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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1993.04.07535 CAI-,L TO ORDER A duly noEiced regular meeting of the Burlingame Cj-ty Council washeld on the above date in the City Haff Councif Chambers. The meeting was ca11ed to order at 7:33 p.m. by Mayor Bud Harrj-son. COUNCIL PRESENT: COUNCIL ABSENT : HARR]SON, KNIGHT, O'MAHONY, PAG],IARO ].,EMB I The minutes of the Regufar Meeting of March 1-5, 1-993 and the Study Meet.ing of March 24, L993 were approved unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Harrison announced there were no pubfic hearings tonight and asked if t.here were any audience comments on other mat.ters.Alex Moissiy, 2612 Hal-e, said it was neats tso begin a meeting withthe pledge of allegiance to the flag; he hadn't done t.hat since he was in grade school-. Direct.or of Public Works reviewed his memo of March 30, 1993 which recommended council adopt a resolution to end water ration-ing and direct citizens to observe a 15 percent. vol-untary water conservation program. On March 23 the San Francisco PUC Eermi-nated its mandatory rationing program and declared the water emergency over. With the end of rationing, San Francisco Water Depart.ment (SFWD) also ended bankj-ng of unused allocat.ions. Henoted the cit.izens of Burlingame should be commended for theirdiligence in conserving water as we have been consistently 5 to 10 percent below the 25 percent reduction required by SFWD. Healso noted that without rationing and the purchase of outsidewater the system would have run out of water last fal-f . Mayor Harrison commended the citizens of Burlingame; he askedthat the restaurants continue to serve water only on request. Councj-l-woman Knight. thought it important that the hotels notifyv.isitors about the difficuft water situat.ion our Stale continuesto experience; she said it would real-Iy take two winters like theone jusE past to get us over the drought. Council_woman O,Mahonythough! citizens have become wel-l- educated about drought andwater conservation. In response Eo council, staff said buildingcode requires all new toj-l-ets to be low water use. CouncilmanPagliaro remembered the signs about water conservation the cit.yhad distributed to hotels and restaurants, he suggested thesesigns continue to be available for rest.aurants and hotef rooms,and t.hat the hotels be so notified. Councilwoman O,Mahony moved to adopt RESOL.,UTION 19-93 endingwater rationj-ng with the additional recommendation to writ.ehotels and restaurants about water conservation. Seconded byCouncifman Pag1iaro, carried unanimously 4-0 wit.h CouncilmanLembi being absent. PETITION F OR STOP SIGNS AT FLORIBUNDA AND ANSEL Director of Public Works reviewed the memo of March 29 whichrecommended council direct staff. The Traffic commission recom-mended against installing stop signs and suggest.ed the pofice Department contj-nue to monitor the speed of traffic along Flori_ BURLINGAME, CAI,IFORNIA April 7, 1993 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FI,AG Led by Clara Crook. Chairman of the Senj-or Commission. ROLL CALL MINUTES RESOLUTION 19-93 _ END]NG WATER RAT]ONING s36 APPEAL FOR RELIEF FROM TREE TR MMING CHARGES, 261.2 HALE DRIVE City Manager reviewed his memo of March 30 which recommended council make a determination on this request. Al-ex Moissiy befieved he had been bitled $287 in error and that he saved the city money by replacing a defective sidewalk. staff reported the billing is appropriate since excessive roots cutting by Moissiy made correcEive trimming of the tree necessary to save it ' Alex Moissiy, 2672 Hale, said his sidewafk was raised and sloped from six liquidamber trees' roots; his small child was always tripping and falling. waEer settl-ed in 1ow spoEs and became slippery and mossy; he got a permit to replace sidewalks and was told to Ealk to the park department about trees; tree j-nspector said the trees were going to be removed,' he instafled sidewalk and trimmed roots, then park workers trimmed the tree and later he received bill; he felt he dj-d Ehe city a favor by replacing the sj-dewalk which was dangerous and that he should noE have to pay for