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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1992.09.09434 BURLINGAIIE, CAI,IFORNIA Septenber 9, L992 CALL TO ORDER A duly noticed regular meeting of the Burlingane City Council r./asheld on the above date in the City Ha1I Council Chambers. Theneeting was call-ed to order at 7.32 p.m. by Mayor Frank Pag1iaro. EDG r ALLEGIANCE TH Pledge rras Led by Karen Key, Director of the Chamber of commerce. ROLL CALL COT]NCIL PRESENT: HARRISON, KNTGET, LEMBI, O IMA}IONY, PAGLIARO COT'NCIL ABSENT: NONE I.{INUTES The minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 17, mously approved on motion of Councilman Harrison, councilwoman o I Mahony. 1992 were unani- seconded by CONTTNUE APPEAL FOR PARK ING VARIANCE AT 701 CALIFORNIA Ivlayor Pagliaro continued this hearingr to the meeting of September2L, L992 at the request of the appellant. PUBLIC HEARING APPEAL FOR HILLSIDE AREA CONSTR UCTION PERMIT AT PI EDRAS -92 APPROV city Planner reviewed her memo of August 26 which recommended.council hold a publ-ic hearing and take action. Chester Wong,applicant and property ohrner, is requesting a hillside areaconstruction permit in order to encl-ose an existing patio with a304 square foot patio enclosure and replacement of a 66.5 sguarefoot existing deck. The deck and patio encLosure bring 1otcoverage from 33 to 37.5 percent (40 percent maxj-rnum allowed) . The Pl-anning Cornrnission approved this request at its August 10neeting and a neighbor, Steve Lin, appealed the planning Commis-sion approval. Dr. Wong had discussed the project with hisneighbor Mr. Lin and Lin requested that the trees which block aview be removed along their shared property line in exchange forapproval of this project; the trees were removed and since thenLin has chanqed his nind about approval because the trees mightgrow back. Councilman Harrj,son asked ho!,, long it would take if these treesdid grow back; Park Director said within 20 years. Mayor Pagliaro opened the pubtic hearing. Dr. Chester Wong, applicant, said the staff report covered all-points regarding the project; the reason he is replacing the deckand sunroof is there is dry rot; neighbor Lin was concerned abouttrees so wong arranged for removal of the trees on anotherneighborts property (Zucco); Lin agreed if the trees r^rere removedhe hrould not object to the project because he would have morevj-ew but has now changed his mind; a tree killer was applied tothe tree stunrps; Lin asked that wong guarantee the trees wouldnot grow back and he cannot. Jeremy paul, architect for project,said the project would not block distant views. Charles Doherty, 2820 Marj,posa, (Zuccors neighbor) was concernedabout debris from the removed trees being a fire hazard; alsoconcerned about drainage and a tool shed on or over the propertyliner' he sranted no grading or construction within five fLet of - the property line; another neighbor built a patio three feet ontohis property. After some discussion of the possible fire hazard,council asked that the fire department look at property to 435 determine any danger; the tree removal company should havecleared any debris, ask them to check debris, Wong said they wereto remove a1I cutting debris but there may be rnutch rernaining from trees that had accumulated over the yearsi the area wherethe trees were located is very inaccessible. Wong said the tool shed is movable and perhaps he needs to have survey of lot l-ines,Architect said there $/ould be no draj-nage to Dohertyts property. Mayor Pagliaro closed the public hearing. Councilman Harrison said he had visited the site and l-istened tothe testimony and he had no doubt this was a positive addition tothe Wong home and $iould have no inpact on anyone in neighborhood, and you canrt guarantee trees wj-I] not grow. He moved to upholdthe Planning Cornmission approval with conditions and findings. seconded by Councilwonan Knight. Council comments: people do need to be able to expand their hornes when neededr' council has concern about second stories butthis is a first story conservative addition; the complaining neighbor has very little vie$/ and you canrt create a new view. The notion carried unanimously 5-0 on rol-I call vote. PUBLIC HEARTNG APPEAL FOR TWO VARIANCES FOR ODEL AND SEISMIC RETROFIT ( URM - UNRETNFO RCED II'IASONRY) OF STRUCTURE AT ].420 BURL- INGAME AVENUE RESOLUT ON 82-92 APPROVING SAI"IE City Planner revj.ewed her memo of August 24 lrhich recornmendedcouncil hold a public hearing and take action. Maurice Hackrepresenting eo-ardwalk Propeities, the property owner, i. ."1questing two