HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-22-1980 City Council Minutes M NUTES
~'~'~=~"-j.-] ' SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL .
TIME~ Tuesday, July.22, 1980 ?.7:30 P.M.
PLACE: Saratoga City Counci.I Chambers, 13777 Fruitvale Ave., S~ratoga, CA
TYPE: Adjourned Special Meeting
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ORGAN I ZAT I ON ORGAN I ZAT I ON
A ROLL CALL
Present: C]evenger, Jen'sen,-Mallory,
Watson, C~il lon.
Absent: None
COMMUN I CAT IONS COMMUN I CAT IONS
A. ORAL
I. Joyce Hlava, 20137 Guava Ct., re: City Manager noted there have been two
notice about the Transportation notices in the paper, handouts at the library
Corridor hearing July 30. She fel't and notice Dosted at City Hall, in addition
notice was very short, ana she had to counter handouts,..
seen nothing about the hearing bpt
a notice at City Hall. She has al'-
ways been against the-freeway, but
feels it is important for City to
maintain corridor,'
2. Mike Sobelman, 13810 Pierce Ro~sd,. Consensus to ask Paul Masson not t,o use
re: Paul Masson Chess Tournament I~ierce between 85 and the Winery, but to
and buses used to tr~nsport'vis!to'r~ take Big Basin Way. Council Mallory suggeste~
Would like Council to contact the~' firit consulti. n9 Ci. ty staff as to why the
winery and request in future .they · buses were routed alon~9 P-i=~ce .Roa~.
either use smaller buses or re-rouce
-them through the Village rather than
going through residential areas.
Possibly the d~ntown ~erchants woul~
get some new customers this way, and -.
residents of Pierce Road'would not
be distunbed.
3- Steve ~eKeczer, 134.15 Pierce Ro&d~, ~; ,Publi'c Works Director responded perhaps there
re: PaUl Masson busing route. Al'sO are some turns on pri.vate roads which are
ouestioned fi re truck maneuver- di ffi cut t.
ability along Pierce Road.' ....
B'~ WRITTEN
1. Several letters were received relat+~
ing to hardship hearings, and will
be considered at that time'.
PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS
A. CONSIDERATION OF REQUESTS IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 7 OF
MEASURE "A" , INTERUM- RESTRICTIONS AS
RELATED TO HARDSHIP CASES.
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1. Blackwell Homes' (Tract'~526, 6528) ....
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(Cont'd from July 8, 1980) -
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~ENDA ~ ACTION
I1. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES,' RESOLUTIONS
(Cont'd.)
1. Blackwell Homes Councilman'Mallory asked to,change section
3 b. as he believes applicant has shown
a. Consideration of Resolution extreme hardship in both cases. Councilman
No;~963 Watson disagreed with the inclusion of Unit
2, felt there was hardship but not severe
hardship. There is time and a way for them
Mayor Callon stated that Council at last . to re-look at some of the requirements for
hearing on this issue on July 8' took publi~ Unit 2. 'Consensus of Council to leave
hearing input from both applicants and other section 3 b. as w.ri-.~ten.
inteFested citizens and closed the public
hearing. Then Council wentb.ack and started Mayor Callon asked if the applicant or any-
deliberations on each request for hardship, one else wii~hed to comment. Applicant said
exemption. Concluded tentative findi;ngs on he would register generaldisapproval of
both tracts on Blackwell Homes and asked s Council action.
staff to prepare a resolut$on.
:
Bill Heiss, Civil Engineer., clarified circu-
City Manager commented that coplies of the lati,on aspect at southeast corner of project.
resolution were distributed to C~uncil and
to Mr. Blackwell and his attorney Mr. Wilhem Kohler, 21842 Via Regina, commented
McKeehan. Based on the temporary findings it was not wise to focus on a specific num-
of ~he Council, the two issues.were whethe~ ber, in this case 12 lots, ~ntil the com~i
tracts met extreme hardship, and whether the mittee has really established the rules
maps were in agreement with the provisions concerning geological hazards on the pro-
of Measure "A". ; perty. City Manager replied geological
hazards have been considered under the
Councilwoman Jensen referred to item 2 a. current map approval for Parker Ranch, and
of resolution 963,'stat,[ng aver.age slope in the calculations for maximum'number of
in both tracts to be 28.4. Her understandinl lots.
was from final'EIR f. igure Closer to 30%.
