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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-18-1976 City Council Minutes MINUTES SARATOGA CI-TY COUNCIL TIME: Wednesday, February i8, 1976 - 7!30 P.M. PLACE: Saratoga City Council Chambers, 13777 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga, California TYPE: Regular Meeting I.' ORC~NIZATION A. ROLL CALL Present: Councilmen Bridges, Brigham, Corr, Kraus~ Matteoni Absent: None B. MINUTES February 4th - Councilwoman Corr noted that Marjorie Foot~ of A.A.U.W. had been omitted from the list of'acknowledgments for Public Service representati. ves. Councilman Kraus suggested Councilman Matteoni's statement on page 5, third paragraph, Re: Parker Ranch Rezoning Ordinance, be corrected to reflect that this was the consensus of the Council. Councilman Matteoni suggested wording be changed on Page 13, sixth line, to state "those formulas", rather than "those lands." It was then moved by Councilman Kraus and seconded by Councilman Brigham the minutes of January 21 and February 4 be approved, and the reading waived. The motion was carried. I I. CONSENT CALENDAR A. COMPOSITION OF CONSENT CALENDAR It was moved by Councilman Kraus and seconded by Councilman Brigham the com- position of the Consent Calendar be approved. The motion was carried. B. ITEMS FOR CONSENT CALENDAR l~"C~t~l~i~Acc~ptance ~- Tract 5503, Twin Oaks Associates, 4th and Oak Streets 2. Approval of Final Map Resoluti6ns and Authorizing Mayor to Execute Building Site Approval Agreements a) SDR-1047, David Landsness, Via Regina, 1 Lot b) SDR-1064, .C.J. Hinderman, Victor Place, 1 Lot c) SDR-1152, Maurice L. Martin, Quito Road, 1 Lot 3. License Agreement Between the City of Saratoga and Saratoga Chamber of Commerce (James McWilliams H~ouse) 4. Resolution No. 762, Accepting Grant of Easement from Southern Pacific Transportation Co. 5. Payment of Claims 6. City Clerk's Financial Report 7. City Treasure~'s Report It was moved by Councilman Kraus an'd seconded by Councilwoman Corr the Consent Calendar items be approved. The motion was carried. III. BIDS AND C(NTRACTS A. Agreement Between Tammen" Johnson,'Kinzel,and Mimiaga, Traffic Engineering Consultants, and City of Saratoga to Accomplish Wdrk under City's Office of Traffic Safety Grant It was moved by Councilman Kraus and seconded by Councilman Matteoni the Mayor be authorized to execute the~contract with Tammen, Johnson, Kinzel and Mimiaga. The motion was carried. IV. PETITIONS, ORDINANCES.AND RESOLUTIONS A. RESOLUTION NO. 85-9.23· Resolution Amending Resolution 85-9.20 and 85-9.8, Adding to Basic Salary Classes, Employment Posi.tion Classifications and Compensation Schedule for' Employees of the City of Saratoga ' It was moved by Councilman Brigham and seconded by Councilman Kraus Resolution No. 85-9.23 be adopted. The' motion Wa~ carried. B: RESOLUTION NO. 763 Resolution Requestin9 Termination of Social Security Agreement Between the City of Saratoga and State of California It was moved"by CoUncilman Brigham'and seconded by Councilwoman Corr Resolution No. 763 be approved. The motion was carried. V. SUBDIVISIONS, BUILDING SITES AND ZONING REQUESTS A. Request from B. Michael Anderson for Extension of Minimum Access Street Reimbursement Agreement It was moved by Councilman Kraus and seconded by Councilman Brigham the request for a six-month extension, to November 4, 1976, be approved. The motion was carried~ VI. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS (Not yet being 8:00 P.M.·, the CoUncil digressed from the agendaformat, and proceeded to item VI, Administrati,ve Matterse) ~ A. MAYOR 1. Advised that he had met with Chairman of the Board at West Valley College, at which time he was' informed. they would be submitting a revised application for a use permit ,~Cfty'Pl~nnT~'f6f'c~n~ion of the proposed stadium. 