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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - CC - 1988.08.15CALL TO ORDER A duly noticed regular meeting of the Burlingame City council was held on the above date in the city Ha1I council Chambers. The meeting was called to order at 7:34 p.m. by Mayor Frank J. Pagliaro, Jr. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG Led by a member of the audience. ROI,L CAtL COTJNCILMEMBERS PRESENT : COUNCILMEMBERS ABSENT: MINUTES AMSTRUP, BARTON, LEMBI , MANGINI , PAGLIARO NONE Minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 1, 1988 were approved. APPEAL HEARING CONTfNUED TO NEXT MEETING - VARIANCE FOR REAR YARD SETBACK AT 433 OCCIDENTAL Mayor Pagliaro continued this appeal to the next meeting at the request of the appellant who desired more time to draft a memorandu.m of facts, equities and applicable law in support of his appeal. A member of the audi.ence desired to see this draft before the next meeting. Appellant stated he would have material to the City Manager by next week. DENTAL OF APPEAL FOR DRY CLEANING ESTABLISHMENT AT 314 LORTON city Planner reviewed her memo of August 5 in which she requested council hold a public hearing and take action. The aPplicants, Rose and cary Sheohmelian are requesting a special permit to operate a dry cteaning agency from a 440 square foot space at 314 Lorton. The business hours would be 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, closed on Sunday. The owner and one part-time emptoyee would work on sitei no dry cleaning would be done on site, only alterations; all pick up and delivery of dry cleaning would take place before 8:00 a.m. The Planning Commission voted 4-2 to deny this request at its meeting of July 25. The Commission expressed concern about the availability of parking inthis block and the absence of on-site parking for customersi a preference for retail over servj.ce usei and a concern about the volume of one stop traffic generated by this type business. Mayor Pagl.iaro opened the public hearing. speaking in favor of the appeal was Rose SheohmeLian, applicant. She stated that the previous business was similar, alterations withdry cleaning. Most of their customers would come early morning orlater afternoon when parking is available. Council clarified that the primary business was dry cleaning. Mayor Pagliaro closed the public hearing. Council noted it supported keeping this area retail; have problem vrith allolving another dry cleaning operation. Councilman Amstrup moved to support the Planning Commission denialof this request. Seconded by Councilwoman Barton, carried unanimously by roll call vote. Councilman Lembi corunented that he agreed with keeping this arearetail, but perhaps council should study further. 243 BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA August 15, 198 8 244 RESOLUTION 81-88 - APPROVAL OF SPECIAT PERMIT FOR CAR RENTALS AT 150 ANZA BOULEVARD, EMBASSY SUITES HOTEL city Planner reviewed council hold a public requesting to operateof the Embassy Suitesweek. There wouLd beis open. An average o a maximum of eight at the number of cars renof time any one car could be stored on-site. This operation has been at Embassy Suites for two years and is a code enforcement item. The Planning Commission voted 4-2 Lo deny this request at its meetj-ng of July 25. Commission discussed the advantage or dj-sadvantage of setting aside parking for rentals; parking problems at this hotel; a corporation the size of Hertz should be aware of need to contact city; need for each hotel to have car rentals; increase in vehicle trips caused by rental cars being shuttled back and forth. Mayor Pagliaro opened the public hearing. Mark Hudak, attorney representing HerLz, noted that one week ago the Hyatt Hotel was granted a similar request; difficulty of having 150 car limit per month beeause is there were a large convention Hertz could easily rent 300 cars that month; Hertz has a nationwide travel package with hotels to include car rentalsi the Hertz facility in Millbrae is not a storage 1ot, but is for sales of used cars and delivery of new cars. He responded to council questions; Marriott Hotel has a Hertz operation which only keeps cars on site for confirmed reservationsi Hertz has "car jockeys" to shuttle cars back and forth, a rental customer would have to wait for delivery if cars are not on site. her memo of August 5 in which she recommended hearing and take action. Hertz Rent-A-Car is a car rental agency from a desk in the lobbyHotel. The desk would be open seven days a one person on-site during the hours the deskf five vehicles for rent would be on-site with any one