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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1991.02.20BURLINGAI.{E, CAIIFoRNIA February 20, 7.99L CALL TO ORDER A duly noticed regular neeting of the Burlingame City Council was held on the above date in the city Hall Council chanbers. The meeting was ca11ed to order at 7:31 p.n. by Iilayor Gloria Barton. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG Led by Chief of Police Fred Palner. ROLL CALL COT]NCIL PRESENT: BARTON, HARRISON, LEMBI , O I}IAHONY, PAGLIARO COT'NCIL ABSENT: NONE MI ES Minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 4, L99L and the study Meeting of February 5, l99l were approved unanimousl-y. ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING - APPEAL OF SUSPENSION OF MASSAGE PERMIT BAYSHORE HIGIIWAYFOR LOUIS STUDIO . 1308 city Attorney reviewed his merno of February 12 which recornmended council hold an administrative hearing and take action. on Decenber 20, 7990 the Police chief sent a nemo to the City Manager recommending that the massage parlor license for Lours Studio at 1308 Bayshore be revoked. The basis for the request was that officers found doors locked, masseuses working without pernits and indications that illegal acts t/ere taking Place on the premise. Notice was given to the operator who requested a hearing before the city Manager. That hearing was held on January 25 and the city lttanager suspended the pernit for sixty days. The operator has appealed that decision. This is not a puUtic hearing, it is in effect a trial-. ft is ca1led a hearing de novo since council- is not revj-ewing what was presented to the City Manager but rather is hearing al-I the evidence and making an independent decision. Because it 1s an administrative hearing, hearlay evidence can be adnitted and a decision can be partially based upon that evidence; aII witnesses are sworn in. council nay disrniss tlre matter, affj-nn the decision of the city Manager, or increase or d.ecrease the penalty. In order to avoid any question arising fron the City Attorney advising both Police and €he council, vre have hired Dick Bennett to represent the Police Department and present the case. Stuart Hanlon, attorney, would represent AIan Lawson, otner of Lours Studio. Dick Bennett, attorney for Police Departrnent, presented council a file of evidence to which he would refer s/hich included police reports of incidents at the site and letters to the ol^rner from the city Attorney and City Manageri he believed council woul-d have grounds to ievoke the license; he referred to the city code sections regarding operating requirements for massage parlors, specifically that enployees would remain fully clothed, doors would remain unlocked, and pernits shall bear the picture of employees and would be posted conspicuously. He call-ed Police ofiicers Eric llaseleu, Peter Tokarski, Tom Marriscolo, Dean Asimos, Jack Van Etten, and Buzz Kruttschnitt, $/ho testified that they had observed occasions on which they found doors locked, enp-loyees part j-al.ly unclothed, patrons putting on pants, permi'ts nol neinq posted, pnotos not attached to perrnits, invatid permits and one irrest for prostitution; moreover Patrons adrnitted to paying for acts of prostitution at the premise on several oc-asions; a person named Loo under investigation for another crininal rnattEr has stated that another employee, Thuy Kim Bailey, has committed acts of prostitution and she is stil1 ernployed at Lours. 166 L67 Stuart Hanlon, attorney for AIan Lawson, owner of Lours studio, questioned $/hether Haseleu recalled exactly v/hat was said to Lawson on the occasion of applying for the license, since no notes were kept r' objected to hearing about testimony from patrons who were not present to corroborate; noted that when an employee rr/as arrested, she was fired by Lawson; that no convictions were made of those arrestedr' that Lawson had changed al-l the door handles so they cannot be locked, he presented a receipt for this work; that the permits were now displayed in the ha11; he ca11ed Alan Lavrson, ovrner, and ELsevira Howard and Mary Burgess, enpfoyees, who testified that they had not observed locked doors, that arrested employee had been fired; that doors had been changed to prevent locking; that Lab/son is at the prernise four orfive hours a day, during the morning and again in evening; that another manager, Andy Hack, bookkeeper, is on the site at other tirnes; they noted city 1aw that until september 1990, temporarypernits were allowed. They