HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-04-1980 City Council Minutes MINUTES
~.~.~I~ =.5 SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL
TIME: l~ednesday, June 4, i980 - 7:30 Pf~i
PLACE: Saratoga City Council Chambers, 1~777 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga, Calif.
TYPE: Regular Meeting
\,
I. ORGANIZATION ORGANIZATION
A. ROLL CALL
Present: Clevenger, Jensen,
Mallory, Watson, Callon
Absent: None
B. MINUTES (May 7, 1980) Clevenger: CorrectiOn on page
14, re: Agreement for Architectural
Services for Design of Senior
~ Citizen Addition to Community
Center, to modify vote to 2 to 1.
M/S:'.Jensen/Watson approval of
the minutes of May 7, 1980, as
modified. Carried unanimously.
II. CO~NICATIONS CO~.iMUNICATIONS
A. ORAL
1. Janet Fontenot, 19537 Eric, Concensus to direct Councilman
Dr., re: bus stop improve-. Mallory to follow up with'the
ment at corner o~ Miller Ave Transportation Agency!i~Rh%~6~Dt
and Prospect Road. She has ~ ~6'~"~6~&' [hi~'i~l~C~'6~tTM
subsequently received a
letter from the Transporta- ~Me~Cf~'~ 's~b~ opposition to
tion Agency indicating that use of concrete or removal of trees
this will be deferred, in connection/with improVement's.
Stated opposition to this
proposed improvement, and
requested action by the City
Council.
B. WRITTEN
1. DOnald and'Janet Fontenot, Same a~ above.
19537 Eric Drive, expressing
opposition to proposed plans
by Santa Clara County Trans-
portation Agency relative to
bus stop near their property
on the southeast corner of~
Prospect and Miller.
2. Charles E. Huff, President, Same as ab6ve.
Prides Crossing Homeowners
and Taxpayers Association,
expressing opposition to
proposed modification to bus
stop on the southeast corner
of Miller and Prospect.
AGENDA ACTION
I'I. CO~UN.iCATIONS '(Cbnt'd.
B. WRITTEN
3. Mrs. Nick Bastovan, 18408 Noted; to be included as part of
Paseo Olivos', urging con- public hearing on.'June 18, 1980.
sideration co annex,this
area into Saratoga.
4. Julie Black', 13909 Lynde Ave Noted; City Man.ager to respond
· urging Council to drop .the -re:'Council action on 5/21./80.
issue of high-density, low=
cost housing.-
· 5. Charles H. Over.~on, 20667 ,,~oted;., City Man~e~' to respond
Verde Vista Lane, urging :,re:Co~qil ac~6~ on 5/21/80.
rejection of proposed
Housin~ Element.
6. Andy. and MarthE Beverett !Ack~o~ledg~d"commenfs'..L
19597 Via Monte Drive,
hrging the :City Council to.
allow. those from majority.7
groups to present their
views on. public issues full' ..
and constructively.
7. Helen S. Hansen; Exec. Dir, Continued for consideration during
Catholic' Social S~rvice of:' 1980=81 budget process.
Santa Clara County, urging
the City of Sara~oga support
the Ombudsman'Program by
contributing a portion of
the unraised b~d~et which
corresponds to total county
nursiqg home beds in each
city.
8. Harlan Snyder, 20602 Ritanna Noted; letter to be included with
Court, re: consideration of discussion on public hearing.
FinalMap Approval, Tract
6676, Woodgate Homes, I~c.,
Prospect Road.
9. William V. Chapp, Regional Noted; letter to be included with
DireCtor, Real Estate and discussion on public hearing.
Buildings Dept., U.S. Postal
Service, urging favorable
ac'tion by'City Council to
.... reaffirm the Planning
Commission position in
approving the Post Office
relocation to Fruitvale Ave.
and Allendale Ave..
10. Kennetb B. Wilton, 20405 Cox Noted and filed.
Ave., expressing. appreciatio
to the City Council for its
generous donations of time
and talents.
(2)
AGENDA ACTION
.II. COMMUNICATIONS (Cont'd.
B. WRITTEN.
ll.Mardi Gualtieri, former Noted and filed.-
Councilmember, Town of Los
Gatos, enclosing results of
~uest~onnaires reflecting
current concerns of a large
section of constituents.
12.Norman J. Martin, 12524 Councilwoman Clevenger to respond.
Miller Aver, expressing diS- to letter.
appointment With City Counci
action on May 21, 1980, to'
have Saratoga pull out of the
HCD Program.
13.E.T. Barco~ 19101 Camino Noted; letter to be included
Barco, submitting a list of with discussion on public hearingl
questions relative to the
proposed relocation 6f the
Post Office.
14.Alan LeFleur, Senior Staff' Referred to staff for review and
Analyst, LAFCO, advising new comment.
Williamson Act policies
to be incorporated into
existing LAFCO policies, and
requesting comments by appro
priate city individuals.
15.Otto Crawford, President, Noted; letter to be included
Saratoga Chamber of CommerCe. with discussion on public hearing.
outlining reasons why the
Saratoga Post Office should
not be moved from the
Village to Redwood School~
16.Raisa Kocher, President~" Not~d;~'letter'tlo~be included
Saratoga Village Associatio~ wi.th discussion on ~ublic hearing.
stating reasons for opposi7
tion to relocation of the
Post Office.
III~ SUBDIVISIONS,' BUILDING SITES, SUBDIVISIONS,' BUILDING SITES,
ZONING' ;REOUESTS 'ZONING REOUESTS
IV. PETITIONS,' ORDINANCES,' RESOLUTIONS PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS
A. MEASUPZ "A" AND P~ELATED ITEMS
1. Consideration of Hardship Councilwoman Clevenger presented
Criteria a~resolution which she~e~n~l-~'~
~s ~b~i~
.~ex~tlon~applicabt[~-~unde~_~SeC'tion
Following discussion a~d revision
of the draft resolution, it was
(3)
AGENDA ACTION
IV. 'PETITIONS, ORDIb~NCES, RESOLUTIONS (Cont'd.)
A.'MEASURE "A" AND RELATED ITEMS the concensus of the Council to
separate into t~o resolUtiqn~
1. Consideration of Hardship Section 7 and Section 8 criteria.
Criteria (Cont'd.
M/S: Callon/Watson'~to adopt
~R~l~f~ 956.1, to include
only Section 7 criteria, and
direct staff to prepare an appro-
priate resolution dealing specifi-
cally with Sec~iqn 8.
It was pointed out that the intent
of the Council is to'assure that
the Measure "A" instrument has
opportunity to be looked at on its'
own merit -- that any exceptions
~ would not violate the spirit of
the measure..
The Mayor called for a vote on the
motion; the motion was carried
~ unanimously. (Resolution 956.1
will be re-drafted reflecting
amendments by the~Council, ~S~ell
2. Public HearinKs on COnsider-
ation of Requests ih
Accordance with Provis{onsloz
Section 7 of Measure "A",
Interim Restrictions as Re-
~ated to Hardshi~ Cases
a) Blackwell Homes (Tract The Mayor re-opened the public
5626) 2nd hearing hearing at 8:35 P.M.
Mr. McKeehan, attorney representing
Blackwell Homes, indicated he has
previously submitted to the Coun dl
some 24 pages outlining Blackwell
Homes' position bothas to an
exemption application and a con-
tention that under Section 8,
Measure "A" should not be applied
to the Parker Ranch. Mr. McKeehan
indicated he believes he has spoken
to most of the Criteria; however,
he cannot be assured Of this until
he sees in writing what has just
been produced by the Council.
Mayor Callon explained' the inten~
is to allow Mr. McKeehan an oppor-
tunity to review the written state-
--ment to assure that it addresses the
/ written criteria,. which will be
produced and made available very
shortly, and then come back with
any new information necessary.
(4)
AGENDA ACTION
IV. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTION! (Mr. McKeehan - Cont'd.)
(Cont'd.)
does not mean you have to come
A. MEASURE "A" AND RELATED ITEMS squarely within the provisions of
Measure "A". Blackwell Homes does
2. Public Hearings on Consid- not meet the density requirements
eration of Requests in of Measure "A", and if you are
Accordance with Provisions going to say that density require-
Section 7 of Measure "A", ments of Measure "A" must be met
Interim Restrictions as Re- to fall within Section 8, the
lated to Hardship Cases Council can just pass on the
resolution now because no developer
a) Blackwell Homes (Tract up here does .'~ meet the density
5626) 2nd hearing requirements of Measure "A".
Mayor Callon proposed that the Councilman Mallory asked what the
date of Tuesday, July 8, be procedure would be if the Council
devoted to hear issues related to granted a hardship exemption.
Measure "A". The Council indi-
cated its concensus to this date The City Manager replied that it
indicating it would make every would depend what the Council
effort tomake a decision con- grants approval on. If it is on
cerning these applications on that the issuance of the 4 building
evening. permits, they would proceed to
build. I~ would depend how the
Councilman Watson 'explained that Council dealt with Unit #1,
Mr. Tichinin, previous legal whether or not it would go back
Council for the City on issues before the Planning Commission.
pertaining to Measure "A", has
been terminated of his services. Mr. McKeehan stated his concern at
The City is in the process of this point is that the public
selecting a City Attorney, and it hearing would be continued open
would be advantageous to have until July 8th.
this individual's input at a
future hearing date. Russell Crowther, 20788 Norada
Court, presented questions con-
Mr. McKeehan commented that in cerning the Blackwell application
his opinion, the City Attorney for hardship. He indicated he is
has already properly advised the confused whether Blackwell Homes
Council concerning Measure A. is indeed applying for the exemption
Secondly,.the issues that are ~"~d~S~{6n'8 of Measure "A" for
raised in this matter are not of the 4'l'o~si' Me indicates support
the type that will take any in extending the public hearing to
attorney an 'immense amount of allow interested citizens an oppor-
time tobecome familiar with -- he tunity to review new material
can advise you properly and presented by Blackwell Homes
promptly. He would hope to have= With regard to Section 7 of
the decision by the next meeting. Measure "A", where it says that an
exemption can be given to the
Councilwoman Clevenger noted that moratorium prior to completion of
standards of the Initiative are the spe ~fic plan provided the
addressed in Blackwell Homes' pre- development in agreement with the
viously prepared statement, to provisions of Measure "A". It
show why they should be granted a would seem that in any case, the
hardship. However, she notes tha~ development has to be in agreement
density standards are not addresse~ with the provisions of. Measure "A",
The asl~d if tbis is intentional. and if a request is being applied
with regard to Section 7, he would
Mr. McKeehan stated it is their hope the Council would require that
position that the provision of the applicant would present infor-
Measure "A" that says you should mation showing that it is consistent
meet.the ~['~Tfi_'.~s~__e.i?Ki,7~Z% with the provisions of Measure "A".
.(5)
AGENDA' ACTION
~V. PETiTiOnS, O~DINANCES~ KESOLUT~D~S : The public hearing was then opened
(Cont'd.) 'i "~ i~on the application o~ McBain and
Gibbs,'Tract 6628/at 8:55 P.M.