variances in order to remodel and conplete seisnicretrofit of the four story structure at 1,420 Burl-ingane Avenue. The proposal is to add 1,791 square feet to the 3,030 square foot mezzanine, increasing the buj-lding from 32,643 gross square feetto 34,404 gross square feet. This would increase the floor arearatio (FAR) from the present 3.23 to 3.26 (maximum FAR al-l-owed inthe C-1 area is 3.0). The appl-icant proposes to use the basementof the building for rnechanical equiprnent and storage, the firstfloor for retail and the mezzanine, third and fourth floors asoffice. The total parking demand for the project would be 73 spaces, 30 spaces are provj-ded in the rear parking Iot, thereforethe variance needed for parking is 43 spaces. She reviewed astipulated judgement entered into 1n l-989 over uses in thebuilding which will expire in 1994; she also noted staff request-ed a parking and traffic study which the applicant was unwillingto provi,de. Councilvroman OtMahony asked about use of gross square footage as opposed to usabl-e square footage. Staffexplained that gross square footage (exterior waI1 to waII) isused for every application throughout the city. Mayor nagliaro opened the public hearing. David Carr, 128 E1m, attorney representing the property or^rner,introduced the designer of the project. Peter Schlosser, archi-tect, reviewed various aspects of the project; to make project economically viable, they need more usable area; buiJ-ding builtj.n 1930s and has no handicap access; retrofit and remodel- willcost $2.8 million; Chapj.n side of building wil-I be upgraded; somespace on second and thj.rd floor is rernoved for atrium,- he dis-agreed with staff calculations of number of employees and parking requirements; providing parking in basement area would onLyresult in eight spaces and decking the rear parking lot vrouldcost over $200,0oo; the building is historically significant tocity and uioul,d have to be torn down if these changes are notaIlo$red; he contended they have done the best they could $/ithparking requirements. Council questioned architeet: asked aboutparking space gain with deck, Schlosser guessed about 2O-30spaces; had purchase of adjacent properties been investigated;questioned pernits for the Crosby commons parking; saw problemwith deck on parking 1ot with an adjacent apartment building;architect explained about easement for parking access; with deckwould lose 8-10 parking spaces on ground; reviewed seismicbracing and changes in building; exterior masonry j-s in good shape and does not need retrofitting but floors need to be properl-y attached. David Carr continued: using leasabLe squarefootage woul-d require only 24 space variance; Hack declinedparking study because it added significantly to cost and therehave been nunerous parking and traffic studies done for thisarea; najority of parking and traffic would be frorn Chapin side;citizens donrt want to lose this building, that is an exceptionalcircumstance; IrouLd not set precedent for other URM retrofits because others are existing residential or office on secondfloor; city code says you can upgrade for safety purposes withouta penalty; owner is offering to spend nearly 93 nillion and thecost is borderline economically; it wontt be detrimental toothers in area and is cornpatible,. variance is needed to preservethe use of the building as it presently exists; alternative is totear it down and build a one story modern building with newbuilding at rear hlhich would cut off access for the Garden Center and the city would lose the charm and character of this o1dbuilding. Councilwoman Knight asked staff about parking timelinits in other parking Lots on Chapin; is Burlingame GardenCenter also a URM building, yes. Joe Karp, 1209 Burl-ingane Avenue, believed when Chapin waswidened it was meant to have higher density uses on its f rontage,.he rrould be opposed to any parking deck next to his apartmentbuilding which is adjacent to subject parking fot,- he explainedabout the Fox building parking; he said 1420 is a beautifulbuilding and the architect has attempted to keep j-ts character;he was j-mpressed with the or,vnerst attempt to upgrade in thesedifficult financial times; he has been unable to get financing toretrofit. Mayor Pagliaro closed the public hearing. Councilwoman O'Mahony said this is a special building, a land-rnark, and she $/ants to see it rernain; if torn down it would bedevastating; she had no objection to using usable square footageinstead of gross; this is the first signiiicant URM renovationand law requires repairs be rnade by 1996; she would like projectto cone back with