time. They request no restrictions on ted from the site each month or on the length A Hertz representative, responded t would drive cars back and forth to service the cars. ouncil that the desk operator gas station which would oc the Tom Brown, Assistant Manager of Embassy suites Hotel, urged approval and noted this operation is a valuable service to hotels; he also urged cars be kept on site. Mayor Pagliaro closed the public hearing. Council discussed with City Planner the rental operations at various hotelsr three to five cars could not have much impact on parking; could approve if cars do not just sit in lot. Mayor Pagliaro stated he was opposed to storing cars in the lot;this hotel has serious parking problems. Councilman Lembi moved to approve the request for car rentals at the Embassy Suites with the five conditions in staff report by adoption of RESoLUTToN 81-88. Seconded by Councilman Amstrup who requested Hertz be informed about city rules regarding car rentals. The motion carried 4-1 on roII caII vote, Mayor Pagliaro voting no. RESOLUTION 82-88 - APPROVAL OF SPECIAL PERMIT FOR OFFICE ADDITION AT 1.506-1610 ROLLINS ROAD City Planner reviewed her memo of August 4 j-n which she recommended council hold a public hearing and take action. The applicant, Joseph DiMaio, is requesting a special use permit to convert 495 square feet of warehouse area to office. The conversion would increase the proportion of office to 43 percent (20 percent ispermitted). The additional office space requires two more parking ipaces. The applicant has purchased the adjacent Southern Pacific spur track right-of-way and is going to use this area for additional pirking. The Planning Commission voted 4-3 to approve the special permit-with two conditions at thej-r July 11 meeting. They discussed It length placing a sunset clause on this permit requiring that the office be ieconverted to warehouse at the end of this tenantts five year Iease. 245 ch requiresed) and t$ro reque sted, Iow grade The city Planner reviewed her memo of August 4 in which she council hold a public hearing and take action' MerriII architect representing the property owner Mitzi Lee, is build a four story commercial retail/office building whi a special permit for height (43 feet requested, 35 allow parking variances for compact parking stalls (24 percent 20 percent allowed) and for two back up aisles in the be garage which are 22 feeru wide when 24 feet is required.ice space of which 46 percent would be nd retail space on the first floor. Thereage. In 1986 a project was proposed for repared for an 86 foot tal1 building. At Planning Commission approved this ions. Mayor Pagliaro opened the public hearing. Joseph DiMaio, applicant, spoke in favor. Mayor Pagliaro closed the public hearing. Councilman Lembi noted he had no problem with this application and moved to grant the special permit with tvro conditions in staff report by adoption of RESotUTIoN 82-88. Councilman Nnstrup seconded and requested tembi include the sunset clause that the partition separating this 495 square foot office area from the warehouse be removed in five years time at the end of the present tenantrs lease. Councilman Lembi agreed and the motion carried unanimously by roIIcall vote. RESOLUTION 83-88 - SPECIAL PERMIT AND TWO VARIANCES FOR PARKING FOR RETAIL,/OFFICE BUILDING AT 18OO EL CAIUINO REAL Councilman Lembi stated he would abstain from this discussion and not vote due to a conflict of interest. recommended Jew,proposing to building $rould contain off medical and a restaurant a would be a below grade gar this site and an EIR was p its meeting of July 11 the application with 12 condit Councilman Amstrup said he had called this project uP for review because of his concern about adeguate parking; he has met with the City Planner and is convinced that parking for the project is adequate. Councilwoman Barton complimented the applicants on the proj ect . Mayor Pagliaro opened the public hearing. MerriLl Jew, architect, requested approval. Mayor Pagliaro closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Barton moved to uphold the Planning Comnission approval with 12 conditions by adoption of RESoLUTIoN 83-88. Seconded by councilman Amstrup, carried 4-0 by voice vote, Councilman Lembi abstaining. SECOND READING - ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE 1359 - ALLOWfNG LIMITED HOME OCCUPATIONS FOR ACCOUNTANT ATTORNEY INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE AGENT city Planner reviewed her memo of Auqust 8 in which she recommended council hold a public hearing and take action. In 1985 the city established regulations of home occupations in the R-1 