HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1992.08.03419
BI'RI,INGAUE, CAIJIFORIITA
August 3, L992
CALL TO ORDER
A duly noticed regul-ar meeting of the Burl-ingame City Council washeld on the above date in the City Hal-I Council Chambers. Theneeting was cal1ed to order at 7:30 p.n. by Mayor Frank pagl-iaro.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGT ANCE TO THE FLAG
Pledge was Led by former council menber Irv Amstrup.
ROIJL CALL
COT NCIL PRESENT: HARRISON, KNIGHT, O I ITIAIIONY, PAGLIARO
COT'NCIL ABSENT: LEIIIBI
MINUTES
The minutes of the Reqular Meeting of July 20, L992 were approvedon motion of CounciLnan Harrj-son, seconded by CouncilwonanOrllahony, carried unanirnously.
APPEAL CONTTNUED FOR VARIANCES FOR FEN CE AT ].2 55 DRAKE
Mayor Pag1iaro continued this appeal to the next rneeting.
UED PUBLTC H VARIANCES FOR
RDWAY-D
City Planner reviewed her rnemo of JuIy 10 which recommendedcouncil hold a public hearing and take action. Douglas andKathryn Ho!,/e are requesting two variances for a side setback onthe second floor (3 feet proposed, 4 feet required) and for
exceeding the declining height envelope by 78 square feet inorder to add two bedrooms to the existing second f1oor. The
remodeled house will have four bedroons and 1,584 square feetr.the footprint will not be changed. The Planning commission votedto grant the setback variance but to deny the declining heightvariance.
counciLl^roman Knight asked about the 3 foot setback variance forthe existing first floor and the Pl,anning Conmission approval.
Mayor Pagliaro asked about the drawinqs showing roof line in thedeclining heiqht envelope; he e/ondered if they considered movingthe addition inward. City Planner thought council could discusswith applicants.
Mayor Pagliaro opened the publ.ic hearing.
Kathryn Howe, appl-icant, thought the cornnission approved thethree foot setback variance for the portion of the second floorwithin the decLining height envelope; she said her neighborssupport the addj.tion because it meets the architectural integrityof the neighborhood; they would not approve of a flatter roof-line. Mayor Pagtiaro asked her about the drawing comparingroofline with declining height envelopei council- asked if therewere blueprints and determined there r,/ere only the drawingTsavailable at this tine. Councilwonan O'Mahony asked if theycould extend addition tor^rard the back yard instead of side yardand asked about the window in the second floor back waI1; Hor,/esaid extending over the patio at the rear woul-d, result in a sevenfoot overhang over patio, would not be ideat but could be done.
Mayor Pagliaro closed the public hearing.
council-woman O'Mahony realized how irnportant the addition hras tothis farnily, but granting a 7 degree ixception in this case wouldforce council to accept other declining height exceptions; shethought the applicants should look into extending toward rear
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yard where they could. Councilwoman Knight said she had adifficuLt tirne with this application; she thought there wereexceptional circumstances in that the roons are sma11 in this
house; the applicants would have to take too many feet off theaddition to rnake the second bedroom useabl-e if it fit into thedeclining height envelopel she appreciated the neighbors supportof project; the addition would not appear too large and was
cornpatible with the neighborhood; every appLication is unique andin this case she could approve. Councifnan Harrj-son agreed; thisfour bedroom house $/ou1d be onLy 1,584 square feet in size,council has seen four bedroom homes over 3,500 square feet insize; there is no nass or bulk problen, he could support approv-
a1 . Mayor Pagliaro said this is a l-ovely house on a relativelysmall 1ot and the declining height envelope was established toapply to snall lots; the illustration on plans is not clearr. he
was not concerned about the window as there are J.arge trees inthe neighbors yard but he had a problem in granting variance todeclining height envel,ope. Councilman Harrison said councillooked at each request j,ndj,vidual1y, granting this would not seta precedent. Councilr,/oman Knight coufd not see another way to
add on; she recognized the rear nej.ghborrs complaint aboutprivacy but she was convinced this r^/as a necessary addition, it
stayed within the tudor style and the window s/as no irnpact.
Council-man Harrison moved to grant the variances. Reluctantly
seconded by Councilwoman Knight. The motion failed 1-3 on ro11call vote, Councj-1man Harrison the only aye vote. Councilman
Harrison then moved to deny the project vithout prejudice.
Seconded by Councilwonan OtMahony. After considerable furtherreview of the drawings council directed the applicants to inprovethe drawings and provj-de working blueprints showing comparisons
and alternatives for the declining height envelope variance.