figures on leasab]e square footage. councilnanHarrison agreed; the city was required to pass a Unt law; councilhas to hefp these building owners make URM improvernents, maybeanswer is using leasable space rather than gross, naybe den!without prejudice so they can cone back with figuresJ we doir,tv/ant to lose this beautifut brick building. Councillroman Knighthad visited the site and clfunbed a1l four floors; building has anj-ncredible history and every effort shoufd be made to keep thebuilding; feel we need to work with the owner to develop Isolution but she was also concerned about parking, she Loutdagreed to deny wj,thout prejudice to come back with anotherproposal. Staff noted that figures regarding gross and netsquare footage are on the plans; council reviewed. councilman Lernbi said there would be about 24 parking spacevariance using the net square footagei conrnend Hack ior- attenpt-ing this project in these difficult financiaL tines; vrant tomaintain the quality of Burlingarne, if this building is removedwould be great loss; without the additional space the projlcts/ould not be econornically viable; he recalled the parking vari-ance given.1440 chapin and the worry about irnpacting parling butthat building has caused no problem, you can ilways tina paifingon that side of Chapin. we have a way to grant this variince andretain this landnark building; we granted i larger variance tothe historic building on prinrose; r,ras not sure he agreed withfigures of cost of parking deck, city has had different experi-encel he could vote to grant the variance and asked if they couldmatch the character of the rear entrance with the front ofbuilding; he fel-t comfortable with the 24 space variance, ite/ouId not have a.great impact on the area. Mayor pagliaro notedhe is involved with the nationat historic trusl and wants topreserve historic sites; he also wants to attract retail toBurlingarne Avenue, not office use; frustrating to grant anotherparking variancel he would prefer to deny witfiout lrejudice anddevelop alternative for additional parking. counc-irnin Harrisonsaid after Lembits speech, he could grant the variance. Council-man Lembi said we have lots ot pendiig um,I building=, ."ti"iit 436 437 !'ri11 cause a substantial econonic impact, obtaining financing isdifficult; council wilt be faced with lots of requests forextensj.ons and exceptions; reatized hos/ strongly council feelsabout parking but he felt this would have low irnpact on chapin. Councilman Lembi moved to grant the variances as requested withfindings mentioned and including the conditions in staff reportand the reconnended that the rear entrance be designed to natchthe front of the building. Seconded by Councilman Harrison. Councihroman OrMahony was impressed by Lernbirs comnents and was rerninded of the tack of parking impact by 1440 Chapin whichcouncil was so concerned about; she could support the rnotion. Council$ronan Knight was nore in agreernent with the Mayori councilhas a concern about parking; she !,/ould Like to preserve thebuilding but would prefer to deny without prejudicer. she askedabout city study to deck the Ho$rard parking 1ot. Councilman Lembi doubted the cost estinates of creating deck parking andthought this propertyts 1ot was too narrorr/; city study showed Howard 1ot not feasible to deck and that lot is bigger; there isno way to get rnore parking out of this property and s/e canrt impose new requirements on existing; we as a council have toconsider that and we can bend and allow this building to retainits character. Mayor Pagliaro wondered about restricting sone ofthat 1ot to retail parking; staff pointed out that the retailcustomers $iould have to walk around the block to access theretail on Burlingame Avenue side, the rear entrance is only foroffice access. Councilrnan Lembi worried about creating reLail onother floors and getting lots of vacancies tike other buildingshave, perhaps we could lirnit part of the parking to short term.Joe Karp pointed out difficulty of poticing short terrn parking ina private lot. Carr said council is trying to solve city prob-Iens at the expense of a property ownerl he suggested they mightset aside a fe$/ spaces for short term vj-sitors to offices; theywould sign the spaces as short term and have someone check; staffnoted a property can have cars towed. After more discussion, councilman Lembi added another conditionwith approval of seconder to designate 8 parking spaces as twohour parking to be enforced by the property owner. The rnotioncarried 3-2 on roII call vote, Mayor Pagliaro and CouncilwornanKnight voting no. There hras a brief