tsree trimming . Councif asked when city would be repairing sj-dewalks in that area; Moj-ssiy said they are working near the area now, buE he was told his street was not included. Council noted thats the side- walk permits which the applicant signed clearly states that he should notify the park department about trimming large tree roots; he also agreed to make pa)ments earlj-er. Moissiy sald if council- would inspect other sidewafk and trees on his street they would agree with him that the trees are a problem. Council noted t.he importance of trees Eo our city. Council-man Pagliaro moved Eo spl-it the tree trimming bi1I. Seconded by Councilwoman o'Mahony, carried unanimously 4-0 by voice vote. WATER PENAIJTY APPEAL 777 MORRELL AVENUE City Manager reviewed Finance memo of March 5 which recommended council give direcEion on this appeal of a water billing penalEy of $753. A letter from Ken Young, President of t.he Morrel-1 Plaza Condominium Association, requested waiver of the penalty because of vandalism and a sil-enE toilet l-eak. Ken Young was present and tol-d council that he had distributed waEer saving kit.s to aff residents and asked them to check for leaks. One resident found a toilet 1eak. Additionalfy there vandal-ism when a sprinkler head was run over during the night causing , "gusher" on Roflins Road which was reported to the water department who turned off the waLer. He said they have history of conservation and underuse of water. Councilwoman O'Mahony noted this building has a good record. Councifman Pagliaro said if tshey don't pay the taxpayer would have to pay, Young said the vandalism was noE something they could control; he feft they have done a good job conserving was a bunda and Primrose Road; E.hey also suggested additional 25 mph signs and road markings. The intersection does not meet warrants for stop sign installation. Councilwoman O'Mahony said she received frequent complaints about this area witsh speeding and danger to pedestrians. She was concerned about the many seniors who live in t.he apartsments; t.he major problem is speeding; the area was only monitored from 8 a.m. co 5 p.m. In South San Francisco they use a "t.raffic complaints area" si-gn to warn motorj-sts citations will be issued. Councilwoman Knight noEed there are Ehree similar uyu int.ersec- tions on Floribunda so it's difficult to determine where to put signs; she wondered abouE the littl-e dots on road Eo warn drivers Eo slow down. Staff said these are good for commercial- areas buts because tshey make noise there are compl-aints when these are installed in residential- areas. Councilman Pagliaro joked we could put up road barriers like Atherton did recently; he sug- gested we increase speed moniEoring and ask staff to report back to council in three months. Council- concurred. 537 water. Mayor asked about. any water bank, staff responded bank ]imited to 20,000 galIons, this overuse amounted to 121,500 ga11ons. After moie discussion, Councilwoman o'Mahony moved to"sp1it the penalty with the Association. Seconded by Councilman elgliaro, carried unanimously 4-o on voice vote' City Manager reviewed his memo of March 3 and 25 and indicat'ed couircil hls three options for reconstruction of the library: 1) issue Certificates of larticipation (CoPs) , 2) vote on general obtigation bonds or a special tax, or 3) use existing unbudgeted 2 peicent hotel tax for next three years. The city has already bu-dgeted $5O,oo0 for schematic design of the project which could take three to four months to complete' Kris Cannon. president of the Library Board, said the board would like council's support for reconstructj-on of the library; library has 80 years of triitory in the city, iE shoufd be top priority, its structural problems have been identified; she said the library providei an opportunity for all citj-zens to keep in- formed, to educate themselves and to be entertained. She hoped councif would indicate its support for the city's great. library. FUND IN G OF MAIN IJ IBRARY RECON STRUCT ION Mayor Harrison was sure council was totally committed to recon- stiuction. Councilman Pagliaro said the repair is a matter of safety and something that must be done or we