HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-26-1975 City Council Minutes MINUTES
SARATOGA.CITY COUNCIL
TIME: Tuesday, August 26, 1975 - 7:30 P.M.
PLACE: Saratoga City Council Chambers, 13777 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga, California
TYPE: Adjourned Regular Meeting
I. ORGANIZATION
A. ROLL CALL
Present: Councilmen Brigham,.Corr, Kraus, Matteoni, B~idges
Absent: None
B. MINUTES
It was moved by Councilman Brigham and seconded.by~Councilwoman Corr the
minutes of August 6, 1975, be approved and the reading waived. The motion
was carried.
II. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. CONSIDERATION OF FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT ON APPLICATION TO REZONE
FROM "R-1-40,O00" (SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL) AND "A" (AGRICULTURE) TO
"R-1-40,O00 PC'?(SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL, PLANNED COMMUNITY)T- BLACKWELL
HOMES (PARKER RANCH), PROSPECT AND.STELLING ROADS (Cont'd. 8/6/75)
Mayor Bridges advised there had been some specific requests for additional
data at the previous public hearing on this matter, namely, a'-reDort on the
drainage situation.
Mr. Shook, Director of Public WorkS, reported he has noted the-design criteria
utilized by the consultant in his analysis, and this reflects a net increase
of 4% existing flow of Prospect Creek, than if development did not take place.
He explained that construction of a storm drain line to intercept a major
portion of the water which has its origin in the Parker Ranch and passes through
the school property to. Norada Court, would reduce the flow at Norada Court sig-
nificantly and eliminate the problems being experienced at this location. He
i ndi ca ted th ere i s a problem of~L~'~h~ C6u ,£,
storm system is privately owned ~nd'maiAtain~d" ~6 w6Fk iS p~6~6~ed t6 ~ed~'~e
the amount of debris at the entrance of this drain. However, he suggested to
alleviate any future problems of run-off at this culvert, the open space
maintenance agreement include a provision for clearing drainage swale.
Mr. Shook indicated there has been a problem of silting and bedload movement
related to Prospect Creek and Calabazas Creek, and the maintenance program
provides fort overflows from these systems.
Mr. ShooR indicated he felt the storm drain facilities in this area are
generally adequate or could be made adequate,with the proviso that we take
care of the silting problems. He felt this should be the responsibility df
the developer until such time as the cut and filJ. slope planting is well estab-__,
lished to preclude additional silting. ~T_.'T' ...... ~': ..... :'~""~
Mayor' Bridges indicated he would like to instruct the staff~ contact the
Water District in an attempt to bring some pressure to cleah up this creek
area, and also, look into the conditions under which the private drain was
granted, possibly consulting with the City Attorney to see ~hat legal means
the City might have in bringing to bear some better maintenance of this storm
drain.
Councilman Matteoni asked Mr. Shook if he felt the Northwest Saratoga Traffic
Circuiation Study was appropriate to support the E.I.R., as related to the
comments at the previous hearing..
Mr. Shook replied that with regard. to the counter at Arroyo de Arguello and
Wardell Court which was reportedly stolen during the traffic study, he indicated
that the Traffic Consultant has advised that work was done the previous year at
this same intersection, and this has been included in his computations. He did
not feel it would be inappropriate'to include th~s information in the E.I.R.
The Mayor re-opened the public hea~ing a~ 7:59 P.M.
The Mayor then brought to the Council's attention two items of written
correspondence regarding this issue, as follows:
Vince S. Garrod, 22600 Mr. Eden Road, stating that he would like
to be recognized during the public hearing to. express his thoughts
on this matter.
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Vance, 19363 Athos Place, expressing opposition
to any form of PC development employing cluster housing.
~S~'qe~C~T-214~O"A~-rowhead Lane, commented that the question was raised
l~s~ ti~ t6 ~hTther or not an economic study should be included as a
part of the E.I.R.
The City Manager indicated that although he does not yet have an official
opinion in writing, he does not feel this is a required element of the E.I.R.
The Council could, if it so chose, incl'ude this as a part of the report. He
indicated there is economic information included in'the report presented to
the Council, which includes such information as jobs, land values, etc.
John Weir, 12343 Arroyo de Arguello, addressed the Council, indicating he
'had some thoughts with regard to some of the comments of the City Engineer.