recess at 9:25 p.m 9:30 p.m. with all menbers present. The meeting reconvened at CONTINUE REVI HEARTNG FOR COMEDY CLUB AI 247 CALIFORNIA Mayor Pagliaro continued this review to the21 at the request of the appellant. meeting of Septernber PUBLIC H EARING SECOND EADING ORDI N cE 1470 URBAN REFORES- City Attorney reviewed his memo of August 28 which recomrnendedcouncil hold a public hearing and adopt this ordinance as recom-mended by the Beautification Commission. In March 1992 thecomrnission started discussion of a tree ordinance to protectprivate treesl their first proposal cane to council study inSeptenber 1991 and after further revision by the commission hasbeen introduced for adoption by council. In the interin counciladopted an urgency ordinance 1464 prohibiting rernoval of treesover 48 inches in circumference 54 inches above grade without apernit. At the last meeting council directed staff to determinecriteria for reforestation of rnultifarnily uses; City plannerrs memo of August 26 suggested one tree for each 2,OOO square feetof 1ot area for rnultifarnily developments. Council congratulatedthe commission on this ordinance; pointed. out sorne coniusingwording on.page 3 $/hich staff wiII revisel noted staff, incl.udingthe Park Director, reviev all multifamily p1ans. Mayor Pagliaro opened the public hearing. There being no con-ments, the hearing was closed. TATION AND TREE PROTECTTON Council-wonan Knight moved by Councilwoman O rMahony,adoption of oRDINANCE ]-47 o. carried unanimously by ro11 Seconded call vote. SECOND READING - ORDINANCE L47L - EXPANSION OF NON-CONFORMING UNITS IN R-1 ZONE City Planner reviewed her rnemo of August 20 which reconmendedcouncil hold a pubLic hearing and take action. The Planning Commission recomrnended that council consider this change to alLow owners of older properties with second units to rnaintain and modernize their primary residence whil-e also allohring the city toretain supervision of detached second units through the usepernit processi the commission noted such a change is appropriate and should include criteria for identifying the prirnary dwellingunit on the site, providing review by the Planning Cornrnission ofexterior changes to these prinary units and allowing no change infootprint or envelope to secondary units. The ordinance address-es each of these issues. Staff responded to council questions about these secondary units; difficult to deternine vrhen they were buil-t and old city building records are inconplete. Mayor Pagliaro opened the public hearing. There were no comments and the hearing was closed. Councilman Harrison noved adoption of ORDINANCE L471. Secondedby Councilnan Lenbi, carried unanimously by voice vote. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Pagliaro asked for on the agenda, or on any There lrere no comments . any public comments on itemsother item of interest to the rema.r-n 1ngpublic. WATER PENALTY APP EAL - 912 I\,IORRELL City Manager reviewed the Finance Directorrs memo of August 26lrhich recommended council- consider this request for a reductionin water penalty. Devota Nelson, 912 I"Iorre11, is requestingtwaiver of $125.89 in water bill penalties, clairning the $/aterbill was out of the ordinary from her normal- pattern and she suspected unauthorized tampering with her faucet. Conpared toher May bill the latest bil,1 is over 9,000 gaLlons which trans-l-ates to 150 gallons a day and could be for landscape irrigation.If council elects to approve the request he recommended using 185units as a logical summer use aLlotment which woul,d reduce thepenalty to $34.35. He included appeals she had presented in 1988and 1990 and reconmended she renove her exterior faucet handlesif she suspects unauthorized use. Council questioned Ms. Netson who said she has no proof of tampering; she was sure there wereno leaks; she works for a school and students may have tamperedlrith her water; her cohabitant was ai.ray for the period when thehigh use occurred. Council noted it is usuatly tough on water use because the city has to pay a penalty to San Francisco Waterfor overuse. Councilwoman Knight said there is no evidence oflrater conservation in prior years,. she could not approve anyreduction in penalty. Councilman Harrison moved to approve the Finance Dj.rector's suggestion of reducing the penalty to $34.35and changing the allocation. Seconded by Councilman Lembi,carried 4-1 on roII call vote, Councilr"roman Knight voting no. PROPOSED ORDTNANCE LIMITING EXTE IOR LIGHTTNG FOR RESIDENTIAL USE Council reviewed the City Plannerrs memo of August 1? which recornmended council give staff