A. MEASUPZ "A" AND P~LATED ITEMS
Marvin Burns, addressed the Council
2. Public Hearings ~n Consid- on behalf of McBain and Gibbs. He
eration of Requests in indicated,he would like first to
Accordance with ProvisionsZo ad'dress/Re~olUtion 956.1, adopted
Section 7 of Measure "A"., by the Council this evening~ He
Interim Restrictions as ReL stated the contents of this
lated to HardShip Cases resolution were not made available
. to them until they arrived here
· ~) Blackweli Homes (Tract; this evening, and then, only after
5626) - 2nd hearing the Council voted upon it, they
tried to catch fragments of what
(~r. Crowther - cont'd.) it meant and what it said. Mr.
Burns stated he believes adoption
of that resolution denied due
Also, he stated as he reads~'-'''~-. process to his clients. Mr. Burns
.. Section 7, the Council can s~di~? stated we do live under a
fically approve maps, building ~ COnstitution -- it does'have
permits and other development certain guarantees -- and that is
applications under that hardship' one of them. It is their view
criteria, but it would seem to : further that the resolution
him the applicant would have to violates Measure A, specifically
show how he was going tobring Section 9 thereof, which prohibits
his map into compliance with = amendments. Some of these criteria
Measure "A". Mr. Crowther stated are not to be found anywhere in
he would like to see some preseny Measure A. For example, there is
tation by the applicant as to nothing in Measure A as to whether
what will be done to bring the or not a project is being developed
spec~fi'c development into agree- as a subdivision or bT~ a single
ment with the provisions of ! lot owner for said owner's single-
Measure "A". fami~l residence. Also, the
~ppl. ica~f~n retroactively effective~
Councilwoman Jensen reques~pj the ly denl~s ~ hearing.
city staff make available'to'the=
~dWl~i~','~[~.~sts for hardship' Mayor ~Callon explained that what
~r M~hr~"'A". " was said to Blackwell Homes was
that the. Council wanted to give
The City Manager-indicated that them time to address any issue in
anything related to the agenda is writing. The Council did continue
in a packet at the library. the public hearing..
Councilwoman Jensen further Mr. Burns commented that the con-
commented she would like to see tinuation of the public hearing
how the applicant is complying will effectively kill the subdivision
with Measure "A" before making a, for this year because of the
judgement of whether or not it necessity to get moving wit~
does. planning and development. Con-
struction contracts, financing
Mayor Callon indicated one of th~ agreements, etc. will expire during
points of the criteria is, "Does~ this period of time while the public
it comply with the provis'ions of hearingisbeing continued, and
Measure A?" and that is to be without a decision. Thei~ position
answered by the developer. /i':.'l~ is that the Council had a public
· .hearing t~7o weeks ago,'it is having
'~he Mayor Ordered this public a pub l~c..hearing now~l and has no
hearing becontinued to a date right to continue the public
which will be established follow- ,hearing ~ it has all the informat{'gn
ing the next presentation. 2j~ik&~when the public hearing was'~
.(6)
AGENDA ACTION
IV. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS (Marvin Burns - con~:"d.) .
(Cont'd.). Mr. Burns' letder, d~[ed JUne 2nd,
' and the d~ciaration of Mr. Gibbs
A. MEASURE "A" AND RELATED ITEMS and the faht~ and circumstance~-
2. Public Hearings on Consid- stated the. las~ time Mr. Burns
eration of Requests in addressed the Council. '
Accordance with Provisions of ~i~7~ reg~d-'~o' ~he ~'~c~'tf~
Section 7 of Measure "A", 'M~fis~re A morat~ium*cons~i~hf~g~.
Interim Restrictionsas Re.- a ~r~nt, of=~sp,eci~p~ivii~es in-
lated to Hardship Cases consistent with theiii~i~ations~o~
oth~7,undevelop,~d p~6p~ies2 in~-
b) Mc Bain & Gibbs, Inc. the Measure A §~j~ct, area MrC
(Tract 6628) 2nd hearin ...... -.-~ '
Burns commented this ~s hot
(Marvin Burns - cont'd.) grant of special privilege because
they are following the procedure
commenced, and if the 'Council outlined by the City Council. It
is not inconsistent with the
does not make its decision, it
would bethe;~'oositionl6{ ~C~in limitations on Other undeveloped
~,~ ~ibbs-'.t~F[~e C~u~&{1 ~,~ properties in the Measure A sub-
' 7'~'~de'a d~i%ion a~7'~fi~g= ject area because it meets the
"'~eed._~_~_~dinanc~ says y~'&~ criteria of Measure A to the extent
~ e~empted aft~two'publ{c ~ that he has discussed. The
................ '- ~ ---- --.~_ exception should not compromise
hearings. development of the specific plan
With respect to the criteria in. for the Measure A area or compromise
the resolution the Measure A objectiveS, because
in his view, it meets them.
1) the project is being developed With respect to the requirement in
as a'subdivision, not by a
single lot owner or the owner~s Measure A that it meets Section 4
standards, Mr. Burns indicated .
single-'family residence;' ! that the improvement of this sub-
. division does not require any
with the standards .,e
Se~tibn 4 of Neasure A on
access circulation, preser- ; So far as preservation 'of the rural
' character, the subdivision process
vation-of rural character,
staging of growth, street and that this tract has already gone
storm drain maintenance .. .through provided for avoidance of
but it is not in accordance .geologic hazards, control of
with density; erosion; the requirements for
subdivision improvement and grading
3) the project is as close to com- will take care of any erosion prob-
pletionas the preparation of lems. The natural drainage system,
topograph~ and creekside vegetation
"on-site improvements (approxi- will be~peserved to the extent
mately 6 months); that storm drains are not installed
4) if the pro~ect were de~ayed. and take the runoff; development
until completion of the is staged so that public servi ~s
~ and facilities are not over-taxed
specific plan required by
Measure A, the hardships and and noise levels are minimized;
economic losses to the applican' public services and facilities are
are specified in writing in not over-taxed -- this was decided
the declaration of Mr. Gibbs ; by the City in the subdivision
filed with the City today; process. Therefore, with-the
exception of the density require-
5) the factors applicable to this ment of Section 4-a, this project
proposed and approved sub- meets the requirements of Measure A.
~ division are set forth in ~'~
AGENDA ACTION
IVf PETITIONS~, ORDInaNCES, P~SOLUTIONS (Marlene DuffiH - cont'd.)
~Contfd-.) ,
. '~ allowed a second emergency access
A."MEASURE "A" AND RELATED 'ITEMSi through the Parnas property. They
. '-. : were under the impression ,that a.
2. Public HeadingS on Consid-. through road'would go through to
eration of Requests in Pierce and be part of the overall'
Accordance with Provisions~o development of the area. Although
Section 7of. Measure "A"',' thi~,is still the eventual long=
Interim R~strictioBs as Re~ range plan', they are concerned with
lated to Hardship Cases .the circulation problems and the
:. possible pressure from new re~i-
(Marvin Burns -.cont'd.) ' dents to extend Canyon View Drive
' ; to meet their needs. They would
has been soadvised by ~h~ person like assurance from the Conncil
the Council has been charged by.i that if they grant the hardship
law to rely upon, the City. ~ provision for McBain and Gibbs,
Attorney, certainly has to carry: under no foreseeable circumstances
some weight. .The opportunity is it would allow Canyon View Drive
here for the Council as. citizens to become a feeder street into' that
.to stand up andssay that the *S~bdivi~ion. ~.~
constitutional rights=of these .r ~!. ~L" .:
people are being violated and we! Vince Garrod, 22600 Mount Eden Road,
must protect that constitution,, indicated he would like to suggest
and then let the people in favor.' the' Cou~ci~ has enbugh information"
of Measur~ A go to court and S~e ,~iD~whicb tO .make a'd~cision. He is
if they can overturn the .Council's a taxpayer in t~City of Saratoga.
decision. - and he has no desire to pay for
-I anyone else's property. The
Mayor Callon stated that the .. Council.has hadplenty of time
measure itself doesn't guide the to revie~ all of the information.
Council in adopting hardship !k~en people~igned Measure A and
criteria. : it was put on the ballot, it was
well publicized and they had am~le
Mr:..Burns indicated he would like time to read it and understand it..
some assurance that the public The Council.is elected to make a
hearing will be'closed and the decision. There have been 2 public
Council will make its decision '~ hearings and there has been ample
on the established date. time to hear everyone..He believes
it is the duty Of the'Council and
The concensus of the Council was it is derelict if they do not
to continue this hearing to July.8
and take additional input on that Heber Teerlink 21810 Mount Eden
evening. Road, indicated he joins with
: Mro Burns, Mr. Garrod and other
Marlene Duffin, 21241 Canyon Vie~ people here,in o~posing unnecessary
Drive, stated that as members of: u~due litigation. There is an
the'Wildwood Heights Homeowners -adage in the law that "justice
Association, they have followed delayed is justice denied". The
the progress of the subdivision Council's delay isTMinexcusabl~,
since early 1978 when the original and he would say thi~: "If you
plans were being discussed.. Their think it is. an idle'threat that
interest in?the development has the rest of us intend to follow
been ongoing because it is located suit behind those already before
at the dead end of Canyon View you, you are dead.wrong." We are
Drive. Their concern is specifi- talking.about $40 million in
catly the emergency .access road at people's rights; The McBain issue
the end of Canyon View Drive and has been unjustly denied, and he
the overwhelming fear that it couFl~ 9ould concur in what Mr. Burns
become a through Lroad. They were has to say, that the City Council
not 'aware that the subdiyision is exposing the people of Saratoga
that was approved-on November t979 to totally unnecessary litigation
AGENDA ACTION
IV. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS (Mayor Callon - cont'd.)
(Cont'd.)
· A~ MEASURE "A" AND RELATED ITEMS ~o file mat~ri~ ~{!~'~H~ ~G~h~il
before this meeting, and it was
2. Public Hearings on Consid- not received until this evening,
eration of Requests in this would give the Council grounds
Accordance with Provisions of to continue the public hearing.
Section 7 of Measure "A",
Interim Restrictions as Re~ Mr. Burns indicated it was received
lated to Hardship Cases in the City Officed at 8:30 this
c~M~B~in & Gibbs, Inc. 6628 morning. Mr..Tichininhad asked
( arvin Burns - cont'd.) him to set fort~ 6he argument.~
Mr. Burns was making and the cases
The Council has ~lso?.indic~ted that supported them, and he did
'there will be further requiremen[~ this. Mr.' Burns .stated'hei~snot
of constitutionality, that is, the
-- criteria for exemption under ,'_c~_n~t_4nu~D~h~ me~ti~g~a'~i a~mea~~'
Section 8 for constitutionality. of denying the matte!..' He is
This is the second p~blic hearing; suggesting that Measure A provides
the Council hasn't announced them that it applies. It says that
before; it is unfair to impose exceptions may be grant~d.~f~e~
them now and it is a violation of 2 noticed public hearings by a.
due process tO do so.' The City 4/5'vote of the City Council.
· Council has been told by its City If the exception isn't granted
Attorney that this is so. after 2 noticed public hearings,
then it is denied -- the ordinance
Mr. Burns advised that he has out- continues to apply.
?~ lined in his letter additional
grohnds in which the City is Councilman Watson commented his
violating the constitutional right own feeling is if. the applicant
of these people. presses for a decision tonight he
is not sure he is in accord that
He added to statements in 'his the Council is not prepared to
letter to the Council, as follows: give a decision.