2. Announced that the City would be accepting applications for the vacancy of Jean Woodward on the City Planning CommisSion. B. COUNCIL AND COMMISSION REPORTS 1. Planning Commission Reco~endation Re: Abandonment of Easement at End of Harleiqh Drive After consideration of this matter by the Council, and after hearine testimony from Richard Snow, Attorney representing the two adjoinin~ property owners on Harleigh Drive, it was moved by Councilman Kraus'·and seconded by Councilman Brigham to accept the Planninq Commission's recommendation that this easement not be abandoned; ~lso, the eastern and western extensions o~ Harlei~h~Drive hdt be tonsidered for eventual connection, and the easement be used for emergency'access purposes only. The motion was carried unanimously -2- D. DEPARTMENT HEADS AND OFEICERS 1. Director of Public Works Report Re: Request to Install Various Stop Signs on Glasgow Drive This is a reques~ for all-way stops at Edinburgh and Glasgow; Kilbride and Glasgow, Argonne and Glasgow; and Shadow Mountain Drive and GlasQow. After review~by the Public Works Department, they have suggested a s~heme whereby stop signs would be prbVided at Shadow Mountain Drive and at Edinburgh. William R. Sirvatka, 20339 Glasgow Dr~ve, commented regarding the ldng stretch of road from Argonne to~Kilbride, and the fact that glasgow Drive is becoming a major thoroughfare, and that he didn't feel the suggested stoh sign design would be adequate. ~ This-,matter'was-referred-~back to--~hestaff--to-.atlowthem to meet with P ~C'D the prope~ty~ownens,3n this area and discuss this plan~-' A report will follow. ( ~' a~t~e~t--H~ad'"R~or~s '~nt~ed'~fter Public H~'i~)' V. U LIC ~EA~INGS A. Appeal~'~for Consideration of Request'to Grant a Variance from Section 2.2 of the Zohing Ordinance NS-3, Paragraph f, to Allow a Corral and Stable to Come" Within Four (4) Feet of the Public Right-of-Wav inLieu of the ReQuired 30-Foot Setback. Virgil H. Voss, 14982 Sobe~ Road (V-~40) (Cont'd. 2/4/76) Mr. Hendrickson, Assistant to the City Manager,.explained that this item was continued from the pre~ious Ci tV Council Meeting to allow the Council an opportunity to go out ~nd view ~his:site personally.' The Mayor re-opened the public hearing at 8:09 P.M. Viril H. Voss, the applicant, addressed the Council, indicating that he would like to reiterate that no one has advanced him with any objections toward the location of this corral and stable to this date. Councilman Matteoni asked Mr. Voss if his intention was just to use the corral and stable for one horse. Mr. Voss replied that he has no plans to add horses. It was then moved by'Cohncilman Kraus and seconded by Councilman Brigham the public hea~i:ng be closed. The motion was carried~ The public hearing was closed at 8:11 P.M. Councilman Matteoni commented it 'is'his feeling Sobey Road has the charm of a rural atmosphere, equestrian neighborhood that the horses and corrals lend themselves to. Also, he indicated if there were not so many other situations of a similar nature, he would not be so inclined to vote~or this variance. !~ouncilwoman Cg~-~ommented, t~at she recognizes th'e fact t~ t~e'~6'orhood a~'~o~{'jTs'~bed'by ~hT~H~e of the corral; however, she is concerned as to how the City is going to stop people from continuing to go ahead and build without a permit and without consulting the Planning Department. Mayor Bridges commented on viewing this site, he feels if it were Mr. Voss's desire to have more than one horse,.he should be required to locate it off of the right-o~-Way. Also, this location is not within proximity of buildings or would cause a health hazard, and he believes the Council has to temper the application of those strict zoning qontrols with a sense of justice toward the one ihdividual in this case when it hasn't been handled like this in the other areas. He indicated he would share~in Councilman Matteoni's suggested that this corral and stable location be limited to One horse. Councilman Kraus indicated it would:be his opinion the Council vote to deny this variance. He indicated there is no guarantee these neighbors are going to r~main here, and also, he feels this would be setting a precedent for future similar situations. - 3 - Variance Appeal - Virgil H. Voss (Cont'd.) After some further discussion of this matter, it was moved by Councilman Brigham and seconded'by Councilman:Matteoni this variance be approved, based on the representation that the existing corral not be used at any time for more than one horse, and based on t~e'~r~fii~"th~h~T v~i~e- d 0r ~a~7 The"m6~i~Fwas'aa~riea,.on a 4 td 'l'V6te, Councilman Kraus opposed. Councilman Matteoni further moved t~at the variance be recorded, in terms of making it run with .