and R-2 zones which prohibited some home occupations. This proposed amendment would permit attorneys, real estate agents and insurance agents. Accountants, which are now permitted, would shift to this nes, group. Additional criteria to govern these occupations would be that theindividual be a sole proprietor, have no employees and have noclients visit the home. A11 other existing criteria of home occupation permits must also be met. Mayor Pagliaro opened the public hearing. Dona1d Asp1und, attorney, spoke in favor. Mayor Pagliaro closed the public hearing. councilman Mangini noted he had mixed emotions about supporting this amendment but added it has the benefit of additional controls. Council!.roman Barton said she had originally supported this ordinancebut now has a problem with allowing real estate and insurance uses. Councilman Lembi said his real estate clients rarely come to hisoffice, he goes to their homes. councilman Amstrup stated this new Iav, would be difficult if not impossible for staff to enforce. Mayor Pagliaro thought enforcement would be the same as we now have,with resident complaints for obvious violations. 246 Councilman Mangini moved adoption of ORDINANCE 1369. Seconded by councilman Lembi, carried 3-2 on ro11 call vote, Councilman Amstrup and Councilwoman Barton voting no. CONTINUE PUBLIC HEARING ON ORDINANCE 1368 - DECTINING HEIGHT ENVELOPE FOR RESIDENTIAT ADDITIONS city Planner reviewed her memo of August 9 in which she recommended council hold a public hearing and take action. City Council has been studying for months the problem of new second story additions and their impact on Iight, air, and privacy of adjacent properties and on the structural character of a neighborhood. A number of different approaches to regulation were considered including establishing a maximum floor area ratio for second floors in R districts, setting a maximum size on second story additions and a cumulative second story setback al-ternative. After considerable review the declining height envelope was identified as an approach which appeared flexible enough to address the variety of lot sizes in the city without unduly penalizing those who wish to add to or to add a second fIoor. Use of this measure would increase the side setback construcare seve unusualwill hav Frank Cont and suggesin the 1is AStiontsitet height increases. However it will discourage n over existing first floor foundatj.on walls unless they o eight feet from side property lines, generally an uation in Burlingame. Therefore new l-oad bearing beams o be placed in existing buildings to add a second fIoor. Also second floors will tend to be centered over the first floor rather than placed over existing side walIs. Locat design professional-s have submitted some suggestions regarding possible problems with the proposed regulation: (1) Sloping 1ots. The envelope should be measured from 10 feet above the side property Iine following the contour of the finished grade of the lot. 12) Houses with first floors raised above grade. Many oLder homes have the first ftoor 3 to 4 feet above grade and would be penalized with a fixed l-0 foot point of departure above property 1ine. The point of departure could be raised to 12 feet for the home with first floor 3 to 4 feet above grade. (3) Side property line windows. Developers could not place a dormer window which increased the interior ceiling area to 7 feet 5 inches on the side of an addition. An alternative would be to allow some specific square footage of habitable area within dormers to exceed the declining height envelope. Councilman Amstrup stated that the reason council has this ordj.nance before it !'ras because of the many complaints it has received about box-Iike construction which detracts from neighborrs light and air and is not compatibLe with neighborhood. He objected to a list of suggestions he had received immediately before the meeting asking that the ordinance adoption be put off for a month and that consj-deration be given to items in the Iist. He noted that council has been studying this issue for months and wondered why this list hras just coming before council now. Councilman Lembi said the items in the list are ideas from local professionals and architects; they are just for council information but he would Iike council to have time to review the suggestions. After some discussion council members agreed to continue hearing to the meeting of September 6. this Mayor Pagliaro opened the public hearing and asked that speakers give council positive input for consideration. ia tedt. greed that city needs some control over these additions a committee of staff and council study the