He asked who would be responsible and what is going to happen on the re-building
or increasing the access to the underpass.and the problem of the culvert under
Arroyo de Arguello. He felt this should be addressed in the E.I.R.
Also, he felt the E.I.R. should look at who is going to be responsibile for
clea~i_~those storm drains of silt or additional run-off.
M~. Weir also asked.what ~ind of guarantees would be provided toinSure that
the developerswould-take care of this drainage work and creek i~mprovements, and
he-wondered-i~ .the Ci~ty intends to chan~e'the zoning of this nro erty, whether
somethi.ng could be attached to this zoning change to guarantee t~is maintenance.
what he ~'~i's'~h~'s"6~ e6~idere8 'in the Northwest Traffic Study has been
along the lines of~*~i~'capaci'ty on theroads, and he fel~such elements
as human safety~'~i~e,'etE. should be considered, rather t~an just how much
surface is there.
Mr. Weir felt it should be determined whether or not a strict cost benefit
ratio is or is not required, and he felt it would be in the best interest
of the City ~o sit down and take a look at some of the basic figures to see
if there would be a financial burden to bear.
R~ssell'L. Crowther, 20788 Norada Court, addressed the Council, indicating
he would like to comment on Councilman Matteoni's question at the previous
meeting as to whether or ~0t it was felt the proposed mitigation plan on
the school property would resolve the flooding problems° and stated he would
like to use some slides to illustrate some of his concerns.
Mr. Crowther then presented a sketch w~ich included Prospect Road and the
school property, as well as the Parker Ranch property, and indicated that the
plan is to divert the water that flows into this creek system over to Prospect
creek, thus reducing the amount of flooding in this area. He indicated there
are three creek systems that flow into this storm sewer, and his concern is
this storm sewer flows along and comes out i,n the box culvert under the street
where Prospect Creek goes under Arroyo de Arguello and the railroad tracks,
and the level difference is such that if this box culvert is full, there won't
be very much flow through the system.
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He stated there is concern that diverting the water into the Prospect Creek,
~6~T~'Y~ through this box culvert, may not solve the problem. Also,
~St~{e'~h~e is a fundamental concern about the box culvert and whether it
is capable of taking increased flow or if there might have to be additional work
done in making that larger.
He indicated another concern of his was the.fact that the press had quoted him
as saying that~!~h~CooW-Cl~ge~log~r~0~t he had concluded there
was a landslide hazard~ ~n~'h~"~om~n~ed he"had ~entioned in his report that
Cooper-Clark did some work on that property.~H~.~'~d~'~!~d-'~o~'t~e'd .... ~'
to infer this as he had not seen the Cooper-Clark Repo~T~ doesn't ~o~'~''~
this hazard exists, but was merely asking if it does exist, that the report be
made available.
Mr. Crowther indicated that another thi'ng which wasn't mentioned before is
that the McLaughlin report which was recently issued wi.th regard to the position
of the Shannon Fault mentions that~t~~id~.t~'~r~"is shown
as a large landslide area. He further cOmm~t~d'~hat-the'~ork"tha~ was ~one by
Applied~S~[~Chanics indicated a number of landslides; however, they did
not have'~lTdes in that area, and it was eluded to by someone on the staff that
now this landslide area had been identified on the northwestern part of the
property, something would have to be done about it. In view of this, he felt
this is another thing to be looked into on the northwestern side, as the road
goes through this large landslide area.
Mr. Crowther commented it is also their concern that there might be other
potential landslide areas which have not been identified. He indicated that
the McLaughlin Study did entaill a~ photograph studies which revealed many
landslides, and he caught a very ~'~rge landslide which was not indicated in the
local studies. He indicated he was concerned with this kind of discrepancy.
With regard' to the traffic study, Mr. Crowther indicated they have not had an
opportunity to conment on this, and he indicated there were several inadequacies
of the study brought up b~P~n~]Commissioner Martin which have not yet been
corrected, and if this is g~i~g to be included in the E.I.R., he felt these con-
cerns should be mentioned.
Mayor Bridges advised that the concerns brought up by Commissioner Martinhave
been corrected, and he would make available to Mr. Crowther a copy of the
corrected document.