Councilman Harrison changed his motion and moved to uphold theapproval of the side setback variance and to deny without preju-dice the decl j,ning height variance and to al1ow the applicants toreturn to council for reconsideration of the declining heightexception when they had fu11 plans and studies of al-ternatives tothe declining height envelope variance. Seconded by Council-
r^roman OrMahony. The motion carried 4-0 on ro11 call" vote.
UBLIC HEARING - AP TO REAR SETBACK
AREA CONSTR CTION PERMIT FOR DECK AT 2606 ST]MM IT - RESOLUTTON 67-92 - APPROVING SAME
City Plannerrs neno of Jul-y 23 recommended council hold public
hearing and take action. The administrator of the estate ofWil}iam Wa1ker and Kavanaugh Engineering are requesting a permitto build a 354 square foot addition to a 125 square foot existingdeck two to thirteen feet above grade in the rear yard of the
house at 2606 Sumnit Drive. The existing deck and the proposed
nev/ deck both extend into the rear setback one foot frorn theproperty line (15 foot setback required). The Planning Cornmis-sion denied the request without prejudice at its neeting of JulyL3; they directed the applicant to discuss project with neighbor
and resubmit design but the applicant decided to appeal tocouncil. In response to Council$roman orMahony, City Plannerexplained the slope of the 1ot under the deck and height of thestructure .
Mayor Pagliaro opened the public hearing.
John Goldberg, estate administrator, asked council to waive the
requirement to rebuild the step since they were not changing it,there is another landing at the patio,. the house \^ril-I not se1l asa fanily home in its present condition, it has very small steepyard area. Councilwoman Knight asked if he had attenpted tocontact the nelghbor to the rear; col,dberg had attempted butnever reached the neighbor to the rear; he sent copies of theplans to all neighbors and discussed the project with others.
Councilwonan Knight was concerned about the concrete around thepool, would it be replacedr' col-dbergr said yes, there is a drain-
age problem and a new drain system will be install-ed.
42L
charles Kavanaugh, engineer, reviewed the survey and design;
councilhroman otMahony $/as concerned about the stability of the 13piers and asked if there could be a retaining wa1l; Kavanaugh
explained the piers r.rould be placed in firm soil and the founda-
tion posts strengthened with 2/8 inch cable bracing $/hich hlould
be stronger and less visible than timber cross beams, no retain-
ing wall was planned. Mayor Pagliaro noted the cable was not
shown on plans, he also asked how deep the piers would be into
soilr' Kavanaugh shared working drawings which included the
cables, piers would be mininum of one foot deep; they are working
with a soils enqineer who will approve the final design.
charles Mahnken, 261-4 summit, neighbor to west of property; said
he reviewed plans and the visual impact eroul-d be snall; he
approved of the project. John l,loran, 261,5 Sunnit, said the deck
would have no impact on his property,' this is a view house on a
view lot hrithout a view because of trees, the deck will a1low the
owner to reqain the view; he requested approval .
L,eo ,facopi, 2600 Sunnit, rras opposed to having a structure onefoot from his property line; his parcel is very large but theonly level area if he ever subdivided j,s beLow the applicanttsproperty; he was concerned about earthquakes and land movement,
feared people falling off the deck; this wouLd be a huge highstructure and would be an eyesore to those who lived across thecanyon. Council asked if he had discussed the project with the
applicantsr' he responded he has been on vacation and just re-turned; he was not interested in se1l,ing any portion of his land.
CounciL noted there was debris on Jacopits property which could
be a fire danger; Jacopi said the debris has been cleared recent-Iy; council asked if he would trim his trees to improve views, hesaid trinning in past has damaged the trees; council asked abouta satellite antenna dish in his front yard; Jacopi said it wasinstalled l-2 years ago.
AIan Horn, 1325 Pal-oma, spoke in opposition to a variance.
Mayor Pagliaro closed the public hearing; he expressed concern
about the trees blocking views, but counciL does not dictate treetrimming; he could not see how the deck would have any effect onJacopi. Councilwoman Knight said viewinq parcel nap shows the
odd narro$, shape and relatively srnall sj-ze of this lot as con-pared to neighbors; she couldnrt envision a family living there;
she was reassured the applicants would repair cement and improvethe deck; the neighbors affected are not concerned and Jacopi
cannot see the deck; the owner should be able to enjoy a yard.
council$/oman o'Ivlahony agreed, the property real1y needs help andthe variance j-s needed; she would like to see the piers substan-tia1ly buried; she moved for approval of the variance withconditions by adoption of RESOLUTION 67-92. Seconded by Council-
nan Harrison, carried unanirnously by ro11 call vote.