Ms. Vicci Rudin of City Planning Department Mayor Callon called for a motion on
stated final map confirms 28.4% is accurate Resolution 963. Councilwoman Clevenger
average slope. moved to adopt the resolution, seconded by
Councilman Watson. Vote was 4 to 1, with
Councilwoman Jensenbro~ght up a question on Councilwoman Jensen opposed for reasons
the circulation'for Unit 2 which was explain- stated previously. Motion passed and
ed by Bob Shook, P~blic Works Director. Mr. Resolution 963 adopted, with modification.
Shook stated he felt circultaion is con~
sistent with the. circulation plan.. Council-
woman Jensen asked to delete word "ful ~
1 t~'
from section 2 b. Council agreed.
Councilwomen Jensen also asked that the re-
cord show that her position iS that Tract
6528 does not meet the intent of preserving
the rural character as topography would be.
severely Changed by the roads as they are
proposed.
Councilwoman Jensen objected to section 2 d.
that only Tract 6526 met provision for growt~
as set forth. Council consensus was that'
Tract 6528 did meet criteria.
Councilwoman Jensen asked that the record
show she did not agree to wordingof 4 c.
or 5 a. Consensus of Council to let wording
rema i n.
L -u ... i-
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AGENDA ACTION
~. PETiTiONS, ORDINANCES, R[SOhUT~ONS '(Cont'd)
2. McBaln & Gibbs, ~nc. (Tract 6628)'I]' .Mayor' Callon sta[pd~that Councii had made
(Cont'd. from July 8, ]980) tentative findings and had asked staf~ to
_, prepare R&solution 964. City Manager said
a. Consideration of Resolution :~Z, a copy of the resolution had been sent to
No. 964 Mr. Burns,'Tepresenting McBain & Gibbs, and
~ also to M~ McBai,n. -A letter had been re-
'ceived that day from Mr. Kenneth B. Blythe
relevant to the subject. CouncilWoman Jensen
~aid that she had seen the letter and was
upset by comments about her in.the letter,
and that they were uncalled for and quite
out of order.
Mayor Callon asked Mr. Shook to present the
circulation~,tanoon McBain & Gibbs. He ex-
plained that point of access-is the end of
Tollgate, and conditions of th'is map are to
provide a minimum access road connection
through the Parhas property to Pi,e~ce Road.
Councilwoman Clevenger said she had a prob-
lem with the access and circulation, and
is waiting for the Measure "A: Committee to
make a determination.
Councilwoman Jensen commented on section
2 c. that she feels the road standards may ..
not be met because of problems of a very
la. rge landslide on the extenSion.of Tollgate
Road, and massive grading that has been
proposed.
Councilwoman Clevenger discussed section ~ c.
and whether the Tract 6628 could be developed
in a manner.which will com~ly with the pre-
servation of rural character standards.
.. City Geologist Bill Cotton answered questions
about geologic hazards and excavation in the
area. Consensus of the Council was not to
change wording of resolution.as w,~itten.
Councilman Mallory questioned'the circula-
tion,aand stated he disagreed with the
resolution in the conclusion that the appli-
cant had not shown extreme hardship.
Councilman Watson sjid everyone embraced
under the measure had some degree of finan-
cial hardship, but extreme:~hardship had not
been demonstrated. Councilwoman Jensen
.cOncVrred.
Mayor Callon asked for a motion. M/S Watson/
Callon to approye Reso!llution 964. Motion
", carrie~ 5-0. -,.,
AGENDA ACTION
III. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS
(Cont'd) -,
3. Parhas Corporation (TraCt 6665~
552s) (cont 'd. from Jul.y e, lS80) la :
slide has moyed .13 feetin the last 26 years
and sewer line to thi's propertyjwould have to
Mayor Callon commented this deliberation i go through the toe of the landslide. Above
continued fro~ July 8. At that meeting the ground sewer line would be'terrible.
Councl] wished to have more time to review
files and take cognizance of public and Mr. Heiss, civil engineer for the~pFoject
applicant input~ Said Sanitary District #4 would be the re-
sponsible agency for the sewer, and he out-
City Manager mentti,oned two additional items lined the p.lann&d sewer construction.
of cdrrespondence, a lette~ from Mr. Edmun~
Charlebois of Parnas CoFp. and from Dr. Mr. Dennis Eccles, a soils engineer for
. Heinrich Hunziker. .' Terratech, related studies done of Congress
Springs landslide which indicated the largest
Councilman Mallory stated b~ felt what was. amount of movement averages out to .15 feet
presented to Council gave evidence of extreme per year, and the rest of the slide was less.
hardship. Councilwoman Jensen had a hard He felt the scheme presented is satisfactory
time relating expenditure of funds in the and would not involve a great amodnt of'main-
pursuit of development to'personal hardship, tenance~.
and can't make a finding of extreme hardsbip.