Mr. Crowther indicated that they have in a letter to the Council identified a
large number of questions by citizens with regard to economic impact of this
project. He referred to Public Resources Code, Section 21001, where it is
stated that it is the reqOirement of all governmental agencies to consider
qualitative factors; as well as economic and technical factors, including
long-term costs and short-term costs/ Mr.. Crowther commented that this doesn't
clearly indicate that a cost benefit be computed, but does indicate that economic
costs should be considered in the E.I.R. He felt this would be helpful in
answering such questions as "Who will pay the costs of correcting the problems
of erosion and filling along Prospect Creek?." and "Who will pay for increasing
the size of the box culverts?" Also, he indicated there were questions about
the widening of the bridges on Wardell and Prospect. He felt there should be
some definitive statement in the E.I.R. to assess this impact and know who is
responsible for these costs. H~ indicated another concern is the fact that the
site is a high fire hazard area, and there is also the question of fire protection
costs. Another is maintainence costs, and he indicated there are high statistics
on maintenance costs in hil.lside areas.
He mention another concern was that of scenic impact'and a way of measuring this
in the E.I.R. He indicated they had asked for data which would give the elevation
of rooftops relative to the the neighboring bridge. He felt ths would also
provide some form of committment to'the developer.
Tom Sawyer, 20790 Norada Court, commented with regard to .the traffic study,
in which the consultant had included data for the year prior to make up for the
disappearance of one of the meters. He pointed out that during this year there
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have been several more homes added in this area, and the road patterns are
different than the previous year. Therefore, he felt this information may
now be invalid.
Linda Stuckey, 22600 Prospect Road, commented that the road
broken, and therefore, she felt the count on Prospect Road would be off quite
a bit. She was unable to relate the precise location On Prospect Road where
this had been, however.
Mrs. Stuckey commented at the last meetingit was asked who the owners of the
Parker Ranch were, and one of the owners of the land, Mr. Mordike, stood up,
indicating there were approximately 19 other owners.
Mayor Bridges indicated he would ask the staff to request'this information
from Mr. Motdike.
Mrs. Stuckey further mentioned that one of the previous Planning Commission
Meetings, one gentlemen very eloquently challenged the Planning Commission as
to what each member of. the Commission felt he had done~to promote open space,
and the response of'the:Planning Commission was "That'is out of our realm
go to the City Council." Mrs. Stuckey indicated she would like very much to
have this person attend a City Council Meeting and comment~as before.
Mrs. Stuckey then asked if anything has been looked at along the lines of~")
~'~'~d'~ter lines as they relate to earthquakes.
Mayor Bridges commented that he sees this as a part of the project itself, and
not the E.I.R.
Mr. Van Duyn, Planning Director, explained that this wouldbe a structural
requirement, and would have to conform to the Building Code.
Mr. Heiss, Civil Engineer for Blackwell Homes, addressed the Council and then
presented some vi~graphs pertinent to some of the previous items spoken to
this evening:-'
With regard to hydrology, Mr. Heiss 'indicated that through the proposed mitigation
elements for the Parker Ranch,'~i~'~ii~{i~n-Wou~d be improved. He illustrated
the location of the ~ii~i~iTd'~a~e~a'Ei~i~i(s~,~:h6~'h~}out the drainage
basin which goes into Ve~ei~ould aff~t'~h6'ark~r'~an~ negatively. He
P h
indicated there is approximately 69 acres involved here, and it is proposed to
remove approximately 37 acres ~Fd~h~s~ai~e~ystem by constructing this
particular storm line. Mr. Heirs ~o~t~a~t~t'~h'~re was some concer~ about
which channels would be cut off by the storm line. He pointed out the major
swail which forks into three segments, and indicated this drainage facility would
pick up all three of these segments.
Mr. Heiss confirmed the fact that development of the Parker Ranch increases the
flow by approximately 4%; however, he didn't feel this was the problem~Y~- the
problem was that of siltation.
He indicated thene were se]3ral consultants who worked on the E.I.R., one of whom
was Professor George Si~lgy~.a hydr61ogy professor at San Jose State College who
has done a'great deal'.of consulting all over the world, and he had certain
opinions regarding the drainage system in this locale, as follows:
"Unfortunately, we have heard an example of residential occupations
of flood plains on Calabazas and Prospect Creeks with inadequate pro-
tection for the residents. It must be emphasized that these conditions
are not attributible to the development of the Parker Ranch. The
topography of the land indicates that these conditions~2~i_'e~S~
a greater or lesser extent for a long time."