- ORDINANCE 1467 - ES AB S
ON TROUSDALE DRTVE AT CALIFORNIA DRIVE
Public Works Director reviewed his memo of Jul-y 14 which recom-
mended council hold a public hearing and then adopt this ordi-
nance for two hour parking for 90 feet on Trousdale Drive infront of Carewest as recommended by the Traffic Commission.
Mayor Pagliaro opened the public hearing. There being no com-
ments, the hearing $ras closed.
Councilman Harrison moved adoption of ORDINANCE 1467. Secondedby Councilwoman orMahony, carried unanimously.
SECOND READING - ORDINANCE 146 8 - PROHTBITING NEWSRACKS NEAR
HANDTCAPPED PARKfNG SPACES
City Attorney reviewed his memo of July 14 which recomrnendedcouncil hold a publ j.c hearing and adopt this ordinance to prohib-it locating ne$/sracks in a manner that obstructs or interfereswith handicapped parking and access ramps.
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Mayor Pagliaro opened the public hearing. Alan Horn, 1325
Paloma, spoke in opposition because it is a free speech issue;
handicapped parking is always near corners and the handicapped
person can just go to the corner to access sidewalk. l,Iayor
Pagliaro closed the hearing.
councilwornan Knight commented she coutd understand the handi-
capped person having difficulty getting onto sidewalk with all
the ne\.rsracks; she asked if the Beautification Cornnission had
revievred; staff answered they had not but support relieving the
cLutter. She moved approval, seconded and carried unanimously.
CABLE TELEVISION BROADCASTING OF CITY COUN c IL AND PLANNING
COM}{T SSIO MEETINGS
Councilwoman otllahony said she interviewed about 40 people about
televising rneetings and only about 8 said they s/oul-d like to see
televising; others had many concerns and questions regarding
everything frorn costs to chanqes in procedures. Councilman
Harrison read the letter from Hillsborough councj.lman Adams
urging caution before proceeding with televising rneetings.
council-woman Knight saj.d she was not opposed to televising
meetings; people interested in city government woul-d $ratch it;
there are many alternatives to costs. Mayor Pagliaro said that
he, Iike Hil-fsborough council mernber Adams, also represents
cities and has seen other council rneetings being televised, those
meetings last until rnidnight; peop1e would not come to ci.ty ha11
to see neetings,' councit agonized over distributing $25,000 to
several charitj.es during budget discussions, he did not want to
spend that money on televising neetings; if people want to see
the rneeting they hri1I come. Councilwoman Knight asked the city
Manager to review his report on this subject; she said the cost
of an el-ection night equal cost of teJ-evising. city I'Ianager
reviewed his memo of Jul-y 29 which tofd of several cities experi-
ences with televising neetings, the costs involved and the type
of coverage; the cable franchise established a $10,000 grant for
council which has never been used and could defray some costsi an
election would cost frorn $6,000 to $20,000.
Mike Spinetl,i, 1301 MiIIs, the person circulating the petition
for televising meetings, said this issue has come up several
times and council has always ignored it; he saw it as a way to
keep people inforrned, newspaper coverage has been reduced; he
already has 3oo signatures from a few hours at the street fair;
Iot of peopl-e who work and have children dontt have the time to
cone to city ha11 for rneetings; he said other cities are increas-
ing their coverage of rneetings, adding traff j-c commission and
school boards; this is a highly intelligent conmunity that wants
to be informed; televising cou1d be done easily and cost effec-
tively.
Council took no action.
Public Works Director reviewed hj,s rneno of JuIy 28 which recom-
mended council adopt a resolution raising water rates from $1.99to $2.23 per thousand gallons effective september L, L992. This
year san Francisco Water is continuing water rationing and
raising its rates 18 percent. our rates are proposed to j.ncrease
l-2 percent. The rates in Burlingame Hills are proposed to
increase from $2,1-9 to $2.41 per thousand gallons; the surcharge
for BurLingane Hills to pay fire ffow improvements is recornmended
to be raised from $1.09 to $1.21 per thousand ga11ons. Theshutoff fee is recomrnended to be raised to $35. Director re-
sponded to questions. council$/oman Knight asked if the Hil1s
fees could be raised more instead of the city fees. MayorPagliaro commented San Francisco has raised its rates and there-
fore $re must raise ours. councilman Harrison mentioned even with
this raise we have one of the lowest rates in area.