~he horse and the land. Councilman Brigham seconded7 the motion, and it was carried, 4 to 1 in favor. (It was clarified by_the Cit~ Attorney that this motion .must be~;f6~l~ ~0d~Tn~r~i~g;'6~" ~'~k~F,' ..... B. Consideration of Rezonin9 from "R-1-12,500" and "R-1-15,000" to "R-1-20;O00 PC" the 47.39 Acres Belongin9 to the'Fremont Union High School Di~trict, Bounded on the North b~ the Southern Pacific Railroad Tracks and Prospect Road, on the East b~ Tracts ~4508 and ~4536, on the West'bt the Propert,y Co~only Known as the "Parker RanCh" Site, and on the SRu~.h b~ TraCt ~4886 (Cont"d. 8/20/75, 10/1/75, 2/4/76) Mr. Hendrickson, Assistant to the City Manager, indicated four basic alter- natives concerning possible action onthis matter are outlined in a memorandum matter; 2) Accept~F~H~i'~i~re~'~e~Ba~i~ct'o re~bn~ ~h~"property from "R-1-12,500" and "R-1-15,000" to,"R-1-20,O00 PC"; 3) Rezone the property to 1 acre; or 4) Rezone to "R-1-20,000", without the "PC" designation.) approximately-one year ago tBT~61i~h consiS~n~7'~i'{H"~:G~neral Plan, and pursuant to that, a few months later, the Courtoil broadened its definition of Councilman Brigham indicated he would like to add a possibl.e fifth option of "R-1-40,000 PC".' The Mayor then opened the public hearing at 8:31 P.M. Jack Shoemaker, Assistant Superintendent of the Fremont High School District, addressed the Council regarding thi~ issue. He indicated that the last time this issue was discussed, someone from the District appeared before the CounCil and advised at that time that they hadno intention to sell the property in the forseeable future. He stated he is here to tell the Council that their plans have changed a little, and what they told the Council at that time was absolutely true, and the decision has not been made yet in this regard. However, ~he.y have discussed the possi- bility of selling that site at some time in the future, andit would appear, from the present growth rate of the district, that they will not need this site. However, this determination has not.been finalized, and if they were to make a decision to sell the site, this would be done approximately a year from now. Mr, Shoemaker further sta~ed that if the District sells the site, the interest of the Oistrjct would be gaining the greatest amount of return for the money it has invested.;:~H~t~t~'M~ they'are to sell the site, they would like to get as much money.as the~'~f~6~ it, ~nd it is their belief that they would realize a greater amount of money from selling this site with this present zoning, and he would like the City Council ~o bear this as a consideration. Councilwoman Corr inquired of Mr. SHoemaker how long theSchool District has owned this site. Mr. Shoemaker replied it is his understanding they have owned the site for approximately twelve years. ' ' Councilman Kraus asked if he was correct in understanding there would be no action on the part of the School'Dis'trict for at least a year. Mr. Shoemaker replied that find themselves, as do most school districts in the State, in somewhat of a financial difficulty, and they see some financial - 4 - bl ed they ar.ein the ~ trying to resolve the problems inherent~in s~ling another site, referred to as the Marianni site off of Homestead, and they intend to sell this within 6 to 9 months, and at that time, they will have a better idea of their financial status. Therefore, in a year from now, they should have a good idea of their intentions regarding that site. Mayor Bridges asked Mr. Shoemaker if it is his understanding the City would have the first option.on the property. Mr. Shoemaker replied thBt this is c6rrect -- the property has to be offerred to other governmental agencies. John Weir, President,~.A~q~eello HmeowHers Association, addressed the Council, ~ing~that~h~"~ould like t~"ur~e that since the Council has been considering this ~roper£y 'f6~v~ year, t6at the City take some action because it is not known what is going to happen six or nine months from now, and there may be a sudden need to have the proDe~tV sold. He commented that even though there '/~ll~'b(~' 6~6~tun'i~ ~ '6i d 6~ 'i t',~h~=C ftT~a~'tha t it cannot nQrc6a se ~Ha~ ~'~6D~r~y~' a~ma~'~nd ~t~el~'witho~"~deg~te time to do anything about it ~efore it tangles itself up in the problem of the selling of the property itself. He felt it would be better to establish the situation the property was going to be in so the School'Board could take this into consideration from the beginning. Therefore, he urged that the Council take action now.