"We adopt and call to your atten-
tion once again letters from Mr. Burns commented that with re-
Mr. Johnston, dated April 17, spect to his letter, he would like
to call to the attention.of the
1980, April 25, 1980~ and May 9,
1980, and incorporate them by Council the City Attorney's
reference." letters of April 17, 1980, April 25,
1980, and May 9, 1980. He would
Mayor Callon ~nquired of the City further request the Council take
Attorney if there is any require- cognizance of the City Manager's
ment to close the public hearing reports of November 2, 1979 and
this evening and make a decision November 7, 1979, entitled "An
on this issue. Analysis of Measure A", and the
legal considerations set forth in
Mr. Johnston replied that there that memorandum.
is not a requirement to do this.
If the Council should continue Mr. Burns indicated that he dis-
this one more time, Mr. Burns cussed on page 3 Government Code
would consider this to be a 65858 is a general law which pre-
denial as it would be his feeling empts moratoriums for land planning
that this is an intentional de- purposes, and hence its violation of
laying process and his program the California CanstitUtion. He
would not be able to be developed would.add'that Government Code
this year.. Section 65863.5 which is quoted on
~ page 5, requiring the effect of
Mayor C~llon~C6~n~edj~hFe~She the.ordinances adopted on housing
!.'~l~i&~ ~l~ce '~r..i~u~s ~-~qu__--st needs of the region be 'considered
............. ..... ~---- .... Before any measu~ dan be'effective.
and it is pre-emptive of Measure A.
(9)
AGENDA ·. ACTION
'IV. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS (Mr. Burns cont'd.)
(Cont'd.)
power to tax in order to raise
A. MEASURE."A"AND RELATED ITEM.S, the money, but would have to do
it in another form, such as
2.' Public Hearings on ConsidL~ individualhousehold tax. If
eratiOn of Requests in there are 5,0001households in
Accordance with ProVisions~f Ithe~City. of:Sa~atoga, the tax
Section 7 of Measure "A", would be $8,000 per household.
In'terim Restrictions.as Re-
lated to Hardship Cases ~L..., 'Mr~ Burns"stated..that their view
'l(M~'~'i'h &'Gibbs, Inc.) , r- ., is,that on~the 2.bases that they
(Marvin Burns -' cont' d. ) have'suggested -~ that is 'tha~ a
definitive hardship exists even
.Mr.' Burns indicated he would like within'[he criteria the Council
to bring to the Council's attentio has ado~ted. He stated that a
2 cases which'were recently .definitive hardship exists even.
decided by the U.S. Supreme C~urt. within the, criteria adopted by
· One is Kaiser-Etna vs..Uni'~ed . the City Council this evening,
States, decided on December 4, 197 and the Council has to consider
It holds that even though the whether or not it wishes to subject
United States has jurisdiction the &itizens of this city to this
over and can regulate the navi- kind of tax burden.
gatable waters, when.it goes.too'
far in its regulation, the Their view is that a d'efiniti~e
regulation becomes a taking. It; 'hardship exists even within the '
is Ibelieved the City Of Saratoga, criteria adopted by the Council
in this instance, although it has this evening, and their,'~{~w'.;~
the'right to regu~ate,'haS. gone ~ ~fd~t~e~"{~ ~a~e~ion '~ ~xception
too far and has taken this land.' applie~-tS~h'i~' ~t. Therefqre,
he believes and requests the Council
Mr. Burns pointed Out that the' should decide to grant this excep-
cases decided under the Civil tion from this ordinance.
Rights Act hold that the City is
liable in damages, regardless of Councilwoman'Clevenger pointed .out
whether it acted in good faith,- that Section 10 of this~i~{~a~fve
and indiVidualcouncilmembe~s if also ha~l[a severabil~y.ld~
they have acted other than in ?~f '~eT'i~_~:s~m~_~iJg_.about _~i~'~
good faith. "Other than in good ~ord~n~ce tha~ is-he'ld invalid._./
'faith" is a qualified privilege,..· ~Sh& in~i~t~ she dges'~ot~Y~l
and what it means is that members ~h~ i~qualified to make this
of the City. Council'who are decision.
advised that they are vfolating
constitutional rights act'at'thei~ Mr. Burns stated if the Council
peril. The Council's decision declines to make the decision, it
tonight must be taken in light of is in effeCt'a decision because
the fact that if these are denied, this ~nitiative requires a 4/5 vote.
.the City knows itis going to'~a~e Mr. Burns stated that the person
litigations'. Mr. Burns' stated'he the Council charged and who still
has been involved incases where. has the responsibility to advise
the cost of litigation has amount'e~ the Council has stated the ordinance
to more than a millibn dollars. is unconst'itutio~al.
He believes the City CoUncil
shohld consider what the' effect of Councilwoman Clevenger stated the
one or two of theselaw suits iS. counsel appointed for issues on'
going to be on the people of. the' Measure A has indicated the ordinance
.city. He belives the Council is not unconstitutional.
should also consider Chat if the'
City loses the law suit, the Mr. Burns commented that the fact
estimated damages could be as much of the matter is that this ordinance
as $40 million. Under Proposition has severe constitutional deficien-
13, the City does not have the , cies. The fact that the City Council
AGENDA ACTION
IV. 'PETITIONS, ORDINANCES,'~RESOLUTIQNS (Marguerit~ Chapman - cont~d.)..
(.Cont'd.)
Drive, Fourth Street and Reid
A. MEASURE "A" AND RELATED ITEMS Lane, which.all wouldbe severely
affected by added traffic on
2. Publ'ic.Hearings on Consi'd-7 Canyon View Drive. It is hoped
eration of Reque~.t~, in that Canyon View Drive'will remain
Accordance wi.thpTo~!s-ion~o~ for emergency access purposes.
Section 7-of MeaSure"A", However, many people accept the
Interim Restriction~ as, Re~' possiblility that the road will
lated to Hardship Cases become a through road to-the
(M~ain & Gibbs~ Inc.) ' McBain.and Gibbs devel0oment and
(Heber Teerlink - cont'd.) other developments beyond. It is
hoped that the traffic generated
and he would concur witD. Mr bY these developments would be
Garrod that th.e'City, Council is' minimal'. In addition to the 19
not making deCisionS BecauSe it residents of the Boisseranc
does not know What it is: talking development that would be served
about. by Toll Gate Road and Congress
Springs Road, 12 residences in
Russell Crowther, 20788 Norada the proposed residential development
Court, Stated that Several weeks. on the adjacent San Jose Water Works
ago, he heard a rumor of the City property would also be served by
AttorneyiS letters' on Measure "A~' the Toll Gate extension. These
and spoke to Mr. Beyer and asked-. units would be expected to generate
him fo~ a copy of the letter. He a maximum of 144 trips daily.
had indicated this!waS.privileged Adding this total to the traffic
and private attorney-client generated by the McBain-and Gibbs
communication from tHe'City development would result in a 62%
Attorney to the Council and was increase in traffic on the existing
not available to the puBIic. He' portion of Toll Gate Road. ,Cu~K'
inquired where Mr. Burns obtained ,_l~t'fv~ lf~c~.%f.. c~n~i~6ed :~evel0~=
these letters., '-.ment would cause the-absolutel~'---
f"hapacity level'of serviceTtB"be
The City Manager indicated he '~k~d[~in'th~'~eak-hourS. Un-
had no knowledge of thiS. The stable or forced flow would occur
City Attorney commentedqhe had in some sections, particularly
provided copies of the letters. fez downto~m. If the density of the
Mrs. Jensen to give to Mr. Ticbinin McBain and'Gibbs development were
reduced by approximately one-half,
the traffic impact would be reduced
Councilwoman Clevenger commented B~ ~.si~ila~ 'amount. Mrs. Chapman
that it would seem to her*if
Mr. Burns is inlcuding these state'd that she feels a comprehen-
letters in his, documentation, sive circulation plan that would
include all of the area of Measure
they are public 'informati:qn, , 'A would be des'irable before the
Mr. Crowther further commented " ~cBain and ~ibbs.,development were
that if the Council is cons,ideri~g approved.
conStftutional issueS,, ~th~y will:
Arlene Nobriga addressed the Council,
also consider one of the most
protected constitutional rights stating the idea of a planned
of the public to legis,late by. developmen~ is'good, but the retro-
initiati~e,' which the cburts have active issue may cause problems.
consistently upheld, What will happen if the City is
sued? How are these costs going
Marguerite Chapman, Canyon View to come up? If Mr. Burns' figure
Drive, addressed the CoUncil, is even near right, how informed
stating that over a cohSiderable is this emmunity about the long-
period of time, the Acting Presfdent term effects? She wonders if the
community is willing to take this
of the'Wildwood Heights-Homeownefs~ kind of liability?
Association and herself have dis-
cussed the problems, of Canyon View
:(11)
A. GENDA' ACTION
IV. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES~ RESOLUTIONS (Councilwoman Cleven~er Jcont"d.)
(Cont'd.)
She does not feel in a position to
. A. MEASURE "A" AND RELATED ITEMS deny the provisions of the'i~itiative
' at~this time.
2. Public Hearings on Consid-
eration of Requests in Mr. Burns s.tated that that decision
,Accordance with Provisions of was made before the people voted
Section 7 of Measure "A", on Measure A. .That decision
Interim Restrictions as Re- presented really only two'issues'--
lated~to. Hardship Cases one was the.vagueness of the
(Mc' Bain &'GiBbs, Inc.) statute and the other was whether
Bernard Vogel, 15055 Oriole Court, it was an adjudicary or legis-
inquired if the Council were lative act. In any event, that
advised that the act was unconsti- decision as he read it, was to
tutional, how would the Council the effect "let the people vote
act? It is very. simple -- ask and we'll see." The judge also
Mr. Johnston to recommend agood madp comments about how ambiguous
constitutional lawyer and get a andSuncertain-that ordinance was.
'~quick answer; If the Council is' -' ............ ........
.. not going to accept an answer, it 'CSU~il~'Wat:s~'a~ked if he is
may as well deny these things so' correct in understanding that
the courts Can tell them. ~ unless this applicant is granted
outright exemption, litigation is
Councilman Watson commented that certain.
the feelinghe has is that Mr.
Burns and client are determined to Mr. Burns replied that the answer
test the legality of the measure~ is a qualified yes. He does not
in court, and he is not sure know what is meant by "outright
stating outright exemption would~ exemption". If there is some
preclude that, and he is not pre= compromise to be suggested, he
pared to do that since the Council will listen. However, he looks
has just arrived at thedriteria. at this as a yes or no --'you
He would be happy to go for a ~. either decide this is a hardship
decision right now. or that constitutionally Measure A
should not'be applied to this land~
Councilwoman Jensen stated that or youl-don't.
from the information she has now,
she could make a decision. If Mr. Burns further pointed out there
Mr. Burns wants to provide more is no way the applicant can meet
information, he should have that. Measure A requirements with re-
opportunity. However, at this spect to density.
point, she does not see a hard-
ship as called for in the criteria Following discussion regarding
how the Council chose to proceed on
Councilwoman Clevenger s~ated she this issue, it was moved by
does not see how the Council can Councilwoman Jensen, seconded by
grant the hardship if he does not Councilman. Watson to continue this
meet the standards of Measure A. hearing to July 8, 1980. Carried
She does not see how the Council' unanimously.
can legally grant him the hard-
ship if he has not met the pro-
visions of Measure A. The repor~
of Judge Bruno which was filed
prior to the election states: '..
