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Home My WebLink About04-15-1981 City Council Minutes MINU!~ES . SARATOGA CItY COUNCIL TIME: Wednesday, April 15, 198'1 - 7:30 p~m. PLACE: City Council Chambers, 13777 Fruityale, Saratoga TYPE: Regular Meeting AGENDA ' EXECOTIVE SESSION - Litigation - 6:30 p.m. ' · Crisp Conference Rocm P~GULAR MEETING - V:30 p.m.' - I. ORGANIZATION Convened V: 40 p .m. . ~: ' A. ROLL CALL - Councilmembers Clevenger, Affl present.' [Watson arrived 7:4? p.m.) Jensen, Mallory, Watson, Mayor Calloff B. MllxF3I~S - 4/1; 4/7 Jensen/Mallory moved acceptance with corr6ctions listed below.' Pas~ed 5-0. 4/1 - Under Item III, p~ragraph 3 expanded to include Council concern regarding set- back requirements and to clarify that ituis.'~ot'certain whether. floor area ,ratio standards are overly restrictive; the question is to be examined by staff. 4/7 - Under Item VIII.B., item on historical heritage cbrrected .to show that Jensen is to deVelOp methods to allow City to consider historical heritage in its pro- cesses and listing possible methods. II. COmmUNICATIONS A. ORAL B. III. SUBDIVISIONS, BUILDING SITES, ZONING REQUESTS A. Request for ExtensiOn Of Final Map Items A and B considered together. Approval, SDR 1329 (Joseph B. MALIORY/CLEVENGER MOVED TO ACCEPT INTERPRETATION Krajeska, applicant) OF CITY A_u~IDRNEY AS OUTLINED IN. HIS' LLTI'EH OF 4/9, WHICH WOULD EXTEND DEADLINES FOR APPROVAL B. Request for Extension of Final Map 2 FOR LENGTH OF TIME MEASURE A IS IN P~'FECT UP TO Approval, SDR 1290 (Mr. 'end Mrs. Fred DATE OF ADOPTION OF SPECIFIC PLAN. Passed 4=1 Irany, applicants) (Jensen opposed). George Tobin, attorney for Mr. Krajeska, stated that he agreed with the City Attorney 's · ' interpretation in general but wished to point out that his client's situation with respect to time was unique in that a previous extension had been granted after a significant delay, one'the pert of the City. 2 - 4/15/81 AGENDA '~ ~ ACTION Consensus~ 'to direct City Attorney t6 contact '~. Krajeska's ~nd Irany's lawyers to explain I ,. ] ' CounCil p61fcy re '~toilfnq b/~d to determine fdture steps necessary, if any. Matter to be ~" Z agendize~ 5/6 so that City' Attorney may report . on the appropriate date to be used for adoption ~ of Measure A, which would affect timing of ' ~ ~ extensions. Councilmember Jensen expressed her belief that neither the cede nor Measure A provided the !authority to'toll time periods;. therefore she ~felt obliged to vote against the motion. IV. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES, AND RESOLETIONS A. ResolUtion Requesting Attorney Gener,'al 'JENSEN/MALLORY MOVED TO ADOPTi Passed 5-0. 'Investigate into Election F~aud and ! Urging Other Local Governments to ~ "' · Take Action to Prevent Abuse of Eleq- 1. Resolution No..1006 B. Resolution Describing Improvements i JENSEN/MAILORY MOVIe) TO ADOPT. Passed. 5-0. and Directing Preparation of f. =- Engineer's Report for FiscaI Year. 1981-82 (pursuant to Landscaping and. Lighting Act, 1972) 1. Resolution No~ 1004 C. Final Map Approval, SDR 1477, Prospect JENSEN/WATSON MOVED TO ADOPT. Passed 5-0. Road (Saratoga Baptist Church, applicant) 1. ' Resolution No. '1477-02 D. - Resolution Ruiing Upon an Application CLEVENGER/WATSON MOVED TO ADOPT RESOLbTION by Ralph Mares for the Grant of an DENYING EXCEPTION.. ~assed 4-1 (Mallory Exception frc~ the Interim Restric~ .opposed)'. tions imposed by the Initiative 'Dr=. dinance Adopted by ehe Voters in an" Election Held on .April 8, 1980. 1. Resolution No. 1007 E. Resolution Approving the Apblication~ JENSEN/CLEVENGER MOVED TO ADOPT. Passed 5-0. for Grant Funds under the Roberti- Z'Berg Urban Open-Space and Recreati6r Program for Acquisition of Property Adjacent to Hakone Gardens 1. Resolution No. 1008 V. PUBLIC HEARING -' 8:00 p.m. i ~ ' "' ~ ~'~ · ' A. Consideration of the Draft Northwest City Manager reviewed events leading to Hillside Specific Plan and its EnVi-' r.equire~eht fo~ 'development of specific plan roDmental Impact Report . ~. and noted. that 6wd actions 'wer~i-befo~e Gouneil: determk~ing whether th& Environmental' Report is~adeqUate~and sdffiCient; determining ', extent of ~Codncil's agreement with recc~l~~ ~ tions of Pll.a.nning Commission regarding goal,s~. ' ' ~licigs, and programs of Specific Plan, which would then 6ecdne ~ guiding doc~nent for 3 - 4/15/81 AGENDA ACTION ~ 'I' ~ ' ]- "" "5' "'~ Ass~seant Planner Kerdus.explained further work performed by staff and~cOnsultanes in evaluating traffic, solid waste, population, / and air quality. City Manager noted that .the cutulents of John Cone, an-econcmiC consultant, suggested that maintenance costs for streets on the hillside areas would not be as much greater than those on flat land as previously represented to the Council. The ~ablic hearing was opened at 8:20 p.m. Dora Grens, 15451 Old Oak Way, spoke in con=. tradiction to Mr. Cene's report, saying that Santa. Clara County has reported problems with maihtenance of hiilside roads and that other ~ities limlt~.suchrconStruC~ion. Mayor Callon noted t~hat San Jose Was required to limit construction because the area in ques- tion. was not part of the urban service area. Mike Sobelman, 15810 Pierce, suggested that Council consider removing the water assessment district frc~a the Specific Plan and putting it in a special election bona to, be'voted on by citizens. He. e~pressed concern that the water assessment district would ~ause a financial burden'to ~esidents_~_i~ ~he~rea~t~o=s~bSidiz~- developers. Di~ect6~'0f Public-Works nOted'that the pur- pose 'of a water assessrent district is to assess undeveloped properties, not developed properties. Ass~is~ant Planner affirmed that this was the intent in the Specific Plan. In r~sp6~s~ to MS. ,GrenS~, Director of Public w6rks stated that in 'the past the City had underwritten bonds, but that was not possible ,~ under.=Proposition 13., '==- CoUnciLmember jensen a~ked about the City's liability ~f, w.ater lines caused landslides and the City's', ~,i.lity to raise money under ?r0position 4. 'City At%orney Smith replied that Council ' s ~uty is to review geological information and dec'~de ~if project is feasible and safe, which depends on mitigation measures taken. The City is not the guarantor, but can be subject to lawsuits. Council needs to show - '. 0nly that they acted prudently at the time. Director of Public Works noted that Iia~ility in eonn~ctio~ ~with ~wat~ lines would'be the same as thht for other San Jose Water Works projects. Further, the funds.involved would not be covered by Proposition 4, since they are not City money. Anne Marie Burger, 20045 Winter Lane, spoke in opposition to the minorit!z report suhnitted by three Planning CcF~nissioners in connection 4 - 4/15/81 AGt~qDA ACTION with the S~ecific Plan. She pointed out that the Citizens Advisory Conmittee had heard the evidence of exlDerts in the field of geology, a~d] that the CulelLissioners were not geologist Ed Bolger, 13627 Vaquero, spoke as a Planning Cc~missioner who had signed the minority report. He spoke against the draft Specific Plan because of geological hazards; he also stated that a water assessment district would cost more, and that traffic would be a problem. Valentine ~iller, a representative of the Santa Clara County Water District, stated that the danger of subsidence because of use of ground water was less than stated or i~91ied ~ the draft Specific Plan. Councilmenber Jensen questioned Mr. Miller about the amount of rain that could be expected in the next few years and expressed concern that it might not be enough .to maintain the ground water level. Mike Anderson, 13983 Pike Road, spoke as a member of the General Plan Citizens Advisory Cc~mittee. He explained how the coKnuittee · ' .. had arrived at its recc~mendations concerning building in areas Qith various geolc~3ic designations and urged the Council to follow those reco~nendations. He noted that the committee felt that proper engineering could mitigate geological problems in some areas, and that landowners nmst prove~it is. possible to do so. In response to Council- .me~ler Watson, he also stated that he had built a hillside road with no problems of ~undue expense. Russell Crowther, 20788 Noraria Court, warned that the City is taking a risk if it allows a PD area to be developed, although the burden of proof is on the developer. He felt that PD should be handled as MD. [.{r. Crowther stated that the plan needed to be reviewed by the City Attorney, and he listed further objections to the Specific Plan, particularly concerning preservation of the ridge lines. Dieme Bolger, 13627 Vaquero Court, expressed concern that by liberalizing' building requirements the City might nknke itself liable to. "deep pocket" lawsuits. She felt it necessary to rely on c~n sense rather t/Jan the advice of technical peeple~ Ed Gemersall, 19817 Veronica Drive, spoke as chairman of the Parks and Recreation C/remission. He felt that a site mentioned on page 63 of the draft Specific Plan should be developed as a park- Dick Siegfried, Chairman of the~ General Pi~ Citizens Advisory Cor~nittee, noted that the - consultants for ta~e Specific plan were experts; he exlDle'~ined how the tentative map process works with the Specific Plan. Janet Harris, 21083 Conler, expressed concern about traffic problens, stating that usage of Pierce Road would be high because of traffic patterns. 5-4/15/81 AGENDA ACTION . T~e-.PUbIibr~Hearing was closed. After further discussion of the issues, the Council continued this item tol an adjourned regular meeting ~t 7:30 p.m., 4/21. · ', · B. lRes61u~i6nL to Vacate and Abandon Director of CuL~l~nity Services reviewed Pedestrian/Equestrian Easement, background of matter. City Attorney noted~= Tract 5164 that if the easem~n.t i~ abandoned.lth~re!'is, t no need for the City to pay. for the land.. 1. Resolution No. 1009 The Public Hearing was opened. a letter supporting the easement 'from. Roseanne Dorsey. CouncilSember Jensen pointed out that the easement had never'been opened, and Director of ~ty Services noted that $10,000 would b~ve been' necessary -..to develop the trail. The Council bad not autho±ized the expenditure to do so, although it had' bean used on occasi6n~ particularly before homes were built in the area. Gary Kanemoto, 14155 Sobey Meadows Court, spoke in favor of vacating 'the easement. He fell it was nqt a good area for a walkway because it is out of the line of sight and not secure for childran. Ed GomerSall, 19817 Veronica Drive, Chairman of the Parks & Recreation Cc~missior~ spoke against the abandonment of the easement because of its precedant-setting possibilities i Councilmenber-Watsen stated that it was not " necessary to maintain the integrity Of.the · trail system, d~.'d not set a precedant, and the neighbors favored abandonment; Mrs. Dorsey, 19361 San Marcos, stated that rest people in the area wish to retain the The Public Hearing Qas closed. Councilmember Mallory stated his b~lief that abandonment would be inconsistant with the General Plan, and that the easement is an important part of the trail system. He recommended referring the matter to the General Plan A~visery Conmittee. Councilmember Jansan noted that the bank creek cannot be properly stabilized while the easement is there; she expressed concern abou~ childran using the easement and re~ded' abandonnen~. : Counci~r Cle~&nge~ ~pr~Ssed her' ~lie f that the trail probably would not be developed, b~d that-giving the 'easem~,~nt up is the only .f~i~r, thing 'to doj 6-4/15/Sl AGENDA ., ~ ACTION " Mayor Callon felt that th~ matter should go to the C~n~rat Plan ~Advisor!z Cu'f.~ttee. · ' She reco~mended·~that the easement be re- ! tained because it ,ris in a creek-side setting. school route if the' easement were abandoned. Further, ·she·felt that the money for develoFeent Could be obtained. JENSEN/WATSCN MDVED TO ADOPT. Passed 3-2. (Mallory, Callon opposed). VI. BID~ AND CONTRACFS ~ NC~E VII. CONS~T CAI,RNDAR JENSEN/CLEVENGER MOVED TO APPROVE A~D ADDPT. Passed 5-0. '. A. CITY TREASURER'S REPORT (Jan. & Feb.). ! ADOPi'ED. B. CHANGE ORDER #t - Signal Modifications, ADOPTED. Cox/Saratoga and Allendale/Quito C. REPORT ON 1980 C~qSUS ADOPiEU. D. PAY~F~ OF CLAIMS ADOPTED. VIII. ADMINISTRATIVE A. MAYOR 1. Council Organization 'I MALLORY/C~.RV~qGER MOVED TO APPO]lqT CALLON AS MAYOR AND CLEVEN~R AS MAYOR PRO T~4 FOR ONE-YEAR TERM. Passed 5-0..Councilmembers wil · ~oon '~o~vveu~asi~x~l~s.cil representatives B. COL~qCIL AND CC~viISSION REPORTS Councilmembers presente~ updates on activities , -~ .....~.,.· ..... . .~- .. ..... '~-.~ of groups to Qhich they are representatives. 'C~ DEPARTMENT HEADS kND OFFIC~i~S 1. Director of Public Works a. Post Office ImproVerentS ~ JE~S~q/CLEVENGER MDVED TO ACCEPT RECC~MEN~ DATION OF ST3~FF REPORT DATED 4/8 WHERE BY CITY WOULD ADMINISTER STREET IMPRDVEMENTS Eq CONNECTION WITH POST OFFICE CONSTRUCTION. Passed 5-0. D. CITY MANAGER · City Manager requested that Council ~convene = a C~'~r~ttee of the Whole meeting to discuss IX. ADJOUR~4ENT to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, RESPEUi'FgLLY SUBMITi'~jD,' City Clerk