suggestions Tom Adams, L411 Montero, supported the concept council is considering and hoped council would make provisions for sloping lots and for doimer windows. He is planning an addition and this change would affect his property which is on a slopinq Iot, he showed council his architect's drawings which include dormer windows. Resident al 279 Stanley urged council to consider using averages of Iot size; making different criteria for different size lots, this is almost an architectural- review Iaw. Mike Nilmeyer, L28 Pepper, President of a locaI organization of architects, said this group of architects is opposed to the ordinance; he thought this ordinance left much to be desired; suggested the proposed cornmittee to study this ordinance get input from professional contraetors, realtors and architects. Councilr^,oman Barton said she did not approve of forming a committee. ceorge Sinclair, Vice President of a 1ocal organization of professional architects, expressed need to look at the pattern of development in Burlingame, compared to Palo Alto this city has much different subdivisions; he agreed with what council was trying to do but council should consider the patterns of subdivision in Burlingame; this ordinance is based on what we donrt 1ike, we should look at what we do like; adding some incentives to the ordinance would help. Ross Bruce proposed adopting this ordinance for a short period while the issue is studied further; he supported an architectural review board for the city. A second generation resident noted people are adding to homes because they can't afford to move, this adds to property values of their home and to neighborhood. BilI Perez lives on 50 foot lot and would have to have 7 foot setback for second story, he also has sloping 1ot which subtracts more footage. Alan Horn felt this item should have been the first on tonightrs agenda, he was opposed to it, needs grandfather clause to exempt existing structures with second floors. Jan Petty inquired about public noticing of this Iaw. city Planner stated that it was noticed in the San Mateo Times. Rosalie o'Mahony spoke in opposition. ceorge Cross hoped council could do something about some of the Iarge additions, he has one nearby that is enormous. Mayor Pagliaro contj-nued the public hearinmeeting. He then declared a recess at 9:4 reconvened with all council members presen gt0pta o the September 6.m. The meetingt 9:50 p.m. Councilwoman Barton commented that she hoped some of the people who were in favor of this ordinance had spoken tonight; she knows they were here but the large crowd apparently intimidated them; she wanted to listen to both sides of the issue and come up with something workable . Councilman Amstrup agreed; this was an organized group in opposition; he was concerned about getting answers from staff to aL1 the questions and letters council will be receiving. Councilman Mangini wondered if the three suggested additions in thestaff report could be added to the ordinance. councilman Lembi said he was surprised at the number of peoplepresenti he hoped council would form a committee to study this andget input. Mayor Pagliaro said most of the people agreed that something needsto be done but felt the ordinance could be improved; he was concerned that council would not have time to revi-ew; perhaps council should have a study meeting. Councillroman Barton \ras concerned that the next meeting \.ras the dayafter Labor Day and that many people could not be present. 247 248 There was discussion of a moratorium until this issue is resolved;staff advised that if council makes substantial additions to the ordinance, it woul-d have to make the hearing on this ordinance on September 19, will have to continue the hearingi another consideration is applications for additions that are coming to thecity at this time; council could adopt the present ordinance as an interim ordinance for 45 days. AIUUSEMENT PERMIT APPLICATION FOR YANG CHOW VILLAGE 1].50 PALOMA City Attorney reviewed his memo of August 10 in which he recommended council approve the amusement permit for Yang Chow Village for a piano player, dancing and customer singing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 p,m. to 1:45 a.m. There have been no staff recommendations against the amusement permit, however thj.s restaurant has been a source of repeated complaints regarding a dumpster in the alley being left open, washing items in the alley and storing other material in the alley. The City Engineer has informed the applicants that this must be corrected since the dumpster is in the a11ey with a city encroachment permit, If complaints continue the encroachment permit