Councilman Watson wished to question Mr. Councilwoman Jensen commented she bad read
Neiss on access and circulation. Mayor ~"i'. that data, and that it did not deal with a
Callon felt extreme, hardship had not been long enough period of time, and the proposal
shown as part of development is. still in was really a ridicu,i,ous scheme. Mr. Eccles
tentative stage. Councilwoman~e:leveng~z-l~ replied that the sewer had been designed
aske~'ltoZcpnsider whether the devel6pment conservatively. and will'accomodate expected
mete. the MeasuPe "A" standards before deter- movement.
mining extreme hardship.
MFs~i3~nsen~, further stated preserving the
Mr. Steven Bernard, Parhas attorney, indi- natural drainage system is an important issue,
cated Parhas will meet the density requiFe- and there would be considerable change in
ments in order to begin bui-lding now. COuncil character of this whole area. Mr. Heiss
woman Cleve.nger determined that would be stated any project was going to have some
between 32 and 34 lots. Councilwoman Jensen gradient, and that the engineers had exer-
.noted because of severe geologic hazards, cised a great deal of sensitivity in this
development might mot meet intent of the area to avoididoing any massive grading.
initiative~in density.; The project would not d~stroy the natural
:. drainage channel but protect it. There' was
TherezwaszCogside~able-ldisCussion'.of access considerable discussion on this point?
and circulation. CouncilwomanClevenge~
spok~ of her concern of closing options fo~ Staging of growth was discussed. The develc~l
the Measure "A" Committee in the development o~er said the intent was to develop under-
of the City's dirculation plan. Parhas ground site work in one phase, and then stage
development would not significantly alter building homes and selling lots.
character of Pierce Road.
Ontothee=point Of street and storm drain main-
Councilwoman Jensen felt there is a problem tenance, Mayor Callon said there is no legal
with access from both points, and access is provision to have maintenance and assessment
going to be hazardous from COngress Springs districts. The attorney agreed it was not
Road, and from Pierce would be acKoss aniI' proper to require that as part o( the deliber-
active lands.lide. She felt the issue belong5 ation.
in a study, and it is premature to decide
whether roads should go through until the At this lime, May6r Callon aske'd if the
stud~ is made. applicant wished to speak. Mr. Bernard said
that all documentation had been supplied, and
In r.egard to consideration of rural char- they are speaking 6~ a:~$2,000,OO0 investment,
acter, Councilwoman Jensen reviewed her com- and they wil.l lose all~of it if Bot allow&d
ments from the previous hearing. She feels to proceed. Final.Map ~or'Tract 6665 has been
the terrain is not stable enough to main- pending before the staff since April but City
-4-
AGENDA ACTION
Parhas Corporario. (T'ract 6665, 5928)
Continued
Council has refused to process it~ All' number on t~e' developable lots due to geo-
engineering revisions have been submitted., logical problems. It is necessaFy to wait
Councilmen Mallory and Watson questioned for the Measure "A" Committee decision.
how the $2,000,000 could have been actually Unstable a~eas should be left alone, and
lost, and'what would be the market value of concrete in the water flow basin is completely
the property today. Mr. BeFnard replied unacceptable and unnecessary.
because of the current Complications, the
Jand is undevelopable unless the exemptiQn Mr. Ed Gomersall, 19817 Veronica Dr., stated
is granted. .' he was quite appalled at the lack of respect
for the background and knowledge shown for the
Mr.: Heiss addressed the access and circula- people the City employs in dealing with the
tion standaid. He also pointed out that '. geologic hazards and other matters. He felt
Mrs. Gaspar, whO lives on the property, was people should pay attention to the exbertise
incurring 'a personal hardship in relation. 'that we have paid for.
to the.se~er and water delays.
" Councilman Watson responded that several~
There was more discussion.by the Council o~ times he had lauded the City Manager and
various ci.rculation options, and the impacE staff on good work, but by the same token
on PierCe Road. Mayor Callon felt the it was the responsibility of the Council to
Measure "A" Committe could best weigh-what the citizens t6 monitor, examine and challenge
the best Solution wouldbe to. alleviate and he does not accept that thereiis lack of
pressure'on Pierce. Councilman Mallory sa'ic respect. Mr. Gomersall replied it was dan-
he was concerned with the impacts of circuL gerous to out-expert the experts.
lation. Councilman Watson agreed this was
one of the significant concerns but he f~lt Mayon Callon called for deliberation. The
thi~ provided dpportunity for the Committee first issue to make a tentative decision and
to look at this with several options to fit ask staff to'prepare a resolution for a later
a circulation plan in spirit with the date~on extreme hardship.
initiative. The Council function was to
address the hardship aspect~ not'the ulti-: The Council consensus, with Councilwoman
mate specific plan itself. Jensen dissenting, was that extreme hardship
had been proven by the applican~t.