cfose the library; the dabE service costs of CoPs would j-ncrease the repair cost by several- million dollars; he didn't Ehink people would voEe anot.her tax on their property, two school t.axes had been ap- proved; he said council di.d noE guarantee hotel- tax would be used tor a convention center which would cost between $40 to $150mill-ion, he thought we shoufd use the 2 percent additional hotel tax for the 1i-brary and other city services. Councilwoman Knight had reviewed the minut.es of the meet.ing at which the hotel tax was raised; those dollars were voted to go into the General Fund; she thoughts part of the extra 2 percent tax coul-d be used for COP debt. service; had no objection to using the hotel tax; she thought we shouLd proceed with Ehe schematic desJ-gn. Councilwom- an o'Mahony inquired about grant money available; staff responded and Kris Cannon said she attended a workshop where she was told there are more requests than there is money available. Council-- woman O'Mahony said she wants the design phase to move ahead; she mentioned former Mayor Dave Martin who woul-d have wanted to see Lhe Duncan site used for expansion; she observed the great diversity of people using the library and was sure citizens rea11y appreciate the quality of our library,' regarding the hotel tax, she fel-t the city needs that cushion with uncerLain finan- cial future and would like it used to help the hotels; she supported some t)4)e of user tax. Mayor said he had visited the South San Franclsco Convention Center and was amazed at what that city had done; woufd not be unslrmpat.hetic to COPs, he would liketo see what. the State does on budget; he supported going ahead wi.th the design at a cost of $54,000; by the Eime council- has the design the State shoufd have it.s budget. A resident. asked council to explain the various financing methods and the user tax mentj-oned, she was concerned many in the audi- ence did not. understand. Councilwoman O'Mahony and FinanceDirector further explaj-ned various user Eaxes. Council-woman Knight said t.he report says t.he library would be demolished, she assured audience that it would stiff be recognizable as our current. library; she al-so noted that the baffrooms at both ourHyatt and our Marriott Hotef are larger than the South SanFrancisco Convent ion Center. Council-man Pagliaro said he wasvery opposed t.o changing the exterior appearance of the library;he moved to proceed with design phase and report back to council-in ,June or Jufy. Seconded by Councilwoman O,Mahony. carriedunanimously 4-0 by members present. USE O F SIDEWALKS FOR TEMPORARY OUT OOR SEATING Pubfic mended Works Director counci-I direct. reviewed the memo of March 29 which recom-staff on this proposaf for non-permanent s38 fixtures placed on public sidewalks. At an earfier meeting thisyear council directed st.af f to fook into allowing outdoor seatingand Eabl-es in the Broadway and Burlingame Avenue business areas.Mayor asked if, for example, Nathan's would be abLe to put tableand chair on California Drive side of business; Council_manPagliaro said al,I he want.s to do is al-l-ow restaurants to put a Eabl-e and chair outside their restaurant as long as two peopleabreast could pass on the sidewalk without interference; staffsaid the restaurant would be required t.o remove the table andchairs at night.. Councilwoman Knight asked about site like Round Tabl-e Pizza wit.h it.s high tile waII, she thought councif wastalking about sit.es with front wa11 set back into building. Council-woman O'Mahony said thj-s would apply onl-y to restauranLs. Councilman Pagliaro wanted tables within 28 inches of property lines and clearance of six feet. from table. and that they provideinsurance, It was made cfear that tabfes and chairs on thesidewalk would not change the st.atus of those services which werenot now recognized as food establ-ishments. Karen Key. direct.orof Chamber, said she woufd inform t.he merchants. Mayor directedstaff to bring back to next meeting a revised procedure. ATUS REPORT ON RHINETTE LOT City Manager reviewed his memo of March l-8 which reviewed problem of ground contamination by gasoline; county healt.h department isthe enforcement