."The court will not interfere
with the reserved r~ght of the
people to propose legisla~i0n with-
out a compelling showing or in- :
validity clearly beyond question."
· (12)
-~.
~GENDA ACTION
IV. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS (Mr. Bernard - cont'd.)
(Cont'd.) "
a) This applicant never asked ~or
A..MEASURE "A" AND RELATED':iTEMS the maximum number of lots per-
mitted und'er HCRD zoning.
3. Public Hearings on Consid- b) This applicant voluntarily
eration of Requests in
~ removed marginal lots from its
. V'~ ~ Accordance with ,P~_?j~.n~
Measure "A", Interim ~ tentative map.
/'~ Restrictions as Related c) Open space resources were kept
to Hards~ip Cases at the maximum levels. Almost
50% of the total acreage of. the
c) Parnas Corporation project is dedicated to open
_. (Tract 6665) -1st hearing space, and the ravine that is
located on the major property
Stebhen Bernard, Attorney tepee was left untouched. In fact,
sentingParnas Corporation, ~' the open space is to be main-
' addressed the Councii. He' tained by a homeowners association
indicated heis ata loss as at no cost to the City of
wellinasmUch as the Council Saratoga.
first came up with the criteria d) Parnas Corporation spent
for a hardship exemption this additional funds tO alleviate
evening. He has.prepared a the Pierce Road traffic prob-
statement which hewould like lems. Parnas Corporation had
read into the re'cord.
-. originally designed a sub-
division with 2 cul-de-sacs,
Mr.'Bernard pointed out that but in order to alleviate part
· . when he requested a hardship , of the Pierce Road traffic
· hearing, this involved '2 tracts problems, Parnas CorporatiOn
This was also'for Tract 5928,1
which invoices 7 recorded lots. plans to build extra streets.
Mr. Bernard requested the first Parnas Corporation at a proposed
cost in excess of $250,000 has
public hearing for that' tract agreed to build'an extension of
be set. for 2 weeks from today, Toll Gate for the expressed
and the second for July 8th for purpose of removing traffic
both tracts. from Pierce Road and placing
it onto Toll Ga~e, thus elimin-
He then proceed with the state- ating the use by residents of
ment our subdivision of the Congress
Springs Road and Pierce Road
"The second requirement for intersection..,This rbadway is"
exemption to Section 7 of to be built'to modern roadway
Measure A is the.requirement standards, and yet preserve the
that the project be consistent rural nature of t~e area.
with the initiative." Further,.improvements have been
agreed to 6e done to Pierce
Mr. Bernard pointed out that th Road at an approximate. cost.of
applicant is presently within between $150 to $200,000. These
approximately 10% of the improvements will greatly improve
Measure A density. No other Pierce Road without destruction
developer can make this claim. of its rural character In fact,
The reason for this is that '
this applicant alone among the not o~e single tree will be re-
moved 'from Pierce Road.
developers has volpntarily and
in deference to the HCRD zoning e) The storm drains for this project
implemented land conservation have been over~designed..This
measures which negate any means the storm drains are
adverse ecologi.cal impacts. larger than normallylfound in
a subdivision of thfs type, and
"For example, these facts must will eliminate many of the
be noted:
problems previously experienced
..... ' .... ~~'~' ~":' '~ in over-development. The streets
...... ' ............. (13)
AGENDA ACTION
IV. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES,~'RESOLUTIONS (Stephen Bernard - cont'd.)
A. MEASURE "A" AND RELATED ITEMS Mr. Bernard stated it'is his opinion,
from listening to what the Council
3. Public Hearings on Consid-. said, that there are still no
eration of Requestsin guidelines for Section 7 hardship
Accordance with. Provisionslo~ exemption under Measure A. The
Section 7 of MeaSUre "A", '~ guidelines which it appears to
Interim Restrictions as have enacted are too vague and
Related to Hardship Cases ambiguous. F6r example, you talk
: about being within the spirit of
c) Parnas Corporation Measure A. As a lawyer, he does
(Tract 6665~ ~ 1st hearing not know what .this means.
Special privilege is discussed,
(~tephen Bernard Cont'd.) without definihg special privilege.
From his perspective, the Council
that a~e being constructed have still has not defined the hardship
been designed to the highest i criteria that-this Council is
engineering Standards and w±ll going to take into consideration.
be constructed to b~ maintained
with as little cost as possible In closing, Mr. Bernard stated the
In fact, the natural open space .city council can get any advise
area present in the major sub~ it wants from'a number of attorneys;
division has a history~of s~l~7 however, the City Council is the
tation. These improvements body that has to make thi~ decision.
that have been cOnStructed by !
this applicant will Stabil±ze Mr. Bernard submitted the statement
the area and improve the flow of Parhas Corporation to be in-
line armoring it against.furthe~ cluded as part of the record, and
exceSS siltatfon. he would ask:~that he be permitted
to file a supplemental statement
f~ Parnas' Corporation is perhaps concerning the hardship criteria
most proud. of its geolSgical adopted by the City Council..
work in the de~el~pment~ The
geologic plan produced by thiS' It was the concensus o~ the Council
applicant mitigates all geologic to approve setting for hardship
hazards. ~ copy of the plan is hearing Tract 5928, for the dates
here~y submitted tOyou as part of July 2nd and July 8th. Tract
of this Statement, ~nd Our 6665 would be continued to July 8th.
geologist ~s-available to you
at our expense to answer any Russell C~owther, Norada court,
question you might have in the referred to Mr. Bernard's comments
future~ Mr. COtton, the relative to the Council's hardship
geologist for the City of criteria.. He would refer the
Saratoga has publically stated Council to an attachment'to his
that our geologic report is the letter, w~ich.~s Government Code
best he has' ever seen. This Sect~on65906~ s:econd paragraph,
geologic plan which has taken which states:. "Any variance granted
approximately 2 years to d~velo s~all be subject to such conditions
investigates each specific. lot as will assure that the adjustment
in great depth, definiDg each thereby authorized shall not consti-
and every geologic problem which tute a g~ant of special privileges
might exist. As w~s 'pointed out incons~s-tent with the limitations
any lot which would have' need- upon other properties in the vicinity
lessly interrupted the natural and zonin~ which such property is
terrain or created any undue. sitUat~d.." He would, therefore,
geologic hazards, was dropped compliment the Council on its choice
voluntarily by ParnasCorporatio: of words.
in order to mitigate the geologi~
problems.." There being no a4ditional comments
from the audience, the Mayor ordered
this hearing continued to July
(14)
~GENDA ACTION
IV, PETITIONS,' ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS
A. 'MEASUIRE "A" AND RELATED ITEMS
3. Public Hearings on Consid-
eration of Reques=ts in
Accordance with Provisions
of Section 7 of Measure "A",
Interim RestriCtions as
Related to Hardship Cases
d) Joseph K~ajeska (SDR-
1329.) - 1st hearing
George Tobin, attor'ney representipg
Mr.'Krajeska, stated he has been
present at every meetin~ o~ t~
Council since Measure "A" was
adopted, and he was waiting for the
Council to discharge a constitu-
tional responsibility under Section
7 to define "extreme hardship".
The Council didn't do what it was
supposed to do and establish stan-
dards which are not arbitrary,
capricious or unreasonable, or
based upon absolutely bases. Bu~
the Council did adopt some new~'
standards, and during the garbl~d
conversation of trying to ascertain!
about the resolution. Section 8'
is' self-executing,.'and the Council
now has a resolution which sets
forth some of the hardship criteria
and he would hope a copy could be[
provided to him so he could address
those considerations in presenting
the Krajeska case. Since the City.
has changed all the rules in the
ball game, he would urge this
matter be continued Until h~'
can adequately respond to the
standards set this evening.
The Mayor ordered this pubfic
hearing be continued.to Ju~e 18.
~.~.C6nji~e~fio~'S~'~lii~'f~ Council concensus to move this item
II ~of Citizen~ CS~En={.[~ee fo~,~ ~ fon~ard'on the agenda.
~ptementation 8f Measure A
~. Clarification Re: Processing Mr. Shook, Director of Public Works,
of Final Map Applications in explained this is before the Council
Relation to Fee Structure in Order to obtain clarification re:
~d~q~'~'~g~'.~b~li~ations where
e
~'tiVe~'~8~al had been
obtained and the applicant was moving
toward final map approval. (Refo
staff memorandum, dated 5/29/80)
<15)
AGENDA ACTION
IV. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS
A. ~ASURE "A" AND RELATED I~EMS
.'
4. Clarification Re: P s~
roces ng The Council proc~ede&~to discuss
of Final Map ApplicatiOns in this matter.' .' ;~ '. "
Relation to Fee Structure
Councilwoman.Jensen indicated she
is not read~ to Vbte on thi~i~sUe-
as there are sti,ll l&gal questions'
she would need an~hre~; and she
believes allowing tentative map
go to final map approval Would be
a.big mistake;
The City Manager~"explained ~hat when
the Council adopted Resolution 956,
it also adopted an action which
stopped the following applications:
1) applications processing toward
tentative approval;
2) final map approval (question re:.
Council intention);
3) building and grading permits
applied for but not issued.
; The assumption being that the Council
did not act on the tentative map and
~ tostop that in process because of
the previous discussion with the
attorney'concerning the Youngblood
decision. It was 'a procedural
administrative matter that once
they had received tentative, to
.follow thr6ugh to final map.
M/S: Callon/Mallory that the City
grant final maps as required by
the Youngblood. decision in Government
Code Section 66474.1, but delay
making a decision on this processing
until more answere are Obtained.
The motion was carried 4 tol,1,
Councilwoman Jensen in opposition.
M/S: ~llory/WatSon to amend the
main motion to remove the maps
referenced in paragraph 5, and put
them in another paragraph which
sta'tes, "No further'approval shall
be granted relevant to these final
ap ."
m s Motion carried unanimously.
B. PETITION FROM 25 RESIDENCES ON Mayor Callon indicated this petition
BRANDYWINE DRIVE AND APOLEO would be referred to the file on
WAY, URGING THE CITY COUNCIL this issue, and await an updated
TO ENDORSE THE PROPOSED TP~AFFiC report concerning the signal
LIGHT LOCATION'AT HIGHWAY [85 location from the staff.
AND BRANDYWIND DRIVE/ARGONAUT
SHOPPING CENTER ENTRANCE
' (16)
AGENDA ACTION
V PUBLIC HEARINGS PUBLIC HEARINGS
· A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF' Mr. Robinson~, Planning Director,
PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION outlined the action of the Planning
TO GRANT A USE PERMIT TO ALLOW Cormnission relative to construction
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF A of the proposed new main post office,
POST OFFICE ON SURPLUS LAND , and the basis for this approval.
ASSOCIATED WITH REDI~7OOD JUNIOR
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925 FRUITVALE He further detailed the points in
AVE~E ~ the appeallant's letter, and the'
~ staff's response to each point
(ref. memorandum dated 5/28/80).
M/S: Mallory/Clevenger tohold a
hearing de novo on this appeal,
to follow item V-B. The motion
was carried unanimously.