~ and rezone the property to the "R~l-40,O00" cl'assification. It was then moved by Councilman Brigham and seconded by Councilwoman Corr the public hearing be closed. The motion was carried. The public hearing was closed at 8:35 P.M. It was moved by Councilman Brigham the Council approve rezoning this property to "R-1-40,O00" without."PC". Council~om~n Corr seconded this motion. Councilman Matteoni indicated he would like to discuss this motion, particularly the area between "R~1-12,500" and "R~I-15,000". Hestated he is in favor of changing the zoning to a less dense zoning; however, he is not certain whether this means the entire site goes "R~l~40,O00" or it is staged as the lines show it -- "R-1-20,OOO"-'IR-1-40,O00'' perhaps. He indicated he would like some review of whether there are any slopes in the present "R-1-12,500" area, and where those creek problems discussed several weeks ago with regard to the property immedi.ately to the west. It was the'~O~'i~ion of the City Attorney the motion be revised to return this recommendation to the Planning Commission for public hearings. Councilman Kraus indicated he is ~oing to vote against returning this to the Plannin~ Commission, as he felt t~e C~mmission has held public hearinos and come up with a fair indication of what this property should be,' and he wou~d suBport this. It was then ~6ve~ b'V ~oun~ilm~n B~i~h~i-and seconded ~y'COun~lw6~an Corr this recomm~6dation be returned to t~e ~l~nning Commission, with the suggestion they hold public hearings on "R-1-40,O00" zoning~ -'Al~o,~-the nuestions addressed by Councilman Matteoni in terms of whether there is a different physical characteristic to the area within that band of "R-1-12,500" be included with this action. The motion was carried, 4 to 1 in favor, Councilman Kraus voting in opposition. VIII. COMMUNICATIONS (Ta~o~]6~o~der) 6. Taro Yamagami, A.I.L.A., P. O. Box 581, representing the Saratoga Optimist Club, requesting the City Council consider its decision on banning the sale of fire- works in Saratoga in this Bicentennial Year. The Council indicated it would hear additional testimony on this matter, and then decide whether or not it would elect to reconsider its decision. ~he Council heard testimony from Mr. Yamagami, and also from Stuart Smith of Reid Lane. Mr. Smith supported ~Ir. Yamagami's comments on this issue, and further stated that youngsters are going to be buying fireworks on the other side of Prospect Road, and there is going to be an enforcement problem. He commented that there is no record of the fires that have been started due to fireworks in the City 6f Saratoga. - 5 - Written Communications - Yamagami (Cont'd~) Jim McKee, Attorney for one of the companies using "safe and sane" fireworks, addressed the Council. He ~plained to the Council the definition of "safe and sane" fireworks, and advised the. persons who decides whether or not the fireworks fall within the statutes of the law is the'State Fire Marshall. He then presented statistics from 1973, indicating that the~l~s~f6~fires in Santa Clara County 'caused by "safe and sane" fireworks wa~p~6ximately $66,000, and from dangerous fireworks, $96,000. This is opposed to a Santa Clara County fire loss of over $6,000,000; therefore fires from "safe ahd sane" represent no more than'l percent. Norman Peterson, representing the Saratoga ~6t~i sTss'~'~ ~nT6~ ~" ~' "~' ~yr~'~'~Fa~ga Chamber of Commerce Exec~v'e B6a~d'~'~'~i~o~l~"fa~rTn~'~ ~ ~he-sal~of "safe and sane" fireworks within the City of Saratoga. Marlene Duffin, Canyon View Drive~ commented that she is the leader of a 4-H ~roup, and there are w~ys which th~ City does provide for them to raise money, for instance the Fall Festival, etc. She further commented they have had on the hill near her home two fires from firecrackers. Warren Black with the Saratoga Optomists Club, i'ndicated he wanted to make sure the Council understands the only people who~ave"6'e~'~6F~o sell fire- works in the City of Saratoga are non-profit organi~'~i6~'Y6r ~6mmunity service activities, and this involves thousands df dollars. Bob Breeze of Red Devil Fi reworks- r~6'~_~d. th~ £~; ~6x~ "~'~t"¥i~wor ~ ~s_~"~i~_~T~'T"~i~6~i__~'~b~_eTib_"(h~ n'~i~h_b_o~d'Of~$20~O'OOT''-~ . ~ .