Council-hroman O'Mahony moved adoption of RESOLUTION 69-92.
Seconded by councilman Harrison, carried unanimously.
1992-93 WATER RATES - RESOLUTION 69-92 REVISING RATES AND CHARGES
423
INTRODUCTION OF ORDTNANCE 14 69 ESTABLTSHING L992-93 SEWER RATES
AND CHARGES
Public works Director reviewed his memo of JuIy 29 which recom-
mended council introduce this ordinance revising sewer rates.
EPA regulatj-ons require that operation and maintenance costs forthe sewer treatrnent plant be paid fron the sehrer rate and itspecifies the rnethod of calculating that rate based on fLow andloading. For the deternination of the rate, the revenue required
was reduced by the estimated amount to be received from Burling-
ame Hil1s and Hillsborough based on agreements with those enti-ties, and their respective flows and loadings were renoved fromthe program. The proposed rates show an increase from 16 percentto 48 percent; for single fanily residential the increase is 18percent. This year, instead of a winter/summer rate, the rate isproposed to be based on winter rnonths of January to April. The
charge wil,1 be the same each month based on the average water useduring those months. We continue to have one of the lo$iest ratesas compared to other cities. Council introduced the ordinancefor public hearj-ng at the next meeting.
SELECTTON OF APPRAISER FOR RHIN E PARKING LOT AND REOUEST FOR
RENT RED UCTION FROM TENANT AT 1133 CHULA VISTA
city lilanagerrs memo of July 23 recommended counci] authorizestaff to award the appraiser job to Todd Johnson for the fee of$L,500. In June counci] authorized staff to seek proposals andfour appraisers were asked for proposals and two responded; Todd
Johnson proposed a fee of $1,500 and David Ingram, Inc., proposeda fee of $4,0oo. Councilman Harrison moved to award the job toappraiser Todd Johnson. Seconded by Councilwoman oiMahony.
Councilwoman Knight stated she was trying to dj-vorce herself fronanything to do with purchase of the Chula Vista Lot which she hadvoted against, that purchase was based on saLe of the RhinetteIot, but she agreed to vote for the appraiser. The motioncarried.
City Managerrs memo al-so reviewed a letter from one of ourtenants, El-izabeth cooke, of Studio-8 at 1133 Chula Vista re-questing a 50 percent rent reduction since she is unabl-e toattract a cosmetologist to rent a station because of the pendingdestruction of the building to rnake a parking 1ot. Councihroman
orMahony thought she had sone aLternatives, she coutd hire aperson instead of renting a station. council concurred in norent reduction.
OF AUGUST STUDY ME
City Managerrs nemo of July 23 recommended council cancel the
August 19 study meeting. The l-992 City Council Calendar recom-
mended council try to cancel- the August t-7 and 19 neetinqs.
Based on the number of items on the Planning Cornmission agenda,he suggested council schedul,e the August 17 meeting and cancelthe August 19 study meeting. Council concurred.
TRAFFIC ALLOCATT ON - AUGUST 1992
City Plannerrs neno of July 23 recomnended council review therequest for allocation and take action. Sui Sha Ya Investment isrequesting a traffic al-focation in order to build a 24,OOO squarefoot restaurant on a 3.74 acre site at 620 Airport Boulevard.This same request was granted in February 1989 but the projectdid not proceed and the traffic allocation l-apsed. She believedthe project nay now proceed. Councilwoman Knight moved approval.
Seconded by Councilman Harrison, carried unanimously.
CONTTNUE REO ST FROM CHAIqBER FOR SALE OF BEER AND WINE
A letter from the Charnber of Commerce requested approval to se11beer and wine at the coramunity picnic; a subsequent letterrequested action be delayed until August 17. Counc j-l-i,roman Knightdid not see any need to put this issue over to another meetj-ng.Karen Key, Chamber Director, said the request for delay was
424
because Doug Mcceorge, President of the Chamber, was out of town.
Mayor Pagliaro set over to the next meeting.