ackno$rledged that an employee narned Thuy Kin Bail-ey is still enpLoyed. CounciLnan Ilarrison noted that Lawson onl-y changed the l-ocksafter the hearing with City Iilanager. CounciLnan Lembi said La\^/son told of receiving a copy of the city ordinance when he gotIicense, so he should have been aware of rules. Council-man Pagliaro deterrnined Lawson owned another massage parl.or in Cofuna; employees are paid a percentage of fee they take in; Lawson toldall- employees not to lock doors; Lav/son put up framed permits andphotos in hallway about a month ago, previously they were posted in the employee room; La$rson assumed the city would put photo onpernit since city asked for two photos when application was rnadefor a permit, Councilwoman otMahony asked Lawson who does hiring and firing, Lawson said he did; she asked what criteria forhiring, Lawson said he relied on police investigation; she notedsince he received the ordinance when he purchased the business he should have been aware of the city rules. Bennett concluded that this establishrnent has been a problem forover one and a half years; ]ocked doors have been observed bypolice officers on severaL occasions; employee perrnits have not been properly displayed, nor have they contained photos asrequired; Thuy Bailey is sti11 employed there; he said councilhas grounds for revocation of the massage license. Hanlon then concluded, if the license is revoked council would betakingr away the livelihood of Lawson and the people he employs;the constitution protects the right to run a business; if thiswere a restaurant or bar, council wouldn't be proposing this,.people who made charge of prostitution are not here to testify; hearsay testimony does not apply in a real- court; Thuy Bailey isaccused by Loo, but there is no evidence and Lalrson cannot fireher because of this accusation; does not deny doors might havebeen l"ocked, but Lawson has changed handles so the doors cannotbe lockedr' temporary pernits were allowed up until two nonthsago,' Lawson has taken steps to rectify a1I the problems; they areno longer violating the Iaw and should be allowed to continue. councilnan Pagliaro said he $/as a prosecuting attorney for sometine; he believed Lahrson was naive, there is no question in hismind that massage parlors have a bad reputation; not every one isbad, but Lawson ran his business in a sloppy nanner; there is noevidence that Lawson acted as pirnp or procurer, but the DistrictAttorney is deciding hrhether to prosecute this business; closinga business for 50 days, as recommended by the City Manager, is iconsiderable penalty; only one person was actually arrested forprostitution, then over a year goes by with no activity; seems itis a rather recent problem; not sure 60 days is appropriatepenalty, rather severe. CounciLnan Harrison said it appeared prostitution has taken placeat the site; looking at the overaLl picture, he believed therev/ere grounds to suspend or revoke the License. 168 ADDTNG HO S OF. OPERAT ION City Attorney reviewed his rnemo of February 5 which recommended council adopt this ordinance to amend the cityts massage establishnent requirernents. A number of changes are c1erica1, but substantive changes including those suggested by council at a previous neeting are also included, such as eliminating any reference to trainees; naking the application procedures for orrners and enployees simifar; requiring applications from each officer of a corporation or nember of a partnership; more specifics about identification and past history; requiring. doors rlrnain unlocked; clarifying written and oral misrepresentations are basis for denial or revocation; raising feesl penalties for failure to notify of changes in operationsl and requirements of annual renewals. The ordinance also includes an addition to the zoning code to linit hours of operation to bet!'reen 7:00 a.n. and 10:30 p.m. and this would apply to existing as well as new establishments. Itlayor Barton opened the public hearing. Gordon Rockhi11, attorney representing the Executive Spa, a massage parlor, asked council to consider the hardship for busin6ss- the limited hours would make, most of their cl-ients come in for a massage after srorking hours, their busiest time is from 4:oo p.m. to rnidnight when they close. He kneh, of no massage parloi that opened at 7:oo a'n. He asked council to consider Lxtending the t irne until uridnight. He said that nany of the wornen who work at massage parlors use pseudonyms because the clientele are not always the best of character; if