Mr. Heiss~ agreed that he feels this problem of siltation has occurred in the
past and will'continue to occur, and the results depend on good engineering,
good control of the structures and improvements to the existin~ drainage systems.
Mr. Heiss indicat~ he feels this is the key to the situation, as they feel they
can improve the situation by the various mitigation el~ents presented.
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Professor Si(~a~presented several things which he felt could be done as a
part of the mitigation plan, including t6e'bypass~drain.'He also suggested
installation of various siltation devices to be constructed within the Parker
Ranch itself, which help slow the silt down and prevent it from reaching the
lower segment of the property.
Mr. Heiss indicated that Envirosalso reviewed the data and had similar ~tate-
ments regarding the situation. They indicated that the property in its current
state shows many gullies currently causing erosion on the hillsides and there
is considerable sedement for surrounding drainage systems. Thei'r opinion was
that the subdivision development would decrease siltation of'the surrounding
creeks because siltation b~sins will have natural and mandated effects, and
will help to stabiHze hillsides.
~Mr~Heis~-fu~h~f~.ected-~h~v~'~s"'s'comments~hi.ch~c~~t~'thi~s
~conversiOn wi.ll~t~ Combine i n~reased wi l~l ife'~tat ~and deepeased~eros]~n'~
~Of--the~hiJq~s~.desT-~He-i:nd~ca.~ed-th~s same~con~iis~.o~lT6 echoed' b~'~he
Bigtic Consultant for the Center of ~vironmental Design. He stated it his
conclusion, based on these consultantS' opnions, that after development of the.
Parker Ranch, there are going to be several things occur~Ln.~g, such as the
installation of the bypass system and decrease in thesi~tat~on occurrences;
due to the change and character of the terrain, control of the water that
presently leaves the site; areas of gullies where uncontrolled water is in the
channel wil-1 now be controll~_~as a part of the development plan. With
regard to the question how this is quaranteed, he pointed out that.these con-
ditions are bonded to guarantee their performance.
Mr. Heiss.' commented that he feels these elements do a great deal to improve
the total situation.,.~and'th~O~'~t~tion of approximatelv~$40,O00. O0
or .$50,000.00 by wa~'o~'f~s~t~'~e~char~d for the developmen~ can be spent
to improve the drains in these lowe~ areas.
Councilman Matteoni asked Mr. Heiss ~if he would respond to Mr. Crowther's
comments with regard to the box culvert and its capacity at Arroyo de Arguello,
and the elevation at that location in comparison to~. the elevation where the
water enters the inlet at Norada Court.
Mr. Heiss~.commented that the elevati~ons as they ~xist are quite ample, and
the particular storm line at Norada~Court has a 1½'percent grade, a~d the
· invert of the pipe is approximately 600 to 700 feet in distance, with 6 or
7 feet of differential in the grade and box culvert.l I~ was h~s understanding
~r. Crowther was'concerned about the siltation in the box culvert, which re-
duces the ability for the water to empty; however, it was his feeling there is
amp~en grade between th~se two p6i~nts to insure adequate flow. He further
commented that even iflthe water fro'm the culvert were higher tha~ the flow
line, this hydralic grading is really water surfacetO water surface, and
there must be continuously several feet of differential, either in the pipe
line or the the water surface. Mr. Heiss~stated this would be a relatively
simple matter to examine the improvemen~ plans for that facility to see if
that pipe was at 1 percent grading.
Mr. Heiss then commented with regard to traffic. He-indicated they have taken
the Northwest Saratoga~Circulation Study, and superimposed on that the effect
of the Parker Ranch. He then presented an overlay which was used in the lraffic
Consultant's study. He indicated that going on the basisof what they ~timate
to be the traffic flow out of the Parker Ranch, and utilizing the Consultant's
estimate, it was felt that the traffic in .the area would divide itself up into
percentage~o~ent north, and a ~certain percentage movement south.
a certain
He stated .~h~'t~'.-'~_~ has at'~'mpted to show the effect on the surrounding streets.