body for ground contamination and they have beennoE.ified; Lhe adjacent Biscay propert.y had two Lanks removed andthe soil- is being tested at that site. The property at Broadway and California (the o1d Gasco gasoline station) has an on-going cl-ean up being conducted by its insurance company. He noted the cont.aminat.ion will not help safe of Ehe property and Lhe property has been on the market for four months wi-th no offers. Counci-l-- man Pagl-iaro Lhought. these Ehree pieces of properEy together might be very aLEract.ive for some form of affordable housing. City Manager said the City At.torney is very concerned abouE. t.he clean up of t.hose sites. Councilwoman Knight asked about the possibility of Eaking tsheproperty off the market for a whife. She moved to take the Rhinette parking fot off the market. Seconded by Councilwoman O'Mahony, carried unanimousl-y by members present. City Manager saj-d the real- estate listing contract onl-y cal-l-s for writtennotice by either party to cancel . SCHEDULE FOR REVISION OF ZON]NG CODE ON F]-JOOR AREA RATIO (FAR) Councilman Pagliaro asked for definition of percentage of build-ing which qualifies it as a new house as opposed t.o an after-ation. Staff proposed to bring new legislation to the April 19 meeting for introduction and discussion and a public hearing on May 3 unless Ehere are many changes proposed at the Aprif 19meeting. Council- asked about measurement or percent.age to determine whether a building is new or remodeled. Council-woman O'Mahony mentioned the remodels on Cabrillo and wondered where it woufd faff in t.he "new" versus "remodel" definition. CONSENT CALENDAR Regarding "a" Councilman Pagliaro asked about the o1d concession-aire, regarding 'b' weed abatement, he asked that the lot at Ef Camino and Burlingame Avenue be cleared, and regarding c BFIrecycling report., it seemed only a small percentage of business was using the new encl-osures city built, he wondered what per- centage of restaurants are using them. Staff said BFI report didnot break out restaurants, BFI is also trying to devefop private recycling programs in large buildings l-ike the Burlingame Bank. RESOLUTION 2O-93 - AUTHORIZING CONTRACT WITH BURLINGAME YOUTH BASEBALL ASSOCIATION TO OPERATE CONCESSION STAND AT BAYSIDE PARK RecreaEion Director's memo of March 15 recommended council approve an agreement lvith BYBA to operate t.he concessionstand at Bayside Park for a charge of $500 per year. a 539 b RESO roN 21-93 DECLARING WEEDS AND RUBBISH A NU SANCE AND S TTING A LIC HEARIN G FOR MAY 3 CP 93031993 CL ING SRE d RESOL roN 22-93 DECLARING I NTENTION TO E STABLISH 1 9 93-9 4 Public Works memo of March 23 recommended council adopt the resolution declaring weed.s and rubbj-sh a public nuisance and set a hearing for May 3. ProperLy wifl be posted and owners can object at tshat hearing. ASSES SMENTS FOR THE BROAD AREA BUSINESS ]ROVEMENT City Manager's memo of March 19 recommended council accepts the-propoied budget for the Broadway BID for 1993-94 which is not changed for this yearrs boundaries, assessments or classifications and set a hearing for t.he May 3 meetj-ng. I TRl CT IAL OF MARY PE City Attorney's memo of this c1a j-m for injuries March 30 recommended council deny in a parking strip at 1121 Doug]as. e Councifwoman O'Mahony moved approval of the Consent Calendar. Seconded by Counci.lman Pagliaro and carried unanimously. COUNCI COMMITTEE REPORT s TSM: Council-woman Knight reported TSM is asking each city to l-ook at increasing density and parking in t.he transporEaEion corridor; SamTrans is studying smafler buses for residential- areas. Crimj-nal Justice: a representative from East Palo AIto shoul-d be appointed. She attended the opening day of Little League. I-.,egislative Committee is asking we endorse a bill to strengthen the Environmental process, they al-so are discussing Senator Kopp's airport noise bill and affordable housing legisla- tion. Emergency Services: Council-woman O'Mahony said this group is reducing its meetings from four to two a year. Convention Bureau: Mayor was on the sel-ection commitEee for the new and well qualified director. He mentioned a news article about affordable housing