the work perrnits must be posted conspicuously with their correct names and^.ddr"rse=, and photographs, the wornen night be endangered; -hesuggestea'tnat ^ttre elnptoyee roon might be a good place.to display th6ie because they woula- be accessible to a police officer, but not the public. He questioned need of a medical certif icate,' this is I financial hardship for employees each year, and wora".ea why denial if they have an iniectious disease, there it could be aeiriea if they had a cold. He suggested council reinstate the use of trainee permits because it takes such a long iime for fu11 permit to be processed. He asked the meaning of Section 6.40.O-gO which asks whether an applicantrs rrcharactar and responsibility are satisfactorY," ald suggested this- is a. r"gri.l"tory stltenent that all'orrs rejection of an applicant for no rei=o.r. ite also objected to section 6.40.110 v,hich all-ows otfi"iutt of the cily to enter the premises for inspections to observe and enforce Lornpliance with the massage rules as well as councilnan Lenbi agreed there appeared to be a lack of supervision at the siter' see a lot of poJ-ice effort spentvisiting this one establishnent; it is an attractive nuisance; the right to run a business is incurnbent on action of the o$rner; Lawson has fired sone girls and not othersi he had no problern in revoking this license. Councilwonan O I }lahony concurred with council; a responsible business nust follow regulations r' she believed if doors were locked, there nust have been some reason for locking then; she believed testimony of police officers; she would uphold a revocation I council will continue to hratch this type business. uayor Barton said she did not take lightly the takinq away of a business license but she couldnrt believe Lawson did not know this activity Iras taking placer' for Lasrsonrs infornation, she noted that council has also closed down bars which did not obey the 1aws. councilwoman otMahony rnoved to revoke the massage license of Lours studio. Seconded by councilman Harrison, carried unanirnously by rolL caII vote. PUBI.,IC HEARING - SECOND READING - ORDINANCE 1431 - A}IENDING PERMIT REQUIREMENTS FOR IIIASSAGE AND BATHING ESTABLISHI'IENTS, AND 169 building, fire, electrical, plunbing and health regulations; he suggested this is another unnecessary regulatory statenent. City Attorney responded that courts have upheld inspections bycity officialsr' he felt language in ordinance was appropriate. Stuart Hanlon, attorney for Lours Studio, agreed with Rockhill; hours should be extended until nidnight; city is atternpting toclose down aLl these busi,nesses r' he was sure more crimes takeplace at 1ocal hotel bars and restaurants than at massageparlors . Mayor Barton closed the public hearing. Chief of Potice responded to council that it could take up to 30 days to get results of fingerprinting investigation; he said apernit could be issued immediatety after results are in. Council agreed Rockhill had some good points regarding the phraserrcharacter and responsibility; tr hours of operation, 7:OO to l-2:oornidnight was reasonable; and about posting permits where generalpublic can see them. councilman Lembi moved to adopt ORDINANCE 1431 with changes tosections regarding hours of operation to extend until rnidnight,to require posting of permits in an area accessibLe to officers and to clean up the phrase about rrresponsibility. tr Seconded by CounciLnan Pag1iaro, carried unaninously. REVISION OF ARCHITECT AGREEMENT FOR FIRE STATION city Manager reviewed the Fire chief's memo of February i,2 which recommended council approve a renegotiated agreement \^rith thearchitect to return to building plan number one with somenodifications. The architectts contract would be revi,sed frorn $367,151 to $276,460. After several meetings with the architect ifornia Drive, with one story additi,on on the south side ofbuilding behind the existing rrall/fence. councilman Lenbi asked Fire Chief if this is design they want;Chief responded this will give flexibility to move equipment tovarious sites. Councilman Pagliaro wondered if this contractrequires a separate construction manager; was concerned aboutcost; staff responded that a separate construction manager wouldresult in better qual.j,ty controls, cost would be approxinately 3percent r' this letter amendnent would be attached to the originalcontract to nodify it; contract says costs t ould be negotiated. Council directed that staff negotiate with the architect about afirrn price for construction nanagement costs