direction, fn February 1992council adopted an urgency ordinance 1458 to regul,ate exteriorlighting on residential, and commercial buildings; in April the ordinance was extended until November L, L992. The present urgency ordinance Limits exterior lighting to exit tighting witha maximum height of nine feet above a J.anding; it requires aLight not shine onto adjacent property; staff noted no other citythey could find has such an ordinance. Mayor Pagliaro suggestedthis be put over to study; staff noted the urgency ordinance mayexpire before another law is enacted but the urgency ordinancecould be extended. Councilman Lembi thought the adoption of the 438 439 urgency ordinance was done in haste; Mayor pagliaro setmatter for the October study neeting and asked staff toan extension of the urgency ordinance. this prepare YEAR END BUDG ADJUSTMENTS Council reviewed the Finance Directorrs memo of August 27 which recommended council approve the transfers from fund bal-ance tocover shortfalfs in two departments. The City Attorney budgetrequired an additional $1,450 for litigation costs. The FireDepartnent required 14A,752 for unanticipated expenses. councilman Harrison moved approval of year end budget adjust-ments. Seconded by Councilnan Lernbi, carried unanimously. COMMT SSfONER EXPIRATIONS City Manager's memo of September 1 recommended council establisha deadl-ine for accepting applications for five commissions which have tern expirations this year. councilman Harrison mentionedanother resignation from Beautification because a commissioner ismoving out of town; there would be four expirations on thatcommission. Park and Recreation has three terrn expirations.Traffic, Safety and Parking has two expirations. civil Servicehas three expirations and the Mosquito Abatement Board has onetern expiring. These commissioners will be asked to reapply ifthey wish to continue serving. Councilwoman Knight noted some ofthese terms do not expire until November or December and should have a l-onger applj.cation period. October 9, L992 s/as estab-Iished as deadLine for applications; this hrill be extended asneeded. There was no interview comrnittee for Ivlosquito Abatenent, and Mayor Pagliaro and Councih.rronan OtMahony volunteered. STATE BUDGET TMPACT ON BIIRLTNGAME City Managerrs memo of September 3 inforned council the recently adopted State budget reduces cities property tax revenue by $zoomillion statewide and cities also lose all cigarette tax. Basedon inforrnation from the League of Cities, it appears Burlingamewill lose 9 percent of its 1991-92 property tax, equal to 2.Lpercent of our general fund budget. Departnent heads will berevising contingency plans and wiII suggest budget revisions forcouncil discussion at the septenber 23 study session. MayorPagliaro asked for a report on hotel tax. co NSENT CALENDAR Regarding ndn Councilman Harrison responded to councilwonan OrMahonyrs questi.on about TSM budget; he said the TSM Authorityis noving its offices. a RESOLUT ION 83-92 - ACCEPTING COMPLETTON OF SIDEWALK, CURB ER REPATRS c Public Works memo of Septenber 2 recommended councj-lthe completion of the sidewalk repairs by colden Baystruction in the amount of $204,467.26. accept Con- b RESOLUTTON 8 4-92 - AWARDING CONTRACT FOR SHTNGTON PARK WATER WELL cP 114 (r,) Public ?iorks memo of September 2this contract to the fow bidder,in the amount of $90,493. reconmended council ASE Drilling of San award carlos c REOUEST FOR STORAGE CONTAINER AT RAY PARK FOR GIRLS SOFTBALL TEAMS - ENCROACH},TENT PERMIT Park Directorrs memo of August 26 recommended council ap-prove an encroachnent perrnit for the Burlingame Girls Soft-ball League (ASA), fornerly Bobby Sox, to locate a storagecontainer for league equiprnent adjacent to the snack shackat Ray Park. A sirnilar encroachment permit was issued toLittle League for storage at Bayside Park. 440 d. REVISED 1992-93 INTERCITY TRAFFTC SYSTEM I.,IANAGE},TENT (TSM) AUTHORITY BUDGET city Managerrs memo of August 31 recommended council approvethe revised budget in the arnount of $308,100; this increaseis due to anticipated receipt of AB 434 funds. With the increased funding, the JPA board is planning full conpliancewith the TSM ordinance in the six cities covered by the JPA. For 1992-93 there are no city funds required. e city Planner recommended approval- of this request to a1lowshi Sha Ya Investment until December 3, L992 to pay fees to begin the traffic allocation. The organization needs timeto investigate a deed restriction on this property beforethey can build the planned restaurant. f. ENCROACHMENT PERMIT FOR FENCE AT 1-406 DRAKE AVENUE