wiIl be revoked. Councilwoman Barton stated she has had a number of phone calls and complaints about this restauranti she was worried about entertain- ment next to residential area. A representative of the restaurant reviewed the planned entertainment; this would be private parties after the restaurant closed; she noted they could stop earlier and not have the entertainment on Sundays . Three neighbors of the restaurant complained that the smell is very bad from the dumpster; noise from the alley disturbs neighbors; if entertainment goes so late they will be working in the alley evenlater at night. The applicant responded that they would not work in the alley late at night. Councilman Amstrup moved to deny the amusement permit to Yang ChowVill-age. Seconded by councilman Lembi, carried unanimously by voice vote. RESOLUT]ON 84-88 INCREASING WATER RATES AND CHARGES Public Works memorandum of August 9 recommended council adopt a resolution raising water rates from $1.20 per 1,000 gallons to $1.31per 1,000 gallons and some other fees effective september 1, 1988. Each year Public Works reviews the water rates and fees and reco[unends any changes to the City Council. Water rates were raisedin November 1987 for the first time since 1983. Analysis wasdifficult this year due to the water rationing. The San Francisco water Department raised the rate the city of Burlingame pays 15 percent on July 1, 1988 based on the reduced water use. The increase is from $1.20 to $1.31 for Burlingame and from $1.33 to $1.46 for Burlingame HiIIs. If a homeowner reduces water use as required for water rationing he will have a lower water bill even with the raise compared to L987. Councilman tunstrup moved adoption of RESoLUTIoN 84-88. Seconded by Councilman Lembi, carried unanimously by voice vote. INTRODUCTION OF ORDINAIiICE 1"370 -INCREASING SEWER RATES Public works memo of August 9 recommended council introduce this ordinance establ-ishing the proposed sewer rates for 88-89 beginning with the water readings on or after october 1, 1988. The current rates were adopted in october 1987. The proposed rates are based on the adopted 88-89 budget which includes a bond debt cost of $446,000, a capital Improvement cost of $300,000 and equipment replacement cost of $75,000. The proposed increases for residential are 23.6 percent over the current rates. Burlingame will stiIl continue to have the lowest rate of nearby cities. 249 CounciLman Amstrup introduced ORDINANCE 1370 for its first reading. CANCELLATION OF STUDY MEETING Council concurred with City Manager's suggestion of canceling the Study Meeting of August 17. ENCROACHMENT PERMIT FOR ].862 HI]NT DRIVE Public Works Director reviesred the City Engineer's memo of August 10 which recommended council deny this encroachment permit to allo$, a brick fence in the street right-of- rray at the corner of Hunt Drive and Frontera way. Staff is concerned that the fence as built creates blind spots that are hazards for pedestrians and vehicles. The applicant, Mr. Huang, built the fence being unar^tare that a permit was needed. No public utilities are affected at this time by the fence. If council should allow the permit, staff recormended that the two five foot columns at the corners of Hunt and Frontera be reduced to three foot height to provide pedestrian and vehicle visibility. The appticantrs son appeared before council and requested permission to Ieave the fence as it is buiIt. Council discussed that a denial would mean they would have to remove the entire fence; beautiful fence but contractor should be aware that permits are needed. Those council members who had viewed the fence fel no obj ect a!.rare thacity need ri iontt St t did not hamper visibility. Most council members hadto allowing the encroachment permit as long as owner is he waII wouLd have to be removed at his expense if the o use its right-of-!ray. la councilman Mangini felt the columns shoufd be reduced in height at the corners as recommended by staff. councilman Lembi moved to approve the encroachment permit for the fence as built, with usual conditions. Seconded by Mayor Pagliaro, carried 4-1 on ro11 call vote, councilman Mangini voting no. CONSENT CALENDAR a. LABOR AGREEMENT WITH POTICE AIiID FIRE ADMINISTRATORS City Managerrs memo of August 10 recommended council approvethis agreement which is accordance with prior counci-I authorization for a two year term to June 30, 1990 lvith 5 percent salary adjustments each year. withdrawn by City Attorney. RESOLUTfON 85-88 - AGREEMENT FOR RECORD SYSTEM INSTALLATION FOR FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND CITY TREASURER DEPARTMENT Finance Director's memo of