and corne back to thenext meeting with contract. RESOLUTION 2O-9I - AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE OF PRELIMINARY OFFICIAL STATEMENTS AND NOTICES, FOR SALE OF CERTIFICATES OF PARTICIPATION FOR WASTEW TER TREATMENT PLANT OVEMENTS City Manager revi.ewed his nemo of February 12 which recommendedcouncil adopt the resolution to proceed with issuance ofcertificates of participation. On Novenber 5, LggO, counciL approved the selection of Rauscher pi,erce Refsnes as financialadvisor and orrick, Herrington, Sutcliffe as bond counsel forfinancing sewer treatment plant construction improvements. TheCity Treasurer and staff have been working with these consultantsto j.ssue approximately $fO to 911 rnillion in certificates ofparticipation (COPS) to finance these improvements. COps are a conmon form of lease financing last used by the city in J,983 tofinance similar inprovements. Our current timetabl,e ca1ls forreceiving construction bids on March 1 and COp bids on March 18. and fir pro The ca1 the fornation of an in-house station desi-gn cornmittee made up ofe fighters, a new concept similar to the original buildinggram approved by council has been proposed to the architect. new station would be sinilar to the o1d station at 799 170 Both these bids are scheduled for counciL award at its rneeting of l,larch 18, 1991. Councilnan Pagliaro asked about the leasing officer; city uanager said the leasing officer is a separate corporation. council-woman o'ltahony had several questions; staff responded about the purpose of lease back; the seni-annual payment and if sewer funds do not cover the cos general fund r' city rating is AA-, only high rating is San Diego, and the city the raters regarding thisl normal .insur of earthquake damage. coming from sewer funds,t funds woufd come from other city having such ais stilf negotiating with ance does not cover cost councilman Lembi moved adoption of RESoLUTIoN 20-91 Authorizing Official Statenents and Notices. seconded by councilnan Harrison, carried unanimouslY. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman Harrison questioned the procedure for selecting the Low bidder for city hal1 remodet; staff said this procedure is required by l-aw; this contractor has done other work satisfactorily for the citY. a. RESoLUTION 2]--g]- - APPRoVING coNTRAcT To oPERATE coNcESSION STAND AT BAYSIDE P A.RK Recreation Directorrs memo of February 12 recommended council approve an agreement with Deacon Deacoff to operate the conceslion stand at Bayside Park for the 1991 calendar year. RESOL TON 22-91 - CONTINUING THE SENIOR RITION GRAMb Recreation council ap Program fo Thursday I the fiscal year of $4 Department meno of February 11 recommended proie a resol,ution to continue the Nutrition-r seniors. The program is to continue Tuesday and unches and will Lerve nearly 7,ooo lunches during year at a net cost to city in the L99l-92 fiscal ,390. d c INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE ]-432 - AIUENDING ZONING CODE coNc ING PRO HIBITION O F MEDI U SE IN C-l SUB EAA s ACCES S AD CP a02 e RESO UTION 24-1 AWARD TNG CO CT FOR CI Y HALL R ODEL RESOLurroN 2 5-91 . AI.{ENDIN G PI,ANNING DEPART}.,IEN FEES city Plannerrs memo of February 12 recommended council intioduce this ordinance r' in February 1990 council adopted ordinance 1403 to clarify certain terns regarding comnercial uses, inadvertently in changing the language we did not continue the prohiLition of doctor offices in sub Area A of the Burling.nl Avenrr" Cornmercial- Area. This correction would add ihealth servicesrr to section 25.36.031 (c) which regulates office use in Sub Area A. RESOLUTION 23-9L - ACCEPTING COMPLETION OF MII'LS CANYON Public l{orks memo of February 13 recommended council accept conrpletion of the construction of the Mil1s canyon Sewer Acclss Road as conpleted by Sarott construction in the amount of $164,887.55. Public works meno of February 13 recommended council approve the contract with Basic Modul-ar Facilities in the amount of S2L,95O for CP 915, Phase 1B. f City Ptannerrs memo of f'ebruary 14 recommended council .ppio.r" a new fee schedule as discussed at the study meeting L7L of February 6. The revised fees should about double the revenue of the department. g. RESOLUTIoN 26-91 - AUENDING BUILDING FEES FoR ENERGY CONSERVATION CHECKS Public works memo of February 14 recommended council approve revision of the Building Department fees for energy conservation submittals by adopting a rate of 35 percent of Table 3A of the Uniform Building code, 1988 