Public works nemo of Augtust 20 recommended council, approvethis encroachnent permit for a fence and ivy subject to usual conditions. councilman Harrison moved approval Seconded by counciLwoman otMahony, of the consent caLendar. carried unanirnously. COUNCTL COMMITTEE REPORTS Airport: Councilwornan otMahony reviewed a recent hearj-ng on theairport master plan where concerns about noise, jobs and trans-portation were aired. Councilwoman Knight said the hotels are concerned about the airport excluding hotel shuttles; this willonly increase traffic. CounciL\^roman OrMahony noted the hotel,scars are only 4 percent of the airport traffic. Chanber: Councilman Harrison reported the Office Council is very pl-eased with staff assistance for the M-1 zone study. The chamber Board is also concerned about the entrance to Burl-ingamefron 101; Stan Moore of the Marriott has offered he1p. Council suggested the Beautification Commission look into this issue. CounciL of Cities: Mayor Pagliaro reported on discussion of Measures B and C, and a challenge and change in argunent wording. OLD BUSINESS Tree Cutting: Councilwoman Knight had continued concern aboutthe grove of Eucalyptus trees cut do\^rn in the Burlingarne Hi11sarea off Surnnit Drive; the county said they had an ordinanceprotecting trees and would investigate; the result of the inves-tigation is that they consider the trees lrere trimrned becausethere were sti11 sturnps. Mayor Pagliaro dj-rected a letter of concern go to the county. NEW BUSINESS Commissj-on Meetings: Councilnan Harrison was concerned about acouncil mernber attending cornmission meetings, if they did they should only speak as a private citizen, not as a council member unless directed to do so by council; he wondered if a council member coufd have a predetermined opinion on matters that later came to councill he $/ou1d like a l-etter to go to each commission. CounciLwoman O'Mahony thought there should be a council policy regarding this matter. Council-wonan Knight said she e/oul-d contj-nue to attend commission neetings; she had no objection tocouncil writing a letter to the commissions and she would preface any comment she made at a meeting with a statenent that she was speaking as a citizeni she made no attenpt to sr^ray or intimidatethe conmissioners; comrnissioners have cornmented to her they appreciate her interest. I"Iayor Paqliaro asked staff to prepare aletter to the conmissions that any council- member attending s/ould REOUEST TO EXTEND TTMING FOR TRAFFTC ALLOCATTON AT 620 ATRPORT BOULEVARD 44L do so as a private individual and would not speak for council unless so directed. Appeal Hearing: city Planner received a letter requesting an appeal hearing for a sign exception at 1049 Broadway. Mayor Pagliaro set a hearing for Septenber 2!, 1992. Adeline center: councilwoman Knight said she had received calls frorn merchants in the adeline Market Center about city work that blocked access to the stores. Public Works Director said a lane was closed from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; perhaps the merchants shoul-d have been notified, in the future they could do so. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Cornrnission Minutes: Beautification, August 6; Library Board, August L8; Park and Recreation, August 20; Senior, August 20; Planning August 24i Broadway BID, Jrol-y 24, L992. Department Reports: Recreation, 1997-]-992. Letter fron PIP Printing, 350 Lorton, requesting short term parking near Lorton and Donne1ly. Public l{orks Director said this item was on the Traffic commis- sion aqenda. d. Notice of Request for Hittside Area construction Permit for 2021, Devereux. Memo from study. city of Millbrae regarding the cooperative fire Staff reported this is just a prelininary report; a fuII reportwilL come to council for study in the future. b c f s h Supplemental report on reconstruction of the Main Library. Memo from Public works regarding parking time limits in the Burlingane Avenue area. Letter from san Francisco Mayor Jordan requesting support of keepinq the Giants in area. Mayor Pagliaro asked staff to prepare a letter. Comnissioner appointrnents: Councilwornan Knight said with all the expirj-ng commission terrns it is a good tirne to dj-scuss interview-ing for commissioners in public; she said the school districtjust appointed a new board rnember after public interviews. She asked council to rethink its position. CLOSED SESSION Mayor Paqliaro negotiations at ADJOIIRNMENT The rneeting was adj ourned the rneetinq to a closed session on labor 10:36 p.m. regularly adjourned at 10:50 p.n Judith A. Mal-fcity Clerk