B. CONSIDEIATION OF FINAL MAP Mr. Robinson, Planning D~rector,
APPROVAL, TRACT 6766, WOODGATE outlined the status of this sub-
HOMES, INC., PROSPECT ROAD - division to date. There is a
5 LOTS requirement for a public hearing
'prior to the final map approval.
1. Adopt Resolution No. 1424/2,
Approving Final Map. Mayor Callon referred toan item
of correspondence re~a'tive to this
matter.from Harlan Snyder, 20602
Ritanna Court, expressing concern
that grading was not up to the
.level of the retaining wall'as
previously agreed. The Mayor then
opened the public hearing at
lr:oo P.M.
Hartan Snyder, 20602, Ritanna Court,
addressed the Council. He stated
his concern was'that of leaving the
step between the' two properties.
The property is developed from flat
land. Mr. Lennox, the developer,
seemed to be amenabl~ on the phone.
Mr. Lennox addressed the Council.
Asper the grading plan, currently
on the southeast corner of the
tract there is a 3-foot differential
between the existing ground on this
tract and the ground on his lot.
The grading plan brings that up so
there is only approximately a one-
foot distance. The reason this
grade was not brought up any further
is that the drainage plan requires
acatch basin for the storm drainage
in the southeast corner of the tract.
Mr. Snyder indicated the only con-
cern he has is that'in the long run,
the retaining wall should not be
necessary. Mr.~Snyder pointed out
that the development n~unber for this
subdivision was D~ted in error, and
it should be 6676.
(17)
' AGENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (.Cont'd.) (Mr. Wimberly-cont'd.),
B. CONSIDEP~TION OFFINAL~v~kP tentative map which are c~early to
APPROVAL, TP~CT 6766, WOODGATE be removed -- for example, the ones
"~ HOMES, INC~, PROSPECT ROAD on Prospect Road.
5 LOTS (Cont'd.)
Mayor Callon inquired what steps
Mr. Wimberly, Director of Inspectio~ can be taken'to'insure!Chat the
Services, indicated he is not rdis- trees the owners 'are talking about
· satisfied with this plan. There will not be removed.
will be a similar condition to the
undev&loped property·that will be' Mr. Robinson indicated he would
to the east of this property, which check with the staff to see if
will be a retaining wall of some 3 any tree removal permits have been
feet b~t~een that undeveloped issued.for the trees in question.
property and this development. Sehondly, there is an appeal of
the neighbors to the City Council
Councilwoman Clevenger inquired if ona tree removal permit.
the large Black Walnut tree in the
middle of the property would remain COuncilman Mallory indicated this
is a very dramatic tree, and if is
Mr. Lennox replied there'is a tree at all possible, it should stay.
removal plan and permit ~ich calls
for its removal. Mr. Johnston, City Attorney,
pointed out that if the tree is in
· Bob Feldman, 12050 Via Roncole, the right-of-way of the actual
indicated his wife called several pavement, or if the tree is on the
months ago and askled'about the actual envelope of a house that is
trees specifically. s~e was told going to be built, that is an
there is a program in Saratoga wher~ automatic tree removal permit.
by'certain trees wOuldnbt be re-. Short of that, the only way one.
moved if.they are above a certain can get a tree removal permit is
size. He indicated there are at ' if the tree is diseased or a hazard.
least two behind his property -- a
· small 18-inch walnut ~nd"a 40-inch Councilman Watson cormnented that
Oak tree. He feels uncomfortable Saratoga presently has an initiative
about the fact that this tree which protecting the hillsides, and right
provfdes a good deal of shade and here at the entrance to our city
sets his yar·d off-from the next is an example of "casualness" on
yard, could possibly be removed. the part of someone, and he intends
He would like to know whether or to see from this point on that our
not this tree is in fact going to city iS protected as much as possible
· be removed, as there was a 24-inch from arbitrary removal of even the
Walnut tree in the next lot which Z slightest single tree.
was removed today.
: Mr. Lennox interjected that if it
~yor Callon explained that the Cit} is the desire of the Council that
does have a tree removal ordinance this tree remain, he will comply
and people do have to have a permit with this. He pointed out that
if the tree is larger than a cert~ir the tree is quite old and many of
dimension. the· limbs are dead, and it was the
opinion of everybody that if you
Mr. Robinson, Planning DirectOr, ~ pruned it back to get what was good
explained that if the tentative map on it, you destroy the tree anyway.
is approved sh6wing certain trees
to be removed in conjunction with The City Manager indicated if there
the developed, then it isauthorize~ are questions on .this point, the
to be removed withouta tree re- City would bringin a h~rticUlturist
moval permit. ·to mak& this e~aluation.'
, Mr.· Wimberly pointed out that there Councilwoman Jensen inquired what
are trees shown on the approved additional tree removal permits have
been obtained.
AGENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'd.) (Mr, Robinson - cQnt'd=l
B. CONSIDEP~TION OF FINAL MAP to design the struCtureS around the
APPROVAL, TP~CT 6766, WOODGATE e~isting trees.
HOMES,I INC., PROSPECT ROAD -
5 LOTS (Cont'd.) Parker Waechter,.t2098 Via RoncOle,
cormnented that he understands
Mr. Lennoxreplied that the map Saratoga has anordinance that nO
shows a majority of the trees on~ia 2~story home can be built behind
site do come out because they are ir a single-story home.
the way of the improvements. The
best trees on the site are the Oak Mr. Robinson indicated there is
trees in the front of the project, a t~o-story ordinance, and he
which are coming out because of the believes the Planning COmmission
widening of Prospect Road. On the approved 2 out of 5 on this parti-
other hand, there is a bottleneck cular Uproject.. The developer had
on Prospect Road because the road' requested more than the 2 that he
is wide up to the edge of the z received.
property, and going from there to
Highway 85, thereis a narrow.neck. Mr. Waechter indicated there is a
24-inch Walnut tree which the
Mr. Feldman commented. that is is no builder either cut down without a
precisely true that Prospect is a - permitor the City gave him a
2-lane road from the place where .it permit, that he had had some hope
leaves Stelling and goes to would block his view of the two-
Saratoga-Sunnyvale. It is essen~al] story. The Planning Commission
1-~ lanes in one direction and 2 in doesn't notify any of L:the people
the other. There i~ a Bike lane an~ as to what exactly is happening
there are car~ parked there, and ' to them. People don't find out
what you normally will get is one- until the final hearing. He would
lane traffic down Prospect right. ask that the Council not approve
'through the'narrow constraint up t.o the final plan b~cause the tentative
Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road. He .map has ~een changed.
believes this will open up a nmch~
larger problem than presentiX exis.ta Cliff Smedley, 12126 Via Roncole,
It is going to create a~ ~{~ni!- indicated.he was pleased to receive
'~ffc~"tr~ff~d"~Ob~r~'~ha~'al'r~dy notif±cation ofth~s hearing;
~xists.o ....... "'~ ...... ~ however, he is shocked tO..~find that
people tonight are very busily
Councilwoman Jensen indicated she' tearing down trees on this tract
would like to go out and look at and that 'the Counci~ allows this to
this property before any more trees happen Before this is approved.
are removed.
Mr. Wimberly,'Director of Inspection
Councilman Watson indicated he would Services, explained that the
like to find out: 1) how far the developer has a demolition permit
provision for widening the road has which is obtainable through his
proceeded and whether or not this department. It is not required to
can be stopped; and 2) the philosoph have final map approval in order to
of moving trees and putting in get a Demolition Permit. He also
multiple-~evel housing in a tight'I has has a Tree Removal.permit which
area,. and the need to review the he is not required to have. The
Planning Commission's direction in improvements that are shown on the
this regard. Also, he would like. tentative map cannot be undertaken
to re-examine the widening of until final map approval is granted.
Prospect Road. This, includes the street improvement,
issuance of a grading. or building
Mr. Robinson explained that the permit.'
standards being used are from the Mr. Feldman suggested a representa-
City's Subdivision Ordinance. The.
Planning Commission made several tive of the Council take it upon
on-site inspections in an attempt himself to take a look at Prospect
and review the tree situation before
(19)
AGENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'd.) Councilwoman Jensen indicated she
would be in favor of putting this
B. 'CONSIDERATION 0F FINAL MAP matter Over to th~nextregular
APPROVAL, TRACT 6766, WOODGATE meeting.
HOMES, INC., PROSPECT ROAD -
5 LOTS (Cont'd.) M/S: Jensen/Clevenger that no
more trees~b~ removed until the
final map has been approved~ and
(Mr. F~ldman - contld.) to send a staff representative
tomorrow morning with a camera to
they are all up-rooted, and ask document the trees that are re-
the contractor not to remove those maining and to take pictures.
trees until the Coun 51 has had
time to discuss what is going on., Councilman Mallory con~nented he
does not see the need to utilize
Mr. Smedley requested the Council staff time for this' purpose, and
'make sure no regulationS.of the there is a good-faith relationship.
City of Saratoga have been takeh Councilman Watson concurred in
advantage of to put a two-story these comments.
home behind his. Also, he ~ould
request the City make the builderr The motion 'carried, Councilmen
put sQme trees in that will block, Mallory and Watson in opposition.
the view. = The public hearing was continued
'to June 18, 1980.
Willem Kohler, 21842 Via Regina,
requested the City consider an
ordinance not to allow any demo-
lition before final map approval,
or any tree removal. If a tree is
removed illegally, the.City should
require that'the treebe replaced.,
Shelley Williams, member of the
Saratoga Pl'anning Commission,'
advised in this particular matter,'
the Planning Commission did conduct
2 field trips-out to the particular
site. The Commission was very con-
cerned about this site because of
the tree removal and becaus~ of the
water problems on Ritanna Court and
the storm drainage in the area.
These problems were addressed and
taken care of correctly by the stafz
,'T~' ~iteSZ~e~e,~'~di'fied'~d~,~
~he"nj~be~';lbf t~oL~E~ry Hd~s~'
li~it~'d~t0'~oi'' These were care-
fully placed along with the trees.I
The Demolition Permit is one which
the staff has done in the past;
however, changes can be made in thi~
Also, there is bonding that couldj
be done to preserve the trees until
we're ready to go. ·
Councilman Watson commented he
believes a great deal of sensitivit
should be Daid to each person in
the city as is humanly possible,
and he believes we have lo~t a bit
of this.
(20)
A, GENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'd.). (Dora Grens -' cont'd.)
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF If it is indeed zoned R-i-40,000,
PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION Ehat means'there would be one
TO GRANT A USE PERMIT TO ALLOW home built~ and it is pretty
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF~ obvious nobody is going to build
A POST OFFICE ON SURPLUS LAND a home on one acre behind City
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD ~UNIOR Hall, a Community Center and a
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925 FRUITVALE Post OffiCe.