He indicated there are lO 5 dewlling units proposed, and with 12 trips per day
there are 3,260 trips per day generated out of the. project. Usin~ the Traffic
ConsUltant's.distribution, they findz 315 of these trips going south and exiting
via Comer Drive. These trips will split at Comer Drive, either by a 28 percant
split or a 50% split. Therefore, on Comer exiting east yob would have from
158 to 250 trips to exit onto Pierce Road. ~his represents a substantial
percentage increase, as far as Comer' Drive is concerned. At the end of Pierce
Road, there is a spliting of traffic, with the primary amount going to Pierce
up Highway 9 -- 126 to 200 trips, which represents, which represents a 4 to 7
percent increase in traffic 6n Pierce Road. On Arguello, traffic working north
would be from 65 to 158 trips, and these would in turn.provide Wardell with 39
to 103 trips going easterly-on Wardell, representing 3 to-9 percent increase
of traffic on Wardell. The remainder going north on Arguello, 21 to 55 trips,
representing a 2 to 5 percent increase.
He indicated that the remaining 945 units are projected to exit the property at
Prospect Road, which would represent an 8 percent increase in the traffic in
this short length of Prospect. Once at Prospect, the traffic wil~ split again,
and there would be 380 to 400 trips going northon Stelling, representing 5 percent
increase in traffic on Stelling. The remainder of the traffic would go east on
Prospect, 580 to 600 trips, or a 4 percent increase.
Mr. Heiss indicated that as a part of the Parker Ranch development there were
certain features which were included as a part of the mitigation plan. These
include the bridgeeconnection at Prospect, and also the bridge at Maria Lane
?w~t6'~I~d~6~a~"~'t'h~ ~fety in the area. 'It would also include
~ide~in~'.Pr6S'p~ct"Road'i~{~i~rticular section and joining in the improve-
ments to be constructed with the County.at the Stelling-Prospect ~ntersection.
Also included is the extension of CombrDrive adjoined with the Hunter develop-
ment.
Conclusions were given by various consu-ltants:~f~i:a(~:--~Ke.'~FgraF~i~. Enviros
concluded that there does not appear to be any '~igni~Can{'~aV~Fs~~~mpact, even
though some streets will receive more than lO0 percent increase in'average
daily traffic. The Center of Environmental Design concluded that it is their
opi.nion the Parker Ranch project does not create a traffic problem.' The City's
own traffic engineer stated: "The proposed volume would not exceed the capacity
of the streets."
Councilman Kraus inquired with regard to the earlier conrnent about a road going
through a landslide area,' and asked if Mr. Heiss could comment on.this.
Mr. Heiss pointed out the landslide area he.believed was being referred to
(McLaughlin map}, indicating that there are several other small landslide areas
indicated on the map; however, these have not'been classified as to depth or
their ability to mitigate.
Councilman Kraus a~ked why this particular are'a was s~lected to put the bridge.
Mr. Heiss commented that it is not really known.how bad that landslide is, and
it is the opinion of their firm, it~is a Very superficial thing and easily re-
pairabl~. Also, he indicated at this particular spot'it was necessary to remove
any trees. It is also an area where, due to water coming down off the hill,
there is a lot of erosion which occurs which needs to be controlled, which
possibly one of the things causing this landslide to occur. The other major
reason for this road configuration was to insure that there is an alternate
from Prospect Road and to discourage ~raffic from the PaPker Ranch from"
entering Parker Ranch development from entering and using Prospect Road. Mr.
Heiss indicated that they recognize the_Iproblems of soils and ~eology, and
that it will be necessary to go intoC~nd~p~"a~'~'!~ls analysis for those areas
eluded to as having a slide or fault. At that time they will be able to
determine how deep these slides are, what their causes are, if they are
correctable and, if so, how they are correctable.
Mr. Heiss then commented regarding the Cost Benefit Study. He stated that
as he sees data presented on cost benefits or economic studies, there seems
to be a great deal of confusion.. He indicated that within the E.I.R. there
were cost studies, and these were rebutted hather early by the Homeowners
Association. He indicated he has seen the citi'es do cost'benefits, and he
has seen home builders do cost benefits, and he has come up with the conclusion
that they come to the conslusion that whatever area they want to approve, they
~pprove.