CONSENT CALENDAR
a. RESOLUTTON 69-92 - CERTTFYING THE NEGATIVE DECLARATTON FOR A
JOINT SOURCE REDUCTION AND RECYCLfNG ELEMENT r RESOLUTION 70-92 - ADOPTING THE JOINT SOURCE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING
ELEMENT
Finance Directorrs memo of JlJl-y 27 recommended council adoptthese revised resolutions,. on July 6 council. held a public
hearing and adopted Resolutj-ons 57-92 and 5A-92. The Countyhas advised us of some errors in those resolutions which arecorrected by these resolutions.
b. RESOLUTION 71-92 - ACCEPTING DEED FOR PEDESTRTAN EASEMENT AT
765 ATRPORT BOULEVARD
PubLic Works memo of July 29, 7992 recomnended councilaccept thj-s easement. The owners have secured approval foran airport parking facility with the condition of grantingthe city a five foot easement to a11ow handicap ramps and
access across the entrance/ exit.
c. RESOLUTTON 72-92 - ACCEPTING COMPLETION OF THE ASBESToS
ABATEMENT AT FIRE STATION - CP 011
Pub1ic Worksr rnemo of Jluly 27 recommended council accept asconpLeted this project for asbestos removal at the firestation being reconstructed on California Drive. The pro-ject has been cornpleted by Warren construction in the amountof $20, 350.
d. RESOLUTION 73-92 - AUTHORTZING AGREEMENT WITH SAN MATEO
COUNTY FOR RESURFACING HILLSIDE DRIVE
Public Works nerno of JuIy 2a, :-992 recommended councilauthorize an agJreement with the County in the anount of
$22,000 for resurfacing portions of HilIside Drive belongingto the city when the County resurfaces the road.
e. SPECIAL ENCROACHMENT PERMIT FOR FENCE AT 228 BANCRoFT
Pub1ic works nemo of July 28 reconmended council approve anencroachnent perrnit for an existing !,/ood fence.
f. FINAL CONDOMINIW MAP FOR 1532 FLORIBT]NDA
Pub1ic works meno of Juty 28 reconmended council concur withthe Planning Conmission and approve this final rnap for sixunits.
S. TENTATM AND FINAL PARCEL I,tAp TO CREATE TWO LOTS AND A LOT
LINE ADJUSTMENT AT 1625, 1635. 1649 AND 1657 ROLLINS
Public Works memo of JuIy 28 recommended council concur wj-ththe Planning Conmission and approve this two lot subdivision
and 1ot line adjustment subject to conditions.
h. DENTAL OF CLATM OF I4AXINE JOSEPH
City Attorney recommended denial of this clain for damage toa vehicle by a fa11en tree branch.
Councilman Harrison moved approval of the Consent Calendar.
Seconded by Councilwoman orMahony, carried unanimously.
COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS
League Meeting: Councilwoman Knight had attended a conference inI.{onterey; it was wonderfuL to see cities making a concertedeffort to fight Sacramento in the budget process; City Manager ofSanta Ana spoke about ethnic diversity in our cities.
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BART/caltrain: Mayor Pagliaro had appeared before the Board of
Supervisors regarding BART versus Ca1train.
OLD BUSINESS
Council-man Harrison read an o1d newspaper account of the Burlin-
game Police Department moving into its new headquarters on Howard
Avenue in 1-962. Council asked the Police Chief about AB 408
lrhicb rrill decriminatize parking tickets and reduce workload of
the courts; cities may coLlect fines and it could lead to addi-
tionat revenue for city. Council directed a l-etter in support be
sent .
NEW BUSINESS
Appea1 Hearing ScheduLed: Mayor Pagliaro set an appeal hearing
for August 17 for 3096 Rivera.
Tree cuttinq: Councilwoman Knight said someone in the 2700 block
of Surnmit cut down a large stand of Eucalyptus trees; this is
unincorporated area and on private property.
ACKNOWLEDGE}4ENTS
a
b
c
Comrnission Minutes: Park and Recreation,
JuIy l-6, Library Board, JuIy 21; P1anning,
July 15; Senior,
Jlrly 27 , L992 .
Broadsi ay BID .Letter from II Piccolo caffe regarding the
Letter frorn Hillsborough council mernber Adans
cable televis j,ng of meetings.
regarding
d. Letter fron Hil-Isborough resident regarding parking ticket.
FROM THE
Angelo Dellacasa, 141 victoria Road, reported damaged sidewalks
in the Stanley Road, BaysvJater area, Karen Key reported damaged
sidewalks in the Drake area,' she also told council- that chuck
Thompson passed asray and told about funeral p1ans. Public Works
Director said the Drake area is next sidewalk repair projeet
area .
CLOSED SESSION
council. adjourned to a cLosed
9:57 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
The neeting h/as adjourned at
session on labor negotiations at
10: 10 p.n
Judith A. MalfaCity Clerk