AVENUE (De novo hearing)
,,~.~-~,~ ~ Betty Peck, 14275 Saratoga Avenue,
~ ~ .... "~ .... ~ asked if it would be possible to
~b~Zh~e~ring!'th~ann~ng Director' look into the policy-and philosophy
¢~eDort/th8 ~u~i~ ~iscussed the of having public interest groups
~c=ti~ bf ~h~ Planning Commission tl rendevous after midnight. She
. approve this use permit. read comments by her husband,
· ~ Willys 'Peck:
Councilwoman Jensen commented that
she believes the City has taken "With the moving of the Post Office
this up illegally. This is a pro~ there will occur an irrepairable
posal which the General Plan does erosion of Saratoga's civic
not provide for. There is an open identify as it has always been
space designation in the General recognized -- namely the familiar
Plan for the school sites, and in~ and necessary functions associated
order to take this use permit up ar with downtown. Every community
allow it to go through, there woulc needs a heart'--' ~'ee~t~r'~~- a focus
have to be a General Plan amendment of its being,~a~d'S~ratoga's being
of the land use element.. is being battered away in the name
of expediency. The people who
The City Attorney indicated that brought Saratoga into being were
the Federal Government's position i~ not city planners -- they built
that they do not need this use per- their stores, blacksmith shops,
mit in the first place and if they~ saloons, hotels and numerous houses
want to put the building in this along the route of the timber-laden
location, they may do so. Even wagons that came do~,~a from the
though case law says they do not mountains. It was appropriately
have to follow zoning regulations Lumber Street. Today it is
of th~ city, it is recommended that Big Basin Way. They also built
they use efforts of being "consistex their schools, churches and jail
and compatible" with local regu- in close proximity, and they laid
lations. Itis the City's position out a cemetary on a hill nearby.
that they have to follow the use ~ All of this occurring over a period
permit procedures in o~der to com~ of many years. In so doing -- for
ply Circular A-95. He does not better or for worse -- they
believe that putting a governmental bestowed on these later generations
building on lands that are already that we kn~w as the Village, and
designated for governmental buildings for better or worse, they induced
is in ~iolation of the General Plan. it with personality and individuality
. which still constitutes a big chunk
The Mayor opened the public.hearing of the town's bareness. You don't
at 12:10 A.M. have to look far to find people
who wish they had as much in this
Dora Grens, 13451 Old'Oak W~y, regard as we do. Look what happened
indicated she would like to clarify to downtown Santa Clara, downtown
the wor~ "sterile" in the appeal. Cupertino, and downto~zn San Jose.
She feelsit is inappropriate for l These, of course, are extreme
this~articular location. Her examples, but represent differences
other concern is there is approxi- in degree rather than in kind in
mately 1 acre left over that will what I am speaking o'f here -- mainly
be potentially used for residential the bleeding away of the dillusion
(21)
AGENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'do) (Otto Crawford - cont'.d.)
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF Village. He stated that the post
PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION office has served Saratoga adequately
TO GRANT A USE PERMIT TO ALLOW at its present location. It is
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF~ unlikely that the Council will be
A POST OFFICE ON SUP~LUS LAND for development. The functions of
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD JUNIOR the post office may be reduced
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925 FRUITVAL] somewhere along the line because
AVENUE (De novo hearing) there is a.p0ssibility that the
San Jo~e Post Office will take over
(Betty Peck - cont'd.) sorting of the mail, thereby re-
ducing the post office personnel.
of functions allocated to a He asked, "Should the government
community's core area. I submit spend. millions of dollars for a
that the decision of moving the .new post office, especially at
post office to the Redwood site, this time?" Other reasons why the
the effect of that removal on the post office should not be moved
core area, hence the'community : are as follows:
identity, should be weighted just
as heavily as'all the statistics Citizens li~ing nearby w~lk to the
on traffic flow, etc. I am not post office. It is somewhat like
arguing that everything should be a social center and would be sorely
frozen as to a particular moment missed by those citizens who are
in time. I am arguing for the pre- elderly 'andStong-time Saratogans.
servatio~ of a community essence. The Village has the largest number
Certainly no rational person could of businesses in all of Saratoga,
regard the present configuration' as and these businesses would be
other than .a disaster area in San hurt. If the Village loses this
Jose, but in casting around for business, Saratoga may not re-
another location, was any real capture it and we would thereby
consideration given toTkeeping it be losing sales tax.
in the Village or did it matter?
Were the possibilities of utilizing Raisa Kocher, 15139 Park Drive~
and possibly expanding the present indicated she has lived in the
site fully explored, even if it city for 30 years and is a land-
meant acquiring an adjacent parcel owner. She has had a business in
or building. Even San Jose which. town for 30 years, and is past
exhibits occasional flashes of president of the Village Association.
sanity didn't leave its downtown Mrs. Kocher indicated she is opposed
without a post office when the main to the post office relocation.
plant was moved out to Meridian Little by little the post office,
Avenue. The 1st and St. John library, sMop~ and Schools are
building stayed as the post office. going to disappear and allwe will
I quarrel with the concept of have left is a shopping center.
expediency -- the idea that if ther~ People go back and forth because
is altraffic circulation problem, they feel they can come into town
for instance, we simply take the once a day, do their shopping, go
obvious course and move the problem to the post office, go to work and
out of town. We can of course do' go home. They don't have to keep
this, or can we try to maintain the driving back and forth. Gas is
attributes that make this an probably going to go to $3.00, and
interesting place to live. I con~ it is going to be harder to drive
tend that Saratoga Village is one from home to the post office, there-.
of these attributes.~Let's try to, by killing some of the business.
strengthen it rather than weaken it.
There is more than just the Village John Ayre, 14950 Vickery Ave.,
at stake." merchant in Saratoga and current
president of t~e Village Association,
Otto Crawford, 12471 Greenmeadow an organization of 100 businesses
Lane~ indicated he~s opposed to and professional members joined in
moving the 'post offic~ Out of the. .the common effort to enhance the
(22)
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cdnt'd.) The issue is not whether the proposed
relocation site should get a use
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF permit, but whether relOcation should
PLANNING COmmISSION DECISION occur at all. One of the most
TO GRANT A USE PErmIT TO ALLOW important responsibilities that
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF the Couhcil could exercise, parti-
A POST OFFICE ON SURPLUS LAND cularly in a case such as this, is
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD JUNIOR to represent the interests of the
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925 FRUITVALE citizens of Saratoga before the
AVENUE (De novo hearing) weight and power of the post office
~ and its bureaucracy. It is not
(Johh Ayre - cont'd.) sufficient that the post office
~ has studied the matter and must
Village -- its businesses, its proceed as they propose. That is
atmosphere and its tradition. All neither consistent with the policy
of us look at the post officeissue of the post office and its estab-
from our own.particular perspective. lished practice to be sensiti~e to
but with a common mind regarding thi the'inferest and needs of local
basic issue at question.- That affected communities,. nor is it
issue is not whether the Saratoga the purposes of local representa-
school system needs support, nor tive government. That can only
whether the post office bureaucraqy be fulfilled when Saratoga has
wants to relocate. These are known adequately studied the proposed
facts, but do not constitute the plan; analyzed the stated justi-
central issue whichwe have before fications; calculated its i~pli-
use. The central issue is whether cations; and independently assessed
the proposed relocation of the post its compatibility,with the needs
office is in the best interest'of! of their city. We unanimously
the con~nunity that is Saratoga. r and strongly feel that the re~
That. cgmmunity is composed of L~ location proposal should be denied.
citizens, merchants and those land-
marks and characteristics that give Rus. sell Crowther, 20788 Norada
Saratoga its tradition, distinctiye- Court, indicated he would like
ness and identify of its own. The to address 3 issues. relating to
issue then should be addressed by opposition Ito this use permit:
a straightforward answer to theseI Precedent for other school sites
'questions: Is this proposed plan in the city; use of taxpayers'
going to contribute tot~is commun- money; and p~tential ~dverse impact
ity and what is the evidence for on ~ur school system and the
such a conclusion? You as council funding of our schools.
for thi~ city hold a public trust
a trust that you will exerdise your With regard to the precedent issue,
responsibilities in the best the GeneralPlan p61icy states that
interest of the citizens. of school sites shall be preserved to
Saratoga~ The Village Association provide for the recreational needs
has considered the proposed re- of the community, and th~ City
locationof the post office with , should go through the formal process
a great deal of interest, and have, of changing the General Plan and
done so because they see it as sig- changing the designation of that
nificant consequence to the future particular area. Secondly, it is
viability of the Village itself. ! understood a Negative Declaration
What is the justification for the was filed and there was no impact
postzoffice proposal -- is it reall5 on the neighboring environment.
required? What on-site alternatives California laws clearly state that
have been explored, and what were: if there is an appreciable effect
Ehose'alternatives? What impact on traffic, for example, that by
would relocation have on the Village definition,'the Council or the
and on Saratoga as a whole? I~at Planning commission has to find
is the predicted effect on the that there is a significant impact
local ~illage merchants? on the e.nvironment. California
law Was mandated from federal law
'(23)
AGENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'd) (Richard Simonson - cont'd.)
A. CONSIDEP~ATION OF APPEAL OF residential area, in this case,
PLANNING C~ISSION DECISION zoned R-i-40,000, ~ich would
TO GRANT A USE PE~,IIT TO ALLOW negatively. impact the surrounding
CONSTRUCTION A~D OPEKATION OF. 'neighborhood. Such a %and...pse
A POST OFFICE ON SURPLUS LAND wo~!d r_eneg~ on the.Saratoga General
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD JUNIOR /Plan, Wb_~ch s~ys that s cho~r'sites
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925 FRUITVALE ShOuld provide open space and
AVENUE (De novo hearing) ~ recreation resources. Its proximity
. to the school would aggravate an
(.Russell Crowther - cont'd.) already Serious traffic danger to
the children attending Redwood. A
in this respect, and is'clear that post office belongs in a commercial,
the procedure that was followed are not a residential area. .It is not
clearly in violation of both a residential b~ilding. In the
California law and feder'al law. best interest of the citizens Of
Many of us fe~l strongly that high Saratoga, we therefore ask that
priority should be given to use of the application for a use permit
our tax dollars to support the tobuild.a post office on the
schools. But here what we would be Redwood School site, be denied,
doing is taking an issue where ther. and that any future application for
is already a lot of public negative. a post office which would intrude
iSm, and many members of the public into a residential-zoned area be
question why the post office needs denied."
to expand since Saratoga isn't
expanding. !~y can't they 'add a '(The following speakers testified
second story to their existing in favor of the use permiti)
building, for example? 'By approvin
this, the City would Be creating ~n Glen McNicholas, 13237 Paramount
Albatross on the school site, and Drive, Superintendent of Saratoga
cause negative feedback toward the Union School District, addressed
school system and perhaps hurt its the Council. He referenced his
future chances for-raising money. May 29th letter to the City Council.
Also, there are potential hazards Mr. McNicholas commented that for
that Would be created; you are the past several years, Saratoga
putting a high traffic impact de- has been faced with the problem
velopment next to playgrounds and. of declining student enrollment.
areas where children are going to Concerned over what to do with the
be spending a lot of their time. surplus classroom space, this
What are you going to tell paren.ts declinement prompted the Board of
of children are hit by a postal Trustees on October~ 1978, to
truck? ~ appoint a District Advisory
Committee on utilization of school
· Richard Simonson, 13833 Yerba Santa property. Membership of the
Court, indicated be'would like to committee was solicited in the
submit a petition that was circu- local news media and through news-
lated by residents of this area. l·etters to parants. This committee
In circulating throughout the area, of 11 members included parents,
they only found 3 families t~at landowners, members of the City
said, "I don't care".. Allthe re~t Council and Planning Commission, a
were very agreeable to the intent store owner, a legal advisorland
of the petition. It says, "We th~ a teacher. After many study hours
undersigned residents of Saratoga and 6 well-publicized public hearings~
oppose the building of a new U.S.' for the use of surplus space, the
Post Office on the Redwood School, committee submitted their final
site, or any other residential- report to the Board of Trustees in
zoned area. It is unwarranted in-i April, 1979. Their recommendation
trusion. by commercial-~ike = reads as follows: "School board
intrUsion!~nto a single-family ~ look into and begin negotiations
(24)
AGENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'd.) (~len McNicholas - cont~d~l
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF As planned, an additional 24,000
PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION square feet of usable play area
TO GRANT A USE PERMIT TO ALLOW will be added to the. upper. fierd~.