August L0 recommended council approve a contract with RSA for a record system installation in a two year phase with Accounting, Accounts Payable and city Treasurer done this year and Payroll next year at a cost of $17,950. RESOLUTION 86-88 - ACCEPTING COMPLETION OF FOX PLAZA LANE REPAIR - CP 705 Public works memo of August 10 recommended counciL accept completion of this project by P & F construction at a cost of $32,294. RESOLUTION 87-88 - AGREEMENT FOR PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT - PHASE I Public works memo of August 10 recommended council approve an agreement for professional services with Harris and Associatesin the amount of $9,000 for Phase I of the inventory of thecondition of the city street system. d e f RESOLUTION 88-88 ACOUISITION - CP - AGREEMENT FOR SERVICES FOR PROPERTY 527 Public works memo of August 10 recommended council approve an agreement with Donald c. Gardner Assocj-ates for engineering services in the amount of $7,500 for the Broadway/California widening project which requiresacquisition of four properties within the limits of the proj ect . s TENTATIVE AND FINAL PARCEL MAP FOR 1066 TO 1O7O BROADWAY Public Works memo of August 15 recommended counciL concurwith the PLanning Commission and approve this lot mergingmap. As part of an auto dealership use permj-t and development of this site a 1ot combination rrras necessary andthis map fulfills the requirements. INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE 1371 - ESTABLISHING TWO HOUR PARKING FOR CERTAIN SPACES AT LORTON AND HOWARD Public works memo of August 8 recommended council introduce an ordinance and concur with the Traffic commission to change the meter times at the corner of Howard and Lorton from one hour to trro hour meters. 1.ENCROACHMENT PERMIT FOR BRICK WAI,L AT ].509 CABRILLO Public works memo of August L5 recommended council approvethis permit subject to standard conditions for a brick wallat the back of the sidevralk, no city or public utilities were found in the right-of -t^ray. FINANCING OF I'NDERGROUND GASOLINE STORAGE TANK PROJECT h ) Finance Director's memo of August 9 recommended council approve transfer of $92,003 from the General- Fund at end of 87-88 fiscal year in order to balance the project financingof this state required replacement of underground gasoline storage tanks; city was to receive reimbursement from the State but funding was canceled for 88-89 based on a Supreme Court decision that the State is not liable to reimbursepublic agency costs when the mandate applies equally to theprivate sector, reimbursement for 87-88 is unlikely but if received the General Fund wiII be reimbursed. K. }'ARRANTS AND PAYROLL Finance Director recommended approval of warrants 40865 - 41379, duly audited, in the amount of $!,694,227.41 andPayroll checks 85245 - 86004 for the month of JuIy 1988 in the amount of $815 ,217 .27 . Councilwoman Barton moved approval of the consent Calendar. Seconded by Councilman Mangini, carried unanimously by voice vote. Mayor Pagliaro inquired if council supported the idea of "blacktie optional" apparel at the Community Dinner. Most council 250 NEW BUSfNESS Councilman Amstrup distributed materials regarding the Council of Mayors' City Selection Committee meeting of July 14. He suggested council members try to attend the upcoming CounciJ- of Mayorts meeting on August 26. He wouLd like to see a change in the policy of that cornmittee to make its votes public and to record the votes in the minutes. Councilwoman Barton acknowledged a letter regarding two acts of heroism by a Burlingame Fire Fighter, Jim Reardon. chief of Police said the Fire Department was nominating this employee for several awards for heroism. 251 a b c members opposed thj-s because some comnunity members might not attend if they would be underdressed. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Commission Minutes: Civit Service, JuIy 12; Traffic, Safety and Parking, JuIy 14; Planning, August 8, 1988. Building Inspection Report, JuIy 1988. Letter from Mr and Mrs Berg regarding water rationing and response by city Manager. Letter from Bethany Nurrenbern regarding non-conforming apartments and response by City Attorney. The meeting was adj ourned at 8:45 p.m. in memory of Felix Billig, a long-time Burlingame resident that loved the city. Judith A. Malfatti City Clerk d COI'NTY FAIR councilman Lembi complimented Karen Key, Chamber of commerce Director and Fair Board member, on Burlingame Booth at the County Fair at which he participated on the weekend in judging an apple peeling contest. FROM THE FLOOR There were no colunents from the fIoor. ADJOURNMENT IN MEMORY OF FELIX BITLIG