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He indicated that he felt Sandra.Rennie of Enviros basical'ly has the same
feeling, as she had stated at a publ'ic hearing relative to the cost benefit
issue that this is a very complicated subject, made more complicated because
the City of Saratoga did not apply city services. She reported. a 300-page
cost revenue analysis for the City of Cupertino, and the County was of the
conclusion that the cost of conducting a complete cost,revenue analysis was
not worth.its efforts. Mr. Heiss indicated that they feel there is no question
this type of development will pay its fair tax burden. With~regard to taxation
and its affect, Mr. Heiss commented on the concern that because of the great
amount of open space, this would give a free ride on the tax roll. He indicated
that the Tax Assessor doesn't work this way, and whenhe assesses each par-
ticular lot, he takes into COnsideration the fact that that particula r person
also owns a 105th interest of.160 acres of open space. He takes that owner-
ship into consideration when establishing the appraised value. Therefore,
there is no "free ride" for that land which goes into open space, and it
will be taxed back to the individual who owns that percentage.
· .' · M~. Heiss then commented regarding maintenance, and indicated he is aware
that the City of Saratoga has had a lotof trouble because of development in
the hillsides. He indicated that his only conclusion here is that if you
analyze where this money is spent, you can almost expect that you have to
s~nd j~.,there. Roads such as Pier~e Road and Bohlman Road(~.~6~Tde'f~d'~
~'6' ~problem areas:~ however, 'he commented that'these roads Were' 6GT1T~'lo~g
~ime'a~o'without the benefit of any recent technolagy. He commented he
didn't feel it was fair to. compare these areas with a project such as that
proposed. There have been a number of technical people -- geologists,
engineers, etc. who have looked at this project and have reached certain
conclusions.
He indicated that Applied Soils Mechanics developed a rather thorough and
extensive preliminary soils and geological report,.in which they identified
and located quite a few landslides, and they .have some conclusions what can
be done with-these,particular problems. He then read this report, which
indicated some recommended solutions in overcoming soil creek problems,
and stated that the exact solution for individual areas is dependent on a
detailed analysis and potential hazard.'of the area. He indicated this same
sentiment was bourne out by Enviros.
Mr. Heiss-indicated that Dr. Frank Anderson of Enviros has stated: "My
personal feeling is the geologist that did the original E.I.R. basically did
a good job." He stated Jim Berlands, County Geologist, reviewed the data,
and commented: "In summary, the Parke~ Ranch appears to be suitable for the
proposed development, provided the geologic factors continue to be recognized
and investigated during the progness of development." Mn,~Heiss stated that
there is a tremendous amount of additional data, and there have been many
months spent by the city staff, homeowners,'consultants, etc., and the Planning
Commission, along with the staff, concluded that the E.I.R. as presented to the
Council is complete, and recommended its certification.
A citizen in the audience asked of Mr. Heiss: "If the box culvert previously
referred to is running full now, how is it going to take additional flow?"
(box culvert under Arroyo de Arguello)
Mr. Heiss replied that if it is running full, this is because it. is silted up,
and the only solution would be removal of the silt and removal of the contributing
silt. He commented, however, he felt~ the one which' was really in trouble was the
one under Highway 85, the Calabazas Creek facility. He indicated that Arroyo
de Arguello still has 3 to 4 feet of clearance,
Russell L. Crowther again addressed the Council, stating that he wonders what
form of structure would be used along the side of the school property and how
deep that would have to go under that hill, and if an analysis has been done
regarding possible plugging of that structure.
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Mr. Heiss indicated that there would have to be put in upstream of this area
some kind of siltation dam which would control the silt and debris, and there
would have to be installed a debris c~t~'~'~n"f~Ti'~y. This would provide
a long sloping arrangement.of gradings'l~'~e'en~h~ta~'31ow most of the
material~t~come through, but close enough togeth~r~t6 stop the type of material
that~s__e~ ~hi s pl uggi ng.
Mr. Crowther then presented.a_slide taken f~om,the~.L,~.~(~~o_~i~c_al_~'
Study, showing an _area ~h~ ~Q so~~'~d i nd~ ~ted' that theresa- b~ t taken
i n th i s area ~: h~:b~ ~~'~ .3 ~'~2 'Ff~ t~i~ '~ .....
as opposed td ~v~"'.~6?t~hat'~hes~e'~w~F~ ~i ~. from sheet sl ~d~' O' 't6~ feet
in depth. He ask~ what would'be done to protect'the road all around this slide,
which, according to McLaughlin's map, appears to be active.