edition. h. ENCROACIIMENT PERMIT FOR FENCE AT 1915 ADELINE DRIVE Public works memo of February 13 recommended council approvethis encroachrnent perrnit for a wrought iron fence with brickpilasters at the corner of Adeline and Bernal. i. DENIAI., OF CLAfM OF PAULA BERTUCCI city Attorneyrs memo of January 29 reconmended council deny this clain for a sewer blockage. ). WARRANTS AND PAYROLL Finance Director recommended council approve warrants 13218 - 13593, duly audited, in the amount of $773,103.69and Payroll checks 33a57 - 35002 for the nonth of January 1991 in the amount of $1, L66,255.07. counciLwonan otMahony moved approval of the consent calendar. seconded by Councilrnan Harrison, carried unanimously. COI]NCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS TSM: councilman Harrison reported that the committee has approved the date of August L, L99L as the date by which all businesses with over 100 employees must conply with TsIrI requirernents. The group is having difficulty in dealing with theairport, which is the largest enployer. He also distributed copies of Senator Kopp's sB 226 and asked council to qive hirnreactions at the next rneeting. Homeless Task Force: Councilnan Pagliaro said there is a site inthe l,t-1 area of San Bruno which might be used for temporary housing, it is on bus line; local churches are working for an emergency location. Convention & Visitors Bureau: Councilman Lenbi reported thattravel is off and room rates are over 60 percent down. OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSTNESS I"larriott Hotel Request: Council-man Lembi distributed a letter from the Marriott Hotel asking for help in accomrnodatingr aconvention planned for the hotel . The hotel has l-earned it cannot use its garage for activities during that convention anduould like to install a tent in the parking 1ot for that use. The perrnit process will take several weeks and the conventionplanner must kno\,/ nos, in case they have to move to another hotel-. He thought there should be some flexibility to alIow council- tohelp hotels in this situation. Water: Councilman Harrison asked if the city is rnaking any allowance for those people who suffered frozen and broken $/aterlines during the freeze and !,rho therefore used excess water.Staff said no allowance was nade, the city is being fined by San Francisco water and the fine is passed on to the user. Mayor Barton noted that Los Angeles is levying a 10 percent water usereduction, she wondered how they get array rrith this. Staff said Los Angeles has different s/ater suppliers. 172 Councilwoman O'Ilahony thought there might be some type of emergency process placed in code. councilnan Pagl-iaro mentioned that council has talked for years about Marriott getting rid of their valet parking services to nake parking garage available; the hoteL has been unresponsive; then they make illega1 use of the garage; now they want to use at-grade parking; what will they do rrhen the tent is in place to address parking needs. Staff will request additional information frorn the tlarriott and schedule it for council review as soon as possibJ-e' Schedule Appea1 Hearing: Mayor Barton scheduled an appeal- hearing for the Uarch 4 meetinq for L542 Los Altos Drive. RESO 27 -9L REV OKING LOUIS STUDIO MASS E PERMIT City Attorney read a resolution making findings to revoke the massage permit for Lours studio. Councilwoman O'Mahony moved adoption of RESoLUTIoN 27-97. seconded by Councilman Lembi, carried unanimously. TSP commission: council had no obiections to the Traffic commission changing its meeting time from 7:30 to 7:00 p.n. ACKNOWLEDGE}IENTS commission Minutes: Beautification, February 7; civil service, January 8i and Planning, February 11, 1991. 1 2 3 4 5 Letter from Victor Sangervasi regarding trees blocking his view. Department Reports: Treasurer I s, Report, January 1991. January 3\, !991-i Police Letter from BiLl Van Ilorn regarding paving of Bernalr' staff response . Copy of letter to MTc fron Miltbrae regarding BART to airport. Council asked for letter to MTC in support of Miflbraers letter. Letter from senator Kopp regarding county booking fees and fees for collection of property taxes. FROI.,I THE FLOOR There were no comments from the f l-oor. ADJO ENT Mayor Barton adj ourned the meeting at 11:48 p.n Jud ith A. Malfatti 6 city clerk city Planner said council could make a code revision to a1low sone type of temporary permit under special circumstances i staff noted the hotel has been aware of the permit requirements for a number of nonths.