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF and a new field totaling 9,1,524
A POST OFFICE ON SUP~EUS LAND square feet will be added to the
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD JUNIOR orchard area, for a'total net gain
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925 FRUITVALE of 25,195 square feet over the
AVENUE (De novo hearing) property that is being sold.
(Glen M6Nicholas - cont"d.) 2) Extra acreage not.used by th~
post office being potentially
with the Post OffiCe for sale of available for residential use. The
the Redwood lower field. Reason: Board of Trustees and th~ school
the Post Office needs about 1% acre administration has never discussed
and proceeds would be usable money or considered such a possibility.
to the District. The field is no~ Th~ Advisory Committe~ recommended
essential to' the school and its that all Redwood School property
location is prime for broad communi~ other than that being c6nsidered
use. ApDroved unanimously." for sale by the Post Office be re-
~ tained for school use. The Board
Based on this recommendation, the *' of Trus, tees has officially adopted
Board of Trustees.held a series o{ that recommendation.
well advertised discussions at the
Board's regular meetings during t~e ~) A lack of study to determine
months of April and May,'1979. alternative use for school property.
%hro~ghout these discussions, only! State Law requires that before
one citizen raised any objection~ surplus property can be used for
to the sale of the Redwood property other than school use, an Advisory
to the Post Office.. In May of 1979 Committee~ as previously described,
based on the belief that the City must be formed. Both the intent
Council, Planning Commission and th and the letter of the'law have been
community in gemeral, were in favor followed by the District.' .The
of locating the Post Office on the final report of the committee does
Redwood site, the Board authorized reflect a study of alternative uses.
negotiations with the postalser-
vice. In ~anua~y, 1980, an offer~ In conclusion, Mr. McNicholas added
to,sell 90,334 square feet of the. that the district budget for 1980-81
Redwood field for the sum of was predicated on the belief that
$519,421 was signed. 'This past ' the city officials totally, supported
month, in compliance with a request the sale'of the property. The only
assets available.to make up the
from t~e City Plannining Department, $200,000 deficit which now exists
the~District filed a request for a
use permit to allow construction of is from that sale. On behalf'of
a post office on the Redwood site. the Saratoga Union School District,
The Planning Commission approved Ith~ he requested that the appeal be
request, which is being appealed. ~denied.
Mr. McNicholas Commented on 3 items
~el~tive to the appeal: Jim Stuart, Allendale Avenue, urged
that the Council not locate the
1) The preservation of open space post office as propsed. Regarding
is noted in the 1974 General Plan. the Planning Director's earlier
As has already been indicated, the statement regarding creating open
property propoSed'comprises 90,334 space, he-indicated he does not
square feet. Concurrently with the understand the concept of "creating"
Board.'!s discussions relative to the open space. Secondly,
sale of this property, the staff McNicholas mentioned that the study
~ was working on plans to expand the' group came to the conclusion that the
upper play field and development of post office needs a new site. He
the orchard to provide additional indicated he has looked into the
playfield space. (25)
AGENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'd.) Peter Stone - cont'd.)
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEALOF. very little public input. ~rhat
PLANNI~ COMMISSION DECISION little public input they did get
TO GRANT A USE PErmIT TO ALLOW was appreciated. He finds it sur-
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF prising after 1~ years after a lot
A POST OFFICE ON'SUP~LUS LAND. of work by a lot of citizens and
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD JUNIOR staff, that it comes to this pass.
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925FRUITVALE Of'all the sites outside of down-
AVENUE (De novo hearing) town, this was the preferred site.
the school district recognized this
(Jim Stuart - cont'd.) and advertised its hearings on this
particular issue. He betives the
details and hasn't found anything post office across the street from
that shows that the post office City Hall and the Community Center
needs to have a new site. He does and Theater is precisely in the
not believe they have'done ~nytype kind of place that it ought to be
of analysis, and he believes the if it can't be where it is now.
work load should be less now than*
it was earlier because they now sOr' Carol Mackel, Ronnie Way, stated
all mail that isn,t for Saratoga in the one thing that always seems
the San Jose Post Office. to be ignored is to send out direct
mail lists to the'p&ople who live
With regard to Mr. McNicholas's near the sites. She indicated she
commen~ that the City Council ! attended a Planning Commission and
supportedthe. Redwood Sdhool site, City Council meeting last week,
Mr. Stuart commented that in look- and was impressed with one thing
ing back at the minutes of those the City Council stressed -- the
meetings, it clea~ly states that the fact that they were going to take a
City Council had wanted to keep the new trend --'a sensitivity to the
post 6ffice in the Village and this people who live near the site as
was the preferred.site of the 2-3' to how they were going to vote from
that were brought before them for now on. There is ~ petition before
consideration. He believes it is the Council which states how the
necessary for the post office to people who live near the site feel.
show why their current facility They are not for this. One of
isn't adequate to'do the job. the major problems is because of
the estimate of 200 cars that would
Peter Stone addressed the Council. would be generated on that street.
He indicated his children go to She has records at home which show
school in this district and he that the Parks and Recreation
uses the post office on those rare Department and other people were
occasions when he can find a parkin trying very.hard to get special lanes
space. He believes Dr. McNichola~ put in to protect the children that
has covered every issue, except attend the school because the density
a response from the post office as level of traffic on.this street was
to his needs. There is one matter too intense. The site is wanted
in the appeal which he feels de- and needed desparately by the
serves some response. The last Village -- it is a commercial enter-
paragraph states,"'We feel it would prise and b~ings j-n business to the
be commendable for the school dist~ic Village. .Tb_~.area.has been zoned
to consider a more creative use o~ 1 acre; the area x~here the library
the land." Mr. Stone stated he can is was zoned 1/2 acre. Around this
only suggest there were a lot of type of area can only come in high-
people involved in dealing with density housing. Dr. McNicholas
precisely this' issue.-After all stated there was no intention to
of what the district went through !to create residential use on leftover
get the people in the community land. H~wever~ it states in the
aroused about this issue, there was report that there is .92 acres left
over in that land, and the post office
AGENDA ACTION
V.. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'd.) (James F.ogue - cont'd~
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF has given great consideration to
PLANNING COI.~/IISSION DECISION buffering any unpleasant visual
TOGRANT A USE PERMIT TO ALLOW aspects'of the function of the
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATIO~I OF. postal service by using a low
A POST OFFICE ON SURPLUS LAND profile building with a semi-
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD JUMIOg residential character. These
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925 FRUITVALE drawings were presented to the
AVENUE (De novo hearing) Planning Commission and Planning
staff and there was no negative
Carol Mackel I_ cont'd. comment.
suggested it could nicely'developl Councilman Mallory inquired how
into residential. If you look at' high is the wall.
the drawing of what the building ~s
going to look like, you can under= Mr. Fogue replied it is 6 feet,
stand how much pIanning went into.~ii as requested by the City.
An 8-foot retaining wall was going
to be put up next to the school. Details of the architecture of
They talked further about arranging the building were discussed by
the carriers to fade Fruitvale Ave. the Council and the architect.
Another concern if the school
eventually sells, what will go into Councilman Watson addressed'the
the rest of the school. ~o wants~ issue of tying thi~ design in more
to live next to po~t office.. This closely with. existing government
sets a bad precedent for the whole buildings by using redwood.
city. She would ask that the.
Council consider the residents' nee .Mr~ Fogue commen~ed tMat the redwood
Clark Hanson, Project M~n~ger f0r~ material gets damaged easily and
deteriorates. Therefore, they
the p~oposed post office, indicated substi~tuted. with brick.
he has with him this evening the ~
architect. He would request that l Councilwoman ~ensen commented thi~
'he present the artist's sketch and design impresses her as an industrial-
landscaping plan. type building and does not blend into
Saratoga. Sh~ further expressed
James Fogue, Architect, Palo Alto,: concern with 'regard to the energy
indicated he was retained by the consumption of this building..
postal service to design the pro-.
ject at this location. In. the Mayor Callon inquired if the
beginning, he had met with Mr.' City l! could take.the stand of
Robinson and his staff to go over. requiring design review before
some of the concerns of the City approving the plan.
with regard to the design of the
building. The attempt was mad~ to Mr. Robinson, Planning Director,
design the building toward a. resi- explained that at a Planning
dential character by having a Commission Committee of the Whole
sloping roof with a shake~utreatment meeting, the design, use and parking
The building has to conform to very 'were looked at. The only formal
stringent functional standards of decision has been-the use permit.
a postal service. The building at
the rear will be screened from the* Councilman Watson commented that
school site by the planting of in the Drocess of e~aluating the use
several large trees. The area permit, he has met with the
alongside the expossure to Fruitvale Superintendent of Schools and in-
would be planted with mounded spected this site. He further met
planting and trees. There.-will beII with the Village Merchants, and
additional planting in front to ! their reason for maintaining the
blend with the building facade post office.in the Village is the
facing Allendale. The post office draw. In talking to the school
(27)
AGENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (.Cont"d (Robert Graves- cont'd.)
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF' of 5,800 feet~ 10 years ago, when
PLANNING COFR4ISSION DECISION this was constructed and U.S. Post
TO GRANT A USE PERMIT TO ALLOW Office moved into it, we were too
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF i small. The Council was wrong in
A POST'OFFICE ON SURPLUS LAND' approving this building in the
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD JUNIOR position where it is now, regardless
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925 FRUITVALE of what has been said tonight.
AVENUE (.De novo hear4ng) Mr. Graves stated he has been the
Postmaster in Saratoga for the
'Councilman Watson - cont'd~) "' past 6 years. There are people
who live at the 1400 block of
Saratoga Avenue who drive to the
Superintendent, the position wast hat post office to pick up the mail;
the move was justified on the basis there are banks in downtown Saratoga
that the sale would help the schoo!l that stop by to pick up the mail,
~alance the budget. The basic and out of 818 boxes rented in the
reason he finally formulated a ~ Saratoga Post Office, there are
decision was the fact that he'feels probably 20 people who would walk
a, very positive thing has happened there:on any' given day. The reason
in developing a Very attractive why is the parking. Any time any-
township cbncept. He be!ieve~ the one is traveling down Saratoga
: . post office could quite prope'rly Avenue to the west and they make
belong here. He, therefore, would the turn between the Post Office
favor granting the.use permit, and the Fire Department,-they have
conditional upon the fact that that broken the la~ because they are
building would be in concert with crossing the double yellow line in
the township buildingS that are in! front of the Post Office. He has
place. concern about people'getting hit
- or killed a~the ~res~ht~ l~Cation.
