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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/19/2011 (2)Town of Los Altos Hills City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Thursday, May 19, 2011 Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Summit called the City Council Regular Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Mayor Ginger Summit, Mayor Pro Tem Rich Larsen, Councilmember Jean Mordo, Councilmember John Radford, Councilmember Gary Waldeck Absent: None Staff: City Manager Carl Cahill, Planning Director Debbie Pedro, City Engineer/Public Works Director Richard Chiu, Finance Director Nick Pegueros, City Attorney Steve Mattas, City Clerk Karen Jost APPOINTMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS Mayor Summit acknowledged Chris Vargas and his work for the Pathways Committee and a participant in the Earthday Cleanup. Bullis Charter School had 380 students cleanup downtown Los Altos and 25 miles of trails, and Gardner Bullis had 60 students clean up five miles of trails near the school campus. Summit added that the schools would be officially recognized in September. Mayor Summit acknowledged the addition of pictures on the wall that were put up by Art Curator, Karen Druker. 1. Administration of Oath to Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Volunteers Steve Garcia introduced the new CERT members and City Clerk Jost thanked the new members for volunteering and then administered the oaths of office. Afterwards, Mayor Summit congratulated the new members on their willingness to participate in the CERT program. 2. Appointment (3) to the Los Altos Hills Youth Commission Mayor Summit invited the applicants to introduce themselves. Andrew Lee and Vamsi Gadiraju were present. Anna Garverick was unable to attend the meeting. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Motion by Mordo, seconded by Larsen and passed unanimously to approve the appointments of Andrew Lee to the Youth Commission. Approved City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 19, 2011 MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Motion by Radford, seconded by Mordo and passed unanimously to approve the appointment of Anna Garverick to the Youth Commission. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Motion by Radford, seconded by Waldeck and passed unanimously to approve the appointment of Vamsi Gadiraju to the Youth Commission. Presentation on Proposal of Age Friendly City, Los Altos/Los Altos Hills Senior Committee (Anabel Pelham - Los Altos/Los Altos Hills Senior Committee Member) Anabel Pelham, Los Altos/Los Altos Hills Senior Committee Member, provided a PowerPoint presentation describing the project proposal for Age Friendly Cities, sponsored by the United Nation's World Health Organization (WHO). She explained that Los Altos Hills and Los Altos would become the first Age Friendly Cities in California, if the Council agrees to the initiative. She reviewed the guide created by the WHO which includes the following topic areas: Outdoor Spaces and Buildings, Transportation, Housing, Respect and Social Inclusion, Social Participation, Communication and Information, Civic Participation and Employment, and Community Support and Health Services. The City of Los Altos will also be asked to approve the project. The Council was urged to make a motion accept the project and then submit the two- page application to the WHO. Mayor Summit concurred with the request and noted that it would open doors for potential funding. Council discussion ensued. Questions were asked related to costs. Council concurred with supporting the project, contingent upon the same support from the Los Altos City Council. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Motion by Mordo, seconded by Waldeck and passed unanimously to support the project, contingent on the support of the City Council of the City of Los Altos. CONSENT CALENDAR MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Larsen, seconded by Waldeck and passed unanimously to approve the Consent Calendar, specifically: 4. Approval of Meeting Minutes: City Council Regular Meeting — April 21, 2011 5. Acceptance of Quarterly Investment Reports for the Period ending March 31, 2011 (Staff: N. Pegueros) 6. Award Westwind Community Barn Landscaping Contract (Staff: R. Chiu) Reso# 26-11 7. Approval of Amended Charter for Los Altos Hills Youth Commission (Staff. S. Gualtieri) Approval of Proposed Continued Participation in Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement and Cooperation Agreement for the County of Santa Clara Community Development Block Grant and Home Programs for Federal Fiscal Years 2011-2012, 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 (Staff. D. Pedro) Reso# 27-11 2 Approved City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 19, 2011 9. Adopt Ordinance Amendment to Title 6, Chapter 1, Section 6-1.603 "Dangerous Dogs and Animals" and Section 6-1.605 "Possessing Dangerous Dogs or Wild Animals" of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code (Staff. S. Garcia) ORD# 528 PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR Vincent Liu, resident, spoke about the proposed plan to build a bike lane on Fremont Road and the issue with additional bicyclists who cause safety problems. Jolon Wagner, resident, asked about the revision of the agenda. The City Attorney stated the revised agenda was noticed and distributing in accordance of the Brown Act. Tara Dhillon, resident, spoke on behalf of residents of the Miranda/Manuella/Fremont Road neighborhood group and expressed concern about higher car speeds and safety risks to children riding bicycles. The Council was urged to solicit citizen impact before the design phase and asked that the Council focus on separate pathways and retaining the rural nature of Fremont Road. Mark Bryer, resident, provided an update on discussions with regard to obtaining residents' input. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 10. Town Goals 2011 • Personal and Public Safety for All Residents o Verbal Update on Ad Hoc Traffic Safety Committee Mayor Summit advised that an Ad Hoc Traffic Safety Committee meeting was held last week. Members from the Planning Commission, the Planning Director, the City Engineer, the City Manager, the Sheriff and members of the public were in attendance. One of the issues discussed related to tickets issued in the past couple of weeks to people who violated traffic rules. City Engineer/Public Works Director Richard Chiu provided a presentation on the Fremont Road bike lane project. He explained the process for the project and noted that staff expects to have documents from the consultant next week; at that time staff will meet with Council and residents to discuss details of the project limits. He added that the Town has already secured approximately $850,000 in grant funding. Council discussion ensued. o Verbal Update on Lehigh Quarry Public Information Forum Councilmember Waldeck announced that June 6 has been set for a moderated public forum; beginning at 6 p.m. Planning Director Pedro added that a town wide postcard notice will be sent out by the end of the week. 11. Verbal Report on 2011-12 Budget Study Session Open Items (Staff. N. Pegueros) Approved City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 19, 2011 Finance Director Nick Pegueros introduced the item. He reported on the cost benefit related to the Public Works Compaction Roller. Cost to purchase a new Roller is estimated at $35,000 with useful life of about 20 years; Rental of the Roller was also considered. Another item discussed at the Study Session was the Sewer Asset Management System which would be in three phases at a total cost of $85,000. The System would be used to manage the Capital Improvement Program and provide a better understanding of the sewer system. Mayor Pro Tem Larsen questioned potential costs involved with training and personnel. Public Works Director Chiu explained that one of the systems staff looked at runs off the Auto Cad Engine, which is familiar to the Town staff. The Engineering group would initially use the system. Pegueros discussed the cost recovery for the Parks and Recreation Facilities, which are broken up into three components: Purissima Park (Little League field and riding ring); Westwind Barn Boarding operation; and the Barn facility. A transfer is necessary from the General Fund in order to balance the Parks and Recreation Facilities budget. He will bring a report to the Council in June regarding parking citation revenue. Council discussion ensued. Pegueros provided an explanation of costs related to the boarding operation and income for the year-round riding program. He also provided information on field use fees. Councilmember Mordo pointed out that the water bill at the Little League field was increasing. City Manager Cahill responded that the staff did an analysis of putting in a well; the estimated cost is $200,000, and the water would have a high saline content which would have to be mixed with regular water. Councilmember Radford questioned how the unusually large amount of water required at Purissima was handled. Councilmember Waldeck explained that residents pay a six -tier rate structure, according to usage. PLANNING DIRECTOR'S REPORT 12. Notification of Planning Commission Approval, Lands of Thrun, 13818 Page Mill Road; File #257-10-ZP-SD-GD; A request for a Site Development Permit for a 5,026 square foot new residence with a 4,916 square foot basement and 780 square foot swimming pool (maximum height: 24 feet). The applicant requests a Grading Policy Exception to cut up to eleven (11) feet for the driveway and permission to remove four (4) heritage oak trees. CEQA Review: Categorical Exemption per Section 15303 (a)(Staff. D. Pedro) Planning Director Debbie Pedro introduced the item. The Planning Commission voted 3-1-1 (Collins absent) in favor, with Harpootlian voting against the project because he preferred that the walls near the garage were terraced. Councilmember Waldeck questioned the color of the roof, which he understood was a concern of some of the neighbors. Pedro responded that the Planning Commission extensively discussed the exterior colors. She did not believe neighbors would be able to look down on the roof. STAFF REPORTS 4 Approved City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 19, 2011 No reports were given. COMMITTEE REPORTS Councilmember Mordo reported that the County Library Board voted to impose an $80 annual fee for nonresidents of the Library District to get a library card. He opposed the fee and added that proposals will be brought back to the Board for further discussion. Councilmember Mordo also reported that the History Committee is discussing moving Stegner Studio to an alternate location. Mayor Summit commented that Les Earnest offered to take the initiative to put together a group of people to consider the Stegner Studio. COUNCIL INITIATED ITEMS 13. Ad Hoc Fence Committee — (Councilmember, G. Waldeck) Councilmember Waldeck explained that an Ad hoc Fence Committee has been organized, with members from the Environmental Initiatives, Pathways, and Open Space Committees, and members from the Planning Commission, plus two Councilmembers. Two residents attended the meeting to express their concern about big, long fences. 14. Purissima Park Equestrian Arena — (Councilmember, G. Waldeck) Councilmember Waldeck reported that a letter was received from Mr. and Mrs. Michael Wagner expressing concerns about the equestrian arena at Purissima Park. City Manager Carl Cahill explained that staff has taken note of the concerns of the equestrian community and the nonequestrian users who use the arena for their radio controlled cars. A notice has been posted at the site to indicate that equestrians have priority use of the arena. Staff has spoken with the radio controlled car users who are agreeable to respect the equestrians. Michael Wagner, resident, expressed concern about the safety of horses and liability issue if horses get scared from the remote controlled cars. Equestrians do not think the remote controlled cars are a compatible use in the equestrian arena. Kathy Evans, resident, Parks and Recreation Committee member, concurred that equestrians find the radio controlled cars not a compatible use. The cars produce noise and a gas odor that affects the horses. Jolon Wagner, resident, encouraged Councilmembers to ride horses to experience the situation from the point of view of equestrians. Her recommendation was to make a change to the ordinance. Council discussion ensued. A member of the public responded that the Parks and Recreation Committee has held programs for dogs in the past. Her suggestion was to re -write the ordinance to exclude motorized vehicles. Approved City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 19, 2011 Cahill suggested that Council direct staff to make the change in the ordinance, which would be reviewed by the City Attorney and brought back to the Council for review. MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Mordo, seconded by Radford and passed unanimously to direct staff to propose an ordinance for usage of Purissima Arena for uses compatible with horse use, but not exclusively for horse use. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by the consensus of the City Council at 9:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Nick Pegueros Acting City Clerk The minutes of the May 19, 2011 regular City Council meeting were approved as presented at the June 16, 2011 City Council meeting. 6 Approved City Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 19, 2011