in Burlingame and Hillsborough. Coun- cilman Pagliaro Ehought Hillsborough might have affordable housing in its units for household he1p. Council-man Pagliaro noted another complaint about litter on thebayfront. City Manager said the Park Department is now makingquarterl-y inspections of the area but the city could not consi.derclearing if below the high t.ide 1ine. Councilwoman Knight mentioned a letter to editor about bad sme1lat Bayside Park next to the wastewater Ereatment pl-ant. Public Works Director said part of the reconstruction contract is anodor reduction unit which shoufd be in operation shortfy. Smoking: Mayor asked if the Lions Half could be exempted fromthe smoking laws because it rents t.o private parties, as a city owned buil-ding it is required to be non-smoking. After somediscussion, Mayor continued to another meeting. c. Finance Director's memo of March 30 recommended council- accept the report from BFI . OLD BUSINESS Councilwoman o'Mahony said the parking lot at Howard and Park isfuff of weeds and rubbish and she had received complaints aboutthe condition of the sidewalk on Bayswater. 540 NEW BUSINESS Mayor Harrison appointed Councilwoman O,Mahony as alt.ernateC/CAG. He also appointed David t'ew as second al-ternat.e toAirport Roundt.able, to the Homeless: Mayor mentioned the Homeless Fund and lack of citythe $7,000 our city donated tothis year. San MaE.eo Times article on thesupport; he wrote the editor aboutthe homefess and wint.er shel-ter RESOLUTION 23-93 IN OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED CUTS IN LOCAL FUNDS BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE Mayor Harrison mentioned a f et.t.er from ABAG asking cities adopt a sampl-e resolution opposing Stat.e cuts to cities. concurred . to Counci l- Grade Separation: Mayor and staff had met. with San Mateo,s mayor and staff regarding San Mateo's grade separation project andpossibility of extending it to Burlingame. KNOWLEDGEMENTS a Department Reports: Building Inspectorrs, February 1993. Mayor was pleased with the Building report. Procfamations: Professionaf Secretaries week and Day; National I.,ibrary Week . Letter from Marvin Bfoom, MD, regarding condition of bayfront path and response from City Manager. L.,etEer from Mayor of Garden Grove regarding a proposedpetition to guarantee tax revenue to cities. I-.,etter from IndependenE Cities Association and City of Alhambra regarding a suiE challenging State Budget process. Let.ters from Bernard Transano and Richard Schwart.z, MD,regarding the FAR meeting. Lett.er from Bert. Pet.ers regarding traffic hazards around Broadway and 101. Commission Minutes: Broadway BID,ation, March 18; Senior, March 18; Planning, '!(arc}:L 22, 1993 . March 9; Park and Recre-Library Board, March 15; b C d f s h Counci] adjourned to a closed session at 9147Civil Service Commission's decision to modify missal- of an employee. p.m the Eo review the proposed dis - Clty Manager announced council woufd reconvene to announce itsdecision. DECISION TO REVERSE CTVTL SERV CE COMMISSION ACTION TO MODIFY Council reconvened at 10:45 p.m. and Mayor Harrison announced the unanimous 4-0 decisi-on to reverse the March 9 Civil Servicedecision and tso uphold the City Manager and Pubfic Works Direc-tor's decision to dismiss Automotive Mechanic Dan Pautenis. TheActing City Attorney was directed to prepare a resolut.ion withfindings for city councif act.ion on April l-9, f993. The councifalso direcLed the city arrange for palrment of the remediaf Public Works Director reported staff is trying to get federalfunding for improvements. Ca1trans is upgrading the int.erchangein a couple years and iE will- include pedestrian wafks andcrossings. Mayor asked staff write to Peters. CLOSED SESSION - PERSONNEL DISMISSAL OF EMPLOYEE AD,JOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:50 p.m. 541 program in which the emptoyee is participating subject to satis- facEory completion. Keith Uriarte, the employee's representa- tive, isked if the councif will be addressing Ehe reasons for its decisj-on. Mayor Harrison indicated thaL the attorney will prepare findings for council's adoption at the next meeting. Judith A. Malfat City Clerk