Mr. Heiss indicated that the slide as shown is schematic in nature, and it is
part of the ongoing detailed investigation to'define the exact limits of the
slide and its true character. Once this is completed, it wi.ll be possible to
analyze and determine the best way'to stabilize the slide to protect the road
bed. He further co~ented that i't is apparent that there is water that collects
in this area, and this is something which contribute~to the triggering of
activity occurring; therefore, this water has
Carl Greenle~, President, Applied Soils Mechanics, indicated he would like to
add some comments to this discussion. He stated that the boundaries of the
subject slide are not well defined, and i:f the road"is actually part of that
slide which is uncontrollable, thenit would be their suggestion the road be
moved ~5.or lO feet to get around the problem. He i~dicated that the original
plan of several years ago called fo~ the road to cross through the'slide, and
during their preliminary feasibility investigation it was recommended that the
road be diverted to go around it because when dealing with an ancient land-
slide your first feeling is to avoid it. He stated that this activity is very
difficult to determine, and that is why permanent roadways are not a~ceptable.
He indicated the depth of .the Soils Creek area would be defined in their final
investigations, and several days will be spent in def.ining the area of the~ .
ancient landslide to establish its depth and shape and~c~i~9: '~=~'~'
Mr. Greenle~ further co~ented that.nature has created a lot of blockage drains'
~F~m ' ~he ancient landslide, and as a part of'this development, they have
planned on filling some of these areas with enough soil to dig and divert the
drainage that i~ now blocking this area.
Mr. Crowther commented that the County maps .by Rogers and Armstrong indicate
a fault line at the area known as the "delta", and he wondered tO:what extent
this was. Also, he co~ented that Mr. Berkland in his letter to the City had
indicated these faults as shown on the map as potentially active, and he wondered
to what extent the instability in this areaScOuld be. He :inqui red if'these
studies were undertaken and a fault'was located across the road, how this might
affect the environmental impact on this project.
Mr. Greenl~a~ef~rred to-the latestMcLaughlin map, indicating that there are
no active ~ult lines nunning through this particular area that Mr. Crowther
refers to. He indicated as part of their final investigation, they would ~e
doing extensive geological work to determine whether or not the geologic~jng~:
indicate fault lines.
Councilman Kraus asked,C~2in reference to the lateral line on the McLaughlin
map, what is to prevent this from slipping out.
Mr. Heiss explained that 2 or 3 things will be occuring: (~gThe area will no
longer be grazed, and because of this, there will be a change in the biotic
situation, which they feel will change amount of silt coming out of the property.
Therefore, they are proposing, asia part of this develOp~nt procedure, that~in
strategic places to put in some type of p~rvious check dam, composed primarily
of rock material. This would slow the water down, decrease the velocity, and
allow the material to pass through, but at a slower rate. This would be of a
temporary character. At the lower segment, they would go'into a more permanent-
type silt basin, constructed primarily of earch, with some kind of retention
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and bypass system. This would hold .the water back behindsthe dam and allow
the water to flow slowly. This would be somewhat permanent, unti~lT~the long-
range effects are reached 2 or 3 years down the 1.ine, when the character of the
terrain begins to change.
Mr 1 addressed the Council, asking i~ the landslide area discussed
s.:Stuckey~aga n
earlie~"~s'~where the community swim and tennis 'cour~ts<a?e~proposed.
Mr. Heiss indicated this iS correct, and it is the feeling of.the consultant
to construct this type of facility,.where if there were additional settlement,
damage to this type of facility would not be likely. He further indicated that
by the work that is proposed, they hope to improve the stability of the~slide,
permitting it to be utilized for this less intense use.
Mr. Weir again addressed the Council, inquiring who would be responsible for
maintaining the drainage system, and whether orjo'{'{~j~s~e~'~~
the E.I.R.
Mayor Bridges indicated he felt this would have to be a condition of the project.
Councilman Matteoni. indicated it is his understanding the purpose of the E.I.R.
is to%allow the Council to look at different problems and possible impacts,
as well as possible solutions. With regard-~o'the qu~_es~ion of responsibility,
it was his feeling if the Counc~i~if~/t~E~I~R~, it must decide, if
the property is to be rezoned,~hethe~ 6r not"th~T'ar~~ ~o'Fe~6n~i~tions placed
on it, and if conditions are mad[ih~"t~er~'~6d~d'6~'~hT~t~e~f sub-
dividing the property. He indicated that the City hasthe ultimate respon-
sibility, and if that project is pu~ting a burden on'the City, the project
should pay for it. It was also his feeling this E:.tuR:'-document doesn't
really decide that question.