Mayor Callon called for additional input
from the public. Dr. Heinrich Hunziker, The second issue was whether map would meet
.13925 Pierce Road had three comments: standards of Measure !'A". On density, Council
1. He felt Parhas was conditioned on im-.::r; consensus was that density could be accomo-
mediate requirements of road standards with- dated, Mrs. Jensen not in agreement. Mayo[~
out paying proper attention to all the other C~llO~', Ce~ncflman~' ~nd~6~il~oman'7
developments in the area. There have been ~CleV~nger ~gre~ to moaified'ci'rc~l~tio~,
many bad accidents at the junction of Tollr Couhcilman Mallory and CounCilwoman Jensen
gate Road and Hiway 9, and also'the junction did not agree. The consensus on preservation
of Pierce and Miway 9-should not be subjecte of rural character was that ~arnas will con-
to more bad traffic. 2~lf the Congress form to fullest extent feasible, Mrs. Jensen
Springs landslide is released and comes down again not able to make that finding.
how far would it ascend the other slope? Council agreed the other standards would be
3. He cannot accept the hardship argument: ~t.
when the gain on the development would be" - . ."
$6,000,000 for development of'30 lots under Staff was directed to prepare the necessary
Measur~ "A" standards~ resolution for Council to consider at 7;00
.PM: onJul~ 30,.~riorto the public hearing
Mr. Jim Stuart, 19149 Mlendale Ave. al~o ~ .on the!TranspOrtation Gorridor.
Commented he did not understand how it could '
be true that Parnas Cbrp. would suffer a
$2,0p0 O00'loss.
. .;
Mr.'Wilhem Kohler, 21842 Via Regina, adore .... ;,,
dressed the density Standard. He feels th'i .. ,,
developrm~nt is complet~']y different from
Parker Ranch, and no one can put an absolut
AGENDA ACTION
PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS
Cont'd.) :
4. Perry West,(SDR-1413) Mayor Callon stated that this mat'ter was
(cont'd. from July 8, 1980) continued from the July 8 meeting for Council
del!beration,L~nd they should now see if they
had a consensus for a' finding of extreme
hardship plus meeting the Measure "A" stand-
ards.
.:.
City. Manage~ said Mr. We~t has submitted an
additional ,l:etter dated.July 16, 1980, and
Council had all received a copy.
Councilwoman Jensen commented she was con-
cerned by the potential for creating a bigger
hardship by, allowing this to go through. and
questioned Mr. COtton about' the landslide
potential on the property. She,felt his
answer satisfactory, and the Wests could sign
ahoid-harmless agreement with the City.
Councilman Watson fett the only problem with
granting this exemption was the matter of
density. It was determined that by replacing
one house with another there was a negative
gain in density. It was ·felt this Could be
granted on an individual basis without
creating a precedent.'
Therefore, consensus 6~ the Council was that
they could make the finding ofextreme hard-
ship and'that the standards of Measure "A"
would be met. Mayor Callon directed staff
to prepare a resolution for their July 30
meeting, if possible.
IV. ADJOURNMENT TO EXECUTIVE SESSION ADJOURNMENT TO EXECUTIVE SESSION
M/S to adjourn this meeting to an Executive
Session. Carried unanlmously. Meeting was
adjourned at 11:15 PM.
V. RECONVENING OF ADJOORNED SPECIAL MEETING. ~ECONVE~ING,!OFSAD~0U~NED SPECIAL MEETING
The City Council reconvened to the Adjourned
Special mee.~ing from the Executive Session
',a~ll :45.-,pM,..::~"
Councilman Watson moved, seconded by Mayor
Callon, that the portion of Reso!l;ution 964
covering hardship be reconsidered. The motioi
carried 4 to 1.
It was then moved by Councilman Watson,
seconded by Mayor Callon that in the specific
case of hardship, s~id hardship has been
found in this case, and that Resoluti,on 964,
Section 3, should be modified to r~flect this
finding. The motion carried4 to 1.
VI. ADJOURNMENT ADJOURNMENT
,The meeting'was ad!0urned.
'tted,