Ed Gomersall, Veronica Drive, At the pres'ent hime, th&re are 59
indicated he would like tO point oul employees in the Saratoga Post Office.
a few 'observations he has made. It The mail processing in Saratoga is
appears ~o him we are installing done in the Saratoga Post Office in
a trucking facility, as..0pposed toz an outstanding manner under the
the attractive building aS rendered. conditions ~nlwhi~h they have to
He would suggest looking at 'the ! work. They have 24 city routes and
scale of the trees, as. they look to 2 rural routes conjestedin an area
be at least as high ~s the building in which you cannot move. With
.is long and wide~ He believe~ the regard to the point about. trees,
fact that shrubs will beplaced ~ Mr.,Graves commented that it must
in the front of the building obscur~ be remembered thatat one time,
the rea~ issue: Does. the post ~ the present Saratoga Post Office was
offide need to be moved? all trees.
Robert P. Graves, 14376 Saratoga .Mr. Graves stated the point is that
Avenue, indicated he would be-more' he cannot work under the conditions
.than happy to answer any questions: with the amountof people there.
of.the Council, on' beha.lf of the The Council 10 years ago did not
Post Office. allow the Post Office to raise ~he
building up to where people would
Councilman Mallory asked.why this ! have to walk 4-5 stairsup to one
facility needs to be moved. level. Other options have been
looked into, including other
Mr. Graves replied that it is pro~ property. The Post Office tried in
posed to build a 10,000 square foot every manner to locate tO. suit the
building, against the present one people or downto~n.merchants in-~.
- volved.
28
()
AGENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'd A question was. asked if'Mr, Gr~ves
~ had seen an.increase inthe mail
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF during the'six years he has been
PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION at this post office location.
TO GRANT A USE PEP~4IT TO ALLOIq
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF Mr. Graves replied that the mail
A POST OFFICEON SURPLUS LAND' volume in the Saratoga post Office
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD JUNIO~ alone has increased better than
HIGH SCHOOL~F 13925 FRUITVALE 6%. He pointed out that every
AVENUE (De novo hearing) person in Saratoga receives
magazines that people on the east
side of San Jose don't even look
Mr. Graves then responded tO questions at, The carriers on a normal route
by members in the audience. in any. post office normally carry
between 650 to 750 stops. That
In answer to a question relative to th~ means that a carrier can go out
traffic pattern in this area, Mr. and deliver mail 650 to 750 houses
Graves indicated that the traffic in a day. Those that deliver mail
pattern was turned around ke believes in Saratoga can only handle
for the best of everyone. The original approximately 400 to 450 because
plan required turning from Fruitvale of the amount of mail they get,
onto Allendaledirectly into the Post and each box has to be delivered
Office. As it stands now, you will on any one given day.
.come down Fruitvale, turn down
Allendale and go in front of the Mr. Crowther, resident, inquired
Community Center, make the turn in, and why the post Office decided to go
come out. for a Negative Declaration and
not prepare an impact analysis.
A question was asked if this is the
Council's effort to look at the post Mr. Robinson, Planning Director,
office's jUStification, and is this explained there is a staff
the Council's effort to see that the environmental assessment, in which
Planning Commission did its job and to he had discussed with an attorney
look at the impact of the relocation.. this morning. Under Post Office
'Fu~ther~'~h~7'c6~nme'~t'~"~a~'~h~t~'~ procedures, they have circulated
'6h~S='C~C'il'{'~'~'~e~r~i~i~~'i~ ' this through~9~ review, and the
responsibility in terms of this issue City of Saratoga did comment on it.
because Mr. Graves states that the Their decision was that it is the
post office considered 10 years ago City's NegRtive Declaration. The
should have been denied. Federal Government is not required
to comply With the California
Vic Monia, a resident, inquired apprOx] Environmental Quality Act.
· mately how many people use the post
office per day. Mayor Callon interpreted this to
mean that the Federal Government is
Mr. Graves replied there are probably. not required to file a California
400 to 500 transactions of people Impact Report; instead, they are
walking into the post office and buyin~ required t~ file under NEPA, which
stamps. Of those!people, there are is the environmental assessment.
probably 25 that walk tothe post offi, e.
Mr. Monia asked what Mr. Grave's A discussion followed relative to
'a possible appeal process for
estimate is of the nu/nber of cars receiving additional comments.
driving up to the post office an avera
day- Mr. Gomersall commented that he is not
certain whethe~ or not the U.S.
Mr. Graves replied there may be 200 Postal Service can in fact exercise
be~qeen the hours of 8:00 A.M. and
on the publiQ like the federal.
5:00 P.M. government' can..
(29)
.,
AGENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'd.) Councilman Watson commented,
assuming the move was made to
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF Fruitvale, the question he would
PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION raise is whether that building
TO GRANT A USE PErmIT TO ALLOW would be improved to meet the
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF. existing township character.
A POST OFFICE ON SURPLUS LAND
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD JUNIOR Mr. Graves replied that he does not
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925. FRUITVALE feel that the U.S. Postal Department
· AVENUE (De novo hearing) ! would not work with the City Council
· ' in doing .this. However, he cannot
Councilwoman Jensen indicated'that she make this decision.
had called the Postal Rate C~mrniSsion
and asked what the regulations are ~h~t A-representatiVe of'-the~S~-Post
Office Department 'commen~ed~th~t .....
govern this kind of activity. They ~on~f.z~the_er~-teria~given-to the--
replied there is an appeal process,
both for changing the location of the' architect was to deSign~a building
pos~ office or the level of activity~! that was compatible with the
There are findings-that have to~l~be made community, and he feels this has
under that process, and they do have th~ been done. They normally don't
same kind of review as a court of law. go with shake roofs or with land~
She ~tated that she is concerned that! scaping. Further, the wall that
in this city, w~ get more income from will run along Fruitvale will
sales tax revenue than from property cost about $35~per foot, or. about
$50,000.' They have a budget of
tax revenue. It is very important to: $1,060,000, and it is loaded uD
keep the business activity-that we have ·
in this city alive, and it is almost t.h~ already.
only discretionary revenue that is still
Councilwoman Jensen indicated she
going to be available as our property ~ would like tol receive further in~
tax decreases under Proposition 13. formation on the impadt this re-
Therefore, she is very concerned that~ location will have on. the Village
we have not studied the impacton the, before pr~'ceeding. She commented
business activity in the Village and ou that this'particular site is one of
own revenue sources. She would like to the worse sites she can think of,
see the data as to what kind of activi~ty
it actually does generate before seeing There is already too much traffic
in this area~ it is a school and
it moved. there are children coming and'going
~ouncilwoman Jensen noted that this at the same time the post office is
in operation. She stated that one
application started in pr.ocess afterl i of the things we have is an active
8 years. They inquired'what has changed used open space site. She believes
about the operations in that time. the site study which she saw was a
farse. There was only one site
Mr. Graves replied there are better than within that study that was a commer-
120 feet of mail on an' average day, and cial area, and that was written off.
along with the Saratoga News, there are That was the Fine Arts Center area.
160 feet of'first class mail. There ~
are approximately 200 letters per .foot' A representative of the Post Office
of mail. Department advised the real estate'
Councilwoman Clevenger inquired if the division has been looking for an
appropriate site for 5 years.. This
Post Office can take a~y land it wants specific. site is one which was
why didn't they take it downtown. selected by the City Council.'
.Mro Graves replied the one thing the
Post Office Department would not doris The City Manager clarified that the
. City's position-reliant to the post
relocate an existing business. They
are trying to work with the councils of office and location up until the
the communities they are-involved with.
(30)
AGENDA ACTION
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'd. Mayor Callon inquired of [be City
Attorney if the City Council grants
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF 'the us~ permit with the condition
PLANNING COmmISSION DECISION f~r Design Review, what happens if
TO GRAjqT A USE PERMIT TO ALLOW the Post Office refuses to go through
.... ~ CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF Design Review.
'~' A POST OFFICE ON SUP~LUS LAND'
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD JUNIOR Mr. Johnston replied that at that
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925 FRUITVALE - point i-n time, the City Council
AVENUE (De novo hearing). could-try to test the power of the
Federal Government.
(Robert Beyer, City Manager - cont'd.)
A question was asked from an audience
time they applied for Design Review on member whether the Post Office has
the Redwood School site was that the submitted specific plans or descrip-
City rejected the one site specifically tions about the development of the
that the City owned on ~a!~toga Avenue', site in the Village, acquisition of
and then evaluated 3~'a:{ter~t~Ltes. land, and different alternatives
The City Council had'~'~Y~d 'o'f'those ~ which were deemed not feasible.
3 sites, the best one would be the
Redwood site. However, it was stated The City Manager replied that when
the City Council would prefer, if at' this issue first came to the atten-
all possible, that it be located in the tion of the City Council,~the
Village. This was the City's official' Council asked the question about
position at that time. the remodeling of the Village Post
Office, the purchase of the lot in
Councilman Mallory commented ~one of [he back, and the Council reviewed an
things he hears people have a concern analysis.: Several members of the
about is the fact that a bureaucracy [ Council met, in addition to the
is making the decision. He is hearingt regular council meetings, to try
people say they didn't have any facts -- and ascertain not only the need for
on the other hand, they didn't seek the~ the move, but why those options
out. He would be willing to have a were not workable. They basically
citizens committee sit down with the centered.around costs in ~terms of
post office and provide a report with~in additional space and parking in the
one week on what their findings are. current location. At that time,
it was felt, if possible, the post
Mayor Callon stated her opinio~ is the office should still be in the Village.
Council has to address whether or not
this location is.suitable. M/S: Clevenger/Wat~on to close
the public hearing. Carried
Councilman Mallory stated that in terms unanimously. The public hearing
of the particular site ~nd the open was closed at 2:40 A.M.
space issue,, he doe~ not have a proble~
with what is being proposed in terms of M/S: Clevenger/Watson to deny
using this particular space. this appeal,
Councilwoman. Clevenger commented that ' Mayor Callon commented that she
she cannot see what the justification is believes this location as a second
for not making a decision on this issue. choice is adequate, and it moves
into the other facilities that get
a lot of use in the community.
She is concerned abou~ the design
and the landscaping, and she believes
it should be an absolute.requirement
that redwood be used so that it is
compatible with the city buildings.
,(31)
A, GENDA ACTION.
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS (Cont'd.) Councilwoman Jensen commented that
she feels the possibility on the
A. CONSIDERATION OF APPEAL OF existing site have .not been-exhaused.
PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION She requested continuing.this
TO GRANT A USE PErmIT TO ALLOI~ decision until next Tuesday evening.
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF
A POST OFFICE ON SURPLUS LAND' The Mayor called for a vote on the
ASSOCIATED WITH REDWOOD JUNIOR' motion tO deny this appeal. The
HIGH SCHOOL AT 13925 FRUITVALE motion was carried, 4 to 1,
AVENUE (De novo hearing) Councilwoman Jensen in opposition.
VI. CONTINUATION OF AGENDA CONTINUATION OF AGENDA
Mayor Callon announced the balance
of the.agenda for this meeting
would. be !continued to next Tuesday
evening, June 10th, at 7-:00 P.M.
VII. ADJOURBR,~ENT ADJOURNMENT
M/S: Cl~venger/Mallory to adjourn
this meeting to an Adjourned
Regular Meeting on Tuesday, June
10, 1980. Carried unanimously.
~ --~ ec Submitted,
R?bert . r
(: