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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-04-1997 City Council Minutes MINUTES SARATOgA CITY COUNCiL TIME: Wednesday, June 4, 1997 - 5:30 p.m. PLACE: Civic Theater, 13777 Fruitvale Ave. TYPE: Regular Meeting Closed Session - 5:30 in Administration Conference Room, 13777 Fruitvale Avenue for the purposes oft CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL-ANTICIPATED LITIGATION Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to ~overnment Code Section 54956.9 (b) in one case CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - EXISTING LITIGATION PUrsuant to Government Code Section 54956.9 (a) Name of caset Green Valley Disposal/Guadalupe Landfill vs. City Of Saratoga~ Bloxhnm vs. City of Saratoga 7:39 - Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Moran announced that at the conclusion of the closed session, Council directed the Interim City Manager to commence the process of preparing plans and specifications for design and construction of permanent repairs to Villa Oaks Lane, to be completed prior to the rainy season. 1. ROLL CALL Councilmembers Present: Mayor Moran, Vice Mayor Wolfe, and Councilmembers Jacobs,'Shaw and Bogosian. Staff Present: Interim City Manager Perlin, City Attorney Riback, Interim Planning Director Walgren, and Finance Director Fil. 2. CEREMONIAL ITEMS A. Resolution commending Don Peterson as 1996 Saratoga Citizen of the Year WOLEE/JACOBS TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION. PASSED 5-0. 3. REPORT OF CITY CLERK ON POSTING OF AGENDA Interim City Manager Perlin reported that pursuant to Government Code 54954.2, the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on May 30. 4. COMMUNICATIONS PROM COMMISSIONS AND THE PUBLIC A. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mr. Ken Riding, 21836 Villa Oaks Lane, said he was very pleased with the direction given to staff regarding action on Villa Oaks Lane. Mr. Harry Murray, 116 Ohlone Ct., Los Gates, spoke as Chair of the Strawberry Festival to be held on June 7 and 8 at West Valley College. He said he was there to answer guestions regarding the application for a use permit for directional parking signs for the festival. City Attorney Riback recommended that if the City Council wanted to take action that this be placed on the agenda as an urgency matter. BOGOSIAN/WOLFE TO PLACE THE MATTER OF 'x'~ STMAWBEHEY FESTIVAL USE PERMIT FOR PARKING ON THE AGENDA AS AN URGENCY MATTER. PASSED 5-0. SHAW/WOLFE THAT THE STHAWBEREY FESTIVAL ORGANiZATiON BE GRANTED A USE PERMIT TO ALLOW PLACING SIGNS IN MEDIAN STRIPS WHICH WOULD DIRECT TRAFFIC TO THE STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL ATWBST VALLEY COLLEGE, SIGNS TO BE PLACED BETWEEN NOW ANDTHE TIME OF CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON SUNDAY, ANDTO BE REMOVED PROMPTLY THEREAFTER. PASSED 5-0. B. COMMUNICATIONS FROM COMMISSIONS - None. C. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION8- None. City Council Minutes 2 June 4, 1997 5. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Previously-Discussed Items 1) Ordinance 71-169 amending Section 9-55 of City Code pertaining to Abandoned Vehicle. Abatement Process (second reading and adoption) 2) Rebolution 97-24 denying Wong Appeal heard 5/21 JACOBS/SHAW TO APPROVE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM~ 5.A.1AND 2. PASSED 5-0. B. New Items 1) Planning Commission Actions, 5/28 - Note and file. 2) Memo Authorizing Publicity for Upcoming Hearings - No new hearings June 18. (Removed at the request of Mayor Moran.) 3) Approval of Contract with Hughes, Perry and Associates to, conduct City Manager Recruitment 4) Declaration of Surplus Property and Authorization to Dispose of Same - Dump Truck and Motor sweeper 5) Approval of Check Register SHAW/WOLFE TO APPROVE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS 5.B.1, 3, 4, AND 5. PASSED 5-0. 2) Memo Authorizing Publicity for Upcoming Hearings Mayor Moran said. staff will be ready to present the garbage rate adjustment information on June 18. WOLFE/SHAW TO AUTHORIZE PUBLICITY FOR THE HEARING REGARDING GARBAGE RATE ADJUSTMENTS. PASSED 5-0. C. CLAIMS AGAINST THE CITY - None. 4. A. Oral Communications (continued) and instructions to staff regarding actions on current oral communications - None. Mayor Moran moved!the agenda to Item 7.A. 7. OLD BUSINESS A. Memorandum from City Attorney concerning Non-Compliance with Brown Act of Urban Creek Assessment Project Committee City Attorney Riback reviewed the recommendations listed in his memorandum to Council dated Nay 30, 1997. He stated that he had received a call from the District's legal counsel, Anthony Bennetti, who stated that the protocol would be modified to address the City's concerns. Mr. Riback requested that in light of that, Council could authorize him to send the letter to Mr. Bennetti confirming their conversation and the City's areas of concern. BY CONSENSUS, COUNCIL AUTHORIZED STAFF TO SEND THE LETTER. In answer to cduncil's questions, city Attorney Riback said he understood that nO minutes were taken at the meetings prior to the time they became open meetings. Interim City Manager Perlin agreed with Councilmember Shaw that the meetings of the committee were important to the City and said staff will attend all future meetings. 8. NEW BUSINESS A. Agreements with Hakone Foundation: Revised Maintenance and City Council Minutes 3 June 4f 1997 operations Agreement; Fifth Amendment to Trust Agreement Interim City Manager Perlin presented the staff report. Mayor Moran expressed best wishes and appreciation to Kay Duffy and Darryll Becker of the Hakone Foundation. Councilmember Wolfe also thanked the Foundation. WOLFE/JACOB8 TO APPROVE THE AMENDED MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION8 AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE HAKOHE FOD]fl)ATION AND AUTHORIZE Tn~ MAYOR TO SIGN THE AGREEMENT. PASSED 5-0. WOLFE/JACOBS TO APPROVE THE FIFTH AMENDMENT TO THE MAKONE FOUNDATION TRUST AGREEMENT AND AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO 8IGN ~ata DOCUMENT. PASSED 5-0° Mayor Moran moved the agenda to Item 9 .A. 9. ROUTINE MATTERS A. Approval of Minutes - 5/21; 5/27 SHAW/JACOBS TO APPROVE THE MAY 21 MINDTE8 AS SUBMITTED. PASSED 4-0 (BOGOSIAN ABSTAINING). JAGeBB/SHAW TO APPROVE THE MAY 27 MINUTES AS SUBMITTED. PASSED 5-0. 10. CITY COUNCIL ITEMS A. Agenda items for June 10 adjourned regular meeting 1) Youth CommissiOn Interviews 2) Miller Avenue Traffic Matter Interim City Manager Perlin indicated there were about 10 applicants for the Youth Commission. In regard to the Miller Avenue Traffic matter, Mr. Perlin said Sheriff and Fire District representatives will be at the meeting, but the consultant will not. Councilmembers requested that the consultant s report and the memo Councilmember Jacobs had written in resonse to the anonymous letter sent to the Council be included in the staff report. Councilmember Shaw expressed the opinion that the problem is not just restricted to Miller Avenue and asked if staff could see expanding notification of the meeting to those within the area bounded by Cox, Prospect, Scully Avenue, and Brookglen Drive. Councilmember Jacobs agreed with Councilmember Shaw and with the traffic engineer who said that some remedial actions would just push the problem to another area. Discussion followed regarding an expanded mailing. Councilmember Jacobs suggested holding the meeting, listening to input, not making a decision, and expanding it to a second public meeting. Mayor Moran directed that staff try to expand the numbers of people at the meeting if it is feasible, and make consideration of what the impact of any kind of fix would be part of the discussion. Councilmembers requested that a representative of the Public Safety Commission attend the meeting. Following discussion, Council concurred that meeting with Team Saratoga would not be on the June 10 agenda. Council will review their report and possibly meet with them in July. Mayor Moran moved the agenda to Item 6.A. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS. City Council Minutes 4 June 4, 1997 A. City of Saratoga Budget for 1997-98 and 1998-99 Finance Director Fil presented the staff report including the following: - Discussion outline - The proposal represents a turnaround for Saratoga. He outlined permanent cuts. - City Manager.summary - There are adjustments because of no Utility Users Tax and the loss of matching Tax Equity Allocation funds. There is a 12% reduction in staff. - Revenues - sources and amounts - Expenditures - Percent and amounts. Public safety comprises the largest expenditure. - General Fund trends - $2 million fund balance is maintained. Public Safety levels are maintained. They are moving toward full cost recovery. There are impacts on service. This plan is a working plan and there will be some adjustments that will be made. - Looking ahead - The proposed budget sets a new direction. There are many uncertainties associated with the new course but there' appears to be a willingness to work together. Mr. Fil pointed out that the budget was the culmination of nearly five months of meetings. He concluded by summarizing that the $2 million general fund balance is preserved, there is an immediate loss of the utility users tax and TEA funds, the $2 million Civic Center debt will be paid off, and certain service levels will be reduced due to permanent staff reductions. Councilmember Shaw suggested that staff keep a record of what has happened to the service level to see if remedial action needs to be taken. Mayor Moran agreed, stating that the budget is a policy document and is proposing lower service levels. She opened the public hearing. John Mallory, 12256 Kirkdale Drive, stated he expected to see a summary which would let citizens see the real impact of the budget. He said it was hard to comment when details aren't provided and that there will be some surprises. People need to comment on the cuts in service levels. He said it did not make sense to maintain the reserves and cut the street maintenance budget. During the last election there were a number of fiscal comments made and there seemed to be inconsistencies between positions taken by some Councilmembers and actual results of the current budget. He said he thought the citizens need a strong understanding as to what is happening and why so that they can give feedback and take actions to correct that if necessary. Interim City Manager Perlin said one of the of resolutions to be considered at the.next meeting will be the new fee schedule. He said staff will prepare a table showing current and new fees. Councilmember Jacobs agreed with Mr. Mallory that it would help if Council had a more complete statement of what services are being reduced. Councilmember Shaw and Mayor Moran concurred. Councilmember Bogosian suggested keeping the summary to under two pages. Councilmember Wolfe observed that this budget is a symbolic new direction, in that Saratoga had been established as a minimal service city and is now transitioning to an essential service city. He said there had been a Ilot of input and this is the conclusion of the process. Mayor Moran suggested that staff provide lists and charts recapping citizen input and how Council had responded to it. BY CONSENSUS, COUNCIL CONTINUED THE PUBLIC HEARING TO THE JUNE 18 MEETING WHEN FINAL ACTION WILL BE TAKEN ON THE BUDGET. City Council Hinutes 5 June 4, 1997 ,Mayor Moran thanked staff and the Finance Advisory Committee for their efforts. B. Landscaping and Lighting District LLA-1 Interim City Manager Perlin reviewed the staff report and noted a proposed change to the recommended actions. No ballots had been returned from two zones and he wanted to allow staff the opportunity to investigate whether anything had gone wrong with the mailing. He suggested that Council open the public hearing and continue it until June 18. They would continue to accept ballots from all zones. He said there was time to conclude the matter on June 18 or at the first July meeting and he thought it prudent to open the hearing, receive testimony, and continue to run a tally. Results will remain confidential. He said staff will continue sampling returned ballots to see if all property owners received the mailing. If it appears they did not, they would do a new mailing to about 240 properties at a cost of $200-300. Mark Goldberg, 12325 Scully Avenue, asked about the impact to Keyin Moran Park. Mr. Perlin said that is a completely separate issue. Mayor Moran continued the public hearing to June 18. C. Weed and Brush Abatement Protest Hearing Interim City Manager Perlin presented the staff report. Mayor Moran opened the public hearing. No one wished to speak, and the public hearing was closed. SHAW/WOLFE TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 97-25 ORDERIN~ ABATEMENT. PASSED Mayor Moran moved the agenda to Item 8.B. 8. B. Appeal of Design Review Approval to construct a 1,484 sq. ft., 13-ft. tall, one-stor~ addition off the back of an existing 1,756 sq. ft. single stor~ residence at 18501 Montpere Way (Appellant, Jensen; applicant, Kazemzadeh)(AR97- 001) Interim Planning Director Walgren presented the staff report and described the three tiers of development review: Over the counter, administrative and Planning Commission public hearing. Cheriel Jensen, 13737 Quito Road, appellant, told the history of the process and said none of the Planning Commission members or staff had been on her property to see her perspective. They had only talked to Mr. Kazemzadeh. She expressed concerns about loss of the creek bank and told Council what had happened during the time she has lived there. Because of a Santa Clara Valley Water District project requested by one of her neighbors who had built too close to the creek, the creek shifted. She said the proposed house is too close to the creek as well, was inappropriate and needs to beset back so the creek will not be a threat to what Mr. Kazemzadeh proposes. Mr. Kazemzadeh, 18501 Montpere Way, applicant, said Mr. Walgren had covered the history. He said the requirement is to build 25 ft. from the creek and he is proposing to build 30 ft. away. His adjacent neighbor is 12 ft. closer to the creek. In addition, he has been in the house for years and there is no sign of erosion including around the swimming pool which is 12-15 ft. closer to the creek than the proposed addition. Mr. Kazemzadeh stated that if there were any danger to his family, he would not build there and he did not think Ms. Jensen had a valid point. Ms. Jensen summarized her position, stating one oak tree has already been lost and the bank cannot be maintained because of the rubble placed there to control erosion. She said the reason there is no erosion is the Water District project. She said it seems the addition could be backed up from the creek and she offered to help him as an architect to redesign the house. Ms. Jensen said she had been given City Council Minutes 6 June 4, lgg7 inconsistent information. In answer to Council's questions, Ms. Jensen said the pool was not built in 1973 and that there is a 1.5 ft. drop around it now. She suggested setting the house back another 6-7 ft. Regarding the percentage increase of impervious coverage in the last 30 years, Interim Planning Director Walgren said it was hard to say. West Valley College had not been completed in 1967. He said the Planning Commission had used the pool as the basis for measuring erosion on their site visit. The Planning Commission discussion did not include moving the addition as Ms. Jensen proposed. The applicant was adamant that the proposed plan was what they wanted. He said the purpose of the extra 2 ft. added by the Planning Commission was to provide an additional buffer anticipating construction activity. Referring to moving the addition another 6-7 ft. from the creek, Mr. Walgren said it is probably beneficial any time a structure is moved away from a riparian corridor. However, there are physical structures closer to the creek than the addition would be. He said he did not see that the proposed addition would have the impact of shifting the creek. ,The Planning Commission did not view the project from Ms. Jensen's property, as'the appeal issue related to the proposed structure. He said the pad elevation is above the 100 year flood elevation. In answer to Council's questions, Mr. Kazemzadeh said there are no cracks in the pool which was built in 1973 and there is no sign of erosion under the decking. Mayor Moran closed the public hearing. Councilmember Shaw said it seemed important to consider history and Ms. Jensen was trying to prevent further erosion on her side of creek. He said he thought if there was any way to construct the addition and give himself more protection from the possibility of erosion, Mr. Kazemzadeh should make a sincere attempt to pull back and protect the creek. Councilmember Bogosian echoed Councilmember Shaw, stating that something could be worked out that would benefit the Kazemzadeh family and house and help alleviate Ms. Jensen's concerns. He said property values are enhanced by having a natural creek, and in looking at the plans it seems there could be a win-win solution for all parties. Vice Mayor Wolfe said he thought the lack of erosion of the pool is a good history lesson and he thought the house was at a reasonable distance from creek and consistent with good planning. It would be an intrusion on the owner's rights to deny him the right to build the addition. WOLFE MOVED FOR THE STAFF',S RECOMMENDATION TO DENY THE APPEAL ABD TO DIRECT STAFF TO~ RETURN AT THE NEXT MEETING WITH A RESOLUTION MEMORIALIZING THIS ACTION. (Clerk's note: Motion reflects amendment made on followig page.) Mayor Moran said she favored preventing erosion on the creek and maintaining its beauty. She said if Council is interested in preserving the riparian corridor she thought they should decide on a policy level. She said she was not convinced that they would be achieving any of those goals by denying the Planning Commission appeal. Councilmember Jacobs said no actual nexus was shown between the proposal and erosion of the creek because even if he did not build the addition, he would take action if erosion began. He did not think Ms. Jensen's suggestion was an unreasonable compromise, but it is not the Council's role to mediate the dispute. From what he had seen, the addition meets all zoning requirements, and nothing indicated that reducing the structure by 6-7 ft. would have an impact on erosion. Mr. Kazemzadeh responded to Mayor Moran's question regarding the compromise by stating that even the additional two ft. makes the addition 50 sq. ft. less than they originally planned. He repeated that if there were any danger to the house he would not do the City Council Minutes 7 Jtlne 4, 1997 addition. Interim Planning Director Walgren said the maximum building allowed on the lot is 3,540 sq. ft. and the lot is level. JACOB8 SECONDED THE MOTION TO DENY THE APPEAL. PA~BED 3-2 (BBAW AND BOGOSIXNVOTING NO). Mayor Moran moved the agenda to Item 10.B. 10'. B. Other Vice Mayor Wolfe reported that at a meeting of the Vasona Light Rail Extension Advisory Committee, a suggestion had been made to extend the corridor from downtown Campbell to Winchester Blvd. Following comments from other Councilmembers favoring the extension of the light rail closer to Saratoga, Vice Mayor Wolfe stated that the conceptual plan is done and it is now a matter of financing. He said that as time and meetings proceed he will report back. Councilmember Shaw said he had heard from a person concerned about the action taken at the Planning Commission on May 28 concerning approval of a second story addition in a largely one story neighborhood. SHAW MOVED TO INITIATE A CITY COUNCIL REVIEW OFT HE PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION OF HAY 28 WHICH APPROVED A 1,082 SQ. FT. I AND 2 8TORY ADDITION TO AN EXISTING 1,830 8Q. FT. SINGLE-STORY NONE AT 12181 NELLOWOOD DRIVE, DR 97-008, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXAMINE witAT WENT ON IN CONSIDERING VIEWS OF NEIGHBORS. Councilmember Shaw said the matter had not been appealed but he felt that the concerns of the neighbor were sufficient to warrant a discussion. City Attorney Riback said that because of the Brown Act the matter could not be acted upon this evening but Council could put it on the JUne 10 agenda for action. Council agreed to do that. Interim City Manager Perlin stated that in regard to the appeal heard under Item 8.B, staff will need direction to bring back a resolution to the next meeting on the Consent Calendar to memorialize the decision made at this meeting. By consensus, the motion on Item 8.B. was changed to add direction to staff to bring back such a resolution. Councilmember Bogosian complimented the City Manager and staff for the budget presentation. Interim City Manager Perlin. reminded Council they were meeting with Mr. Perry, the City Manager recruitment consultant, the next day. He added that SB 1272 was on its way to the Assembly Local Government Committee. Mayor Moran announced she would not be here for the June 10 meeting. 11. ADJOUREMENT At 10:05 p.m., Council adjourned to the next meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10, at Adult Day Care Center, 19655 Allendale Avenue. Respectfully submitted, Roberta Wolfe Minutes Clerk