~- Fd~16wing a~.d4s~Ossion of this matter by:the Council, it was the concensus not to reconsider this reques~ for recon~ideration of the Council's previous decision regarding the sale of "safe and sane"fireworks. Recess and ReconVeyne C. DEPARTMENT HEADS AND OFFICERS (Continued) ~ 2. Director of Public Works Report Re: Ouito Road/Austin Way Traffic Study It wasmoved'by Councilman Kraus and seconded by Councilwoman Corr the Public Works DepartmentT~a~th~Z~"t6"im~ve Quito Road and install a guard rail north of th~b~idg~ ~s'r(c~ended by the Director of Public Works, and funds be transferred ~from the Fruitvale/Allendale Signal Improve- ments Account to cover these costs (approximately $3,277.00). The motion was carried unanimously. 3.Planning Director - Draft E.I.R.. for the Saratoga Library This matter was set for public hearing on March 17. D. CITY MANAGER 1. Special Meeting on March 9, 1976, to Canvas Election Returns It was moved by Councilman Kraus and seconded by Councilman Brigham a ~pecial meeting of the Council be set for Tuesday, March 9th, at 7:00 P.M., to canvas election returns. The motion was carried unanimously. VIII. COM~4UNICATIONS (Continued) ~ A. WRITTEN 1. Dawn Lipton, 15420 Monte Vista,~expressing opposition to any development of the Parker Ranch Property. - Noted and filed. 2. Harold P. Lipton, 15420 Monte Vista Drive, urging the Council not to grant a special ordinance to allow building of the proposed Bl~ckwell Homes. - Noted and filed. ~ Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Guiehard, 21130 Wardell Raod, Re: ~pplication for Agricultural Zoning under the Williamson Act. -6- Written Communications - Guichard (~ont'd. Mr. Guichard addressed the Council, and indicated that he is surrounded on three sides by land tha~ is already zoned "Agricultural", and he wishes to retain his property as an orchard. 'Mr. Guichard advised that he has approximately'2.75 acres'which. comes under the definition of "prime agricultural land". He referred to four arguments in his letter to the Council which support his point of view on this matter. He explained that is is asking the Council for a waiver to the Zoning Ordinance which says you cannot zone to"Agriculture!'~land under five acres. M~. Gui~hard stated that in the Williamson Act~the~e is a provision whereby if land is contiguous to Williamson Act land, you can go into Wil'liamson -- there is ho mention of acreage --' and'there is no minimum acreage in the County. The Mayor directed the City Attorney to review those provisions and report' back t~ the City Council~n~f~hIl'7~197~ ............ , ' 4.'. Ken Henderson, 13225 Via Blanc Court, urging the Council to look favorably on ~he lighted stadium at West.Valle~ College. - Noted and filed. 5. S. E. Pace, 20271 Saratoga-Los Gatos Road, s.upporting the installation of lights at'the West. Valley'College Stadium. 6. l].ll~'n Pagini, Deputy C~ty Clerk, City of Cupertino, 10300 Torre Ave., e~(oSin~-~ ~p~of ReSolution 4112,' Urging Mandato~V Motorcycle Helmet Legislation in California. - Referred to Committee of the Whole Meeting. 7. Gary M. Brumbaugh,'20896 Mauree~ Way, opposing the adoption of Ordinance 'NS-3-ZC-75. - Noted and filed. - 8. Russell L. Crowther, Arguello Homeowners Association, expressing dis- appointment with the Council's decision not to read and seriously consider the petition and more ~han 50 letters of opposition from citizens'throughout Saratoga before acting to approve the Parker Ranch rezoning and development. B. ORAL John Weir, 12343 Arroyo de Arguello, inquired if the $9.00 subscription charge for City Council agendas was:to include Committee of'the Whole agendas.- Mr. Hendrickson indicated he would research this and reply to Mr. Weir. C. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES Lynn Belanger, Chairmah, Planning,~zT'~aaret Conning, Good GOvernmen~ Group Commission . ~-'(s~r~ed coffee) Gene Zambetti, Planning Commission John Powers, Quito Merchants Association Marlene Duffin, Wildwood Heights H.~. 'Jim Isaak - Saratoga~ibrary Commission Marjorie Foote - A.A.U.W. George Whalen, Chairman, Bicentennial Comm. Linda Callon, Planning Commission. IX. ADJOURNMENT It was mo~ed by Councilman Brigham and seconded by Councilwoman Corr the.~e~n~ ~:be"aa~ 6Q~n~d ." L T~>m6~~ ~c~fi~ ~ Th~"~ ~ i~ff~ ' Wa~' ~aTdi~F~ ~a olsa~k~ Deputy city Clerk - 7-