City Manager indicated he has asked the Sheriff~s Departmen.t to provide additional surveillance in the area due to recent reported incidents. Mayor smith asked if it wguld ~e possible to continue this surveillance for an. additional two weeks, particularly in the parks after school, as he has received numerous calls on various situations in this area ,~iespecialy around this time of day. He i~dicated he would like to have an updated status report on this matter atI the next regular City Council Meeting. 4.. Claim for~Damages -Bernard Bog'art. The City Manager reported that ~ B~ga~is claiming damages to his property at 20541Wardell Road,~ as a result of the City~s action to abandon a portion of Wardell Road. It was moved by Councilman B~idges and seconded by Councilman Diridon that the City reject this ~laim and refer it to the City~s insurance carrier. The motion was carrie~. 5.' Crime and Accident Report - 4th. Quarter and Fiscal Year 1972-73 The City Manager reported a 22%lreduction in burglaries during the Fourth Quarter; 17% reduction i~ accidents. For Fiscal Year.1972-73, he reported 30.2% reduction in Crimes; 20% reduction in accidents. - 7 - vii. co ic xbNs A. ~ITTEN 1j Elaine Turgeon, 14355 Saratoga~ Ave., urging Council to act promptly and give serious consideration to the formation of a cross-to~ freeway..- City Manager t'o respond. -2. 'John H. Haufe, 21210 Canyon view Drive, expressing opposisition to City Council action on S~ptemb~r 5, 1973 Re: Cox Garage. - City Manager . to respond. 3. William Paul Walter, 6089 Wellfleet Way, San Jose, requesting final buildingjsite approval for one, lot (SDR-1071). The City Manager .explained that Mr. Walter is requesting final site approval be granted pri6r to his meeting the required conditions imp6sed by the Planning Commission, and after construction financing has been Obtained, he would prgceed to meet these%~[i%[i~i~'=~ It was the consensus of the Council that this co'uld not be done; however, ~. Walter'was advised if he received the necessary financing before next' Tuesday, OctOber 9th, this dou!d be agendized for an ~journed Regular Meeting for building site approval. B. OR~ 1. ~s. Fred mlsenrath, ~'C~ir~a___~j~.~.~i,,. committee be formed to look at:p~0~fems;with regard topublic access channels and the 'cable system in Saratoga. No action was taken on this recommendation at this time. VIII. ~JOURNMENT It was moved by Councilman D~er and seconded by Councilman Bridges that the meeting be adjourned to an Executiv~ Session. The meeting was adjourned at 10:20 P.M. to an Executive Session and ~an ~journed Regular Meeting on Tuesday, October 9, 1973 (6:45 F.M.). Ro - 8 -