Mr. Fablin of Norada Court addressed the Council, asking how we can talk about
planning one area, without taking. into consideration what we at( going to do
with the School District land, and what impact.of.the whole picture is going
to do with traffic, flooding, and other problems.
Mr. Crowther indicated he had one additional question. He indicated in the
original E.I.R., with regard to the landslide dangers, it was mentioned this
would be covered by landslide insurance, and he has heard since that time
that landslide insurance is no longer available. He asked what impact this
would have, and if this would be addressed in the E.I.R.
Mayor Bridges indicated it was his feeling the mitigating factors become a
part of the project, and governing body is certainl~ going to require the
developer to present evidence of mitigating those'situations which exist.
Therefore, he indicated he doesn't see how this has to do anything with
environment.
Mr. Crowther stated there was concern expressed by citizens as to the financial
impact, and if there were landslides, how that would be covered. He felt
there should be a statement in the E.I.R., on what the, potential impact ~ould
be.
Mr. Sawyer again addressed the Council, indicating he would lik~ to see a
statement as to what effect this development would have on the schools in the
area.
Mayor Bridges advised Mr. Sawyer'that there is a letter ~included in the E.I.R.
from all the school districts concerned
It was then moved by Councilman Kraus and seconded by Councflman Brigham to
continue this public hearing to October 1, 1975. The motion was carried.
Councilwoman Corr co~ented that she is of the understanding the County Board.
of Supervisors was presented with a seismic safety element, and wondered if
this could be included as a part'of the E.I~R.
The City Manager indicated he would investigate this.
Councilman B~igham indicated there are some area i n which he wouqd like to
have clarification: 1) Cost benefit analysis -- current costs and current
revenues -- to determine what kind of a tax impact this .is going to have.
2) Whether or not it would be appropriate to include in the E.I.R. a section
on transit and how .it relates"to"the project
Councilman Kraus was in.agreement with Councilman Brigham t~at an economic
impact report of some sort is needed. He further indicated he would like to
receive more detail with regard~ to soils and geologic testing, indicating
that he finds it difficult to certify the E.I,R. as complete if these tests
are going to be made at a later time
Councilman Matteoni commented that he would have a problem in continuing with
an in-depth investigation, as it has been indicated this would be an ongoing
geologic investigation.. He indicated he would like to have further consideration
given, however to the matter which Mr. Crowther addressed pertinent to excess
water run-off, and also, he would like the staff to take another look at the
~£~ffi~ET'~culation pattern.
The City Manager requested the Council articulate what specific type of infor-
mation they would like with regard to the cost benefit study.
Councilman Brigham indicated he felt this should include current costs.vs
current revenues, on a year-to-year basis, and also, on a comparative basis.
The City Manager advised this information ~ould have to come from the City
staff, and he would like to report back to the Council what this proposed
study would cost, i n terms of staff'time. He indicated he could report this
information at the next regular meetingof September 3rd.
It was further suggested the staff Obtain the latest information as contained
in the McLaughlin Report and the McLaughlin Map, and have this available for
the meeting on October 1st.
Resolution No. 748, Certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report, will
further be considered at the continued meeting on October 1st.
B. CONSIDERATION OF CHANGE OF ZONING FOR BLACKWELL HOMES (PARKER RANCH), PROSPECT
AND STELLING ROADS, FROM "R-1-40,O00" (SINGLE-.FAMILY RESIDENTIAL) AND "A"
(AGRICULTURE) TO"R-1-40,O00 PC".(SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL, PLANNED COMMUNITY)
(Cont'd. 8/6/75)
It was moved by Councilman Matteoni' and seconded by Council this matter be
continued to the-regular meeting 6n OctOber 1, 1975. The motion was carried.
ADJOURNMENT
It was moved by Councilman KraUs and seconded by Councilman~'~o':6T~m~t]~g'~
be adjourned to an Executive Session fo~ discussion of Personn~l'Ma(~sT'~